Transfer portal CB Josh Wallace commits to Michigan

The Michigan Wolverines dipped into the transfer portal once again this offseason to help their endeavors for the upcoming season, as they added former UMass cornerback Josh Wallace to the fold Wednesday morning.

The 6-foot, 190-pounder visited Michigan last weekend. He also was strongly considering Virginia Tech and Oklahoma during his transfer portal recruitment. He garnered other offers from Iowa, Michigan State, Oregon State, Penn State and Indiana.

You would imagine the connections he has to Michigan played a role in him committing. His head coach at UMass was former Michigan defensive coordinator Don Brown. The offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach there is Steve Casula, who served as an analyst in Ann Arbor. Finally, outside linebackers coach Mike McCray played at Michigan from 2014-17, and he reportedly was in Ann Arbor with Wallace during his visit as well.

A four-year starter at UMass, Wallace racked up 137 tackles, seven tackles for loss, three interceptions and 24 passes defended during his career. As a senior last year, he compiled 41 tackles, three tackles for loss, two interceptions, eight pass breakups and one fumble recovery.

Wallace was also a captain at UMass, which is something Harbaugh and company have sought out this offseason in the transfer portal — whether intentional or not. Offensive lineman LaDarius Henderson was also a captain while at Arizona State, as was center Drake Nugent at Stanford, and quarterback Jack Tuttle and tight end AJ Barner at Indiana.

With Wallace now in the fold, the Wolverines are much more shored up in the secondary heading into the 2023 season. Will Johnson and Mike Sainristil are locked into the CB1 and slot positions, respectively, but no one has grabbed a hold of CB2 yet. Perhaps Wallace will step in and immediately start, or perhaps someone like Amorion Walker, Ja’Den McBurrows or Jyaire Hill will have a fire lit under them and perform strongly in fall camp. Either way, it’s a win-win for the Wolverines.

At the very least, Wallace brings plenty of leadership and experience to Michigan’s secondary. This is a huge help for Michigan’s championship aspirations in 2023.