Former four-star defensive end and top-100 prospect Luiji Vilain has entered the transfer portal, making it another member of the Michigan Wolverines’ fifth-ranked 2017 recruiting class that didn’t finish his college career in Ann Arbor.
At this point, the struggles in developing and holding on to some of the top players they brought in are well-documented. It does paint a picture of why the program is lacking upperclassman talent at a handful of key positions, though.
Vilain’s transfer is the 14th from a class that signed 30 players. Early NFL Draft declarations and opt-outs from the COVID-impacted 2020 season bring the total to 20 players from the class who ever suited up for their senior years at Michigan.
Three members of the class opted out (Ambry Thomas, Dylan McCaffrey, Nico Collins) before this season was even played, leaving Vilain and Chuck Filiaga as the top players from the class still on the roster. Given that Vilain was a depth piece at best and Filiaga entered the year as a first-time starter, there just was not a heck of a lot left from the top of the 2017 haul of talent.
Here is a look at every player that Michigan signed during the 2017 cycle and when they decided to leave the program.
Michigan Football’s 2017 recruiting class
Player | Position | Rating | National rank | Pos. rank | Departure? |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Player | Position | Rating | National rank | Pos. rank | Departure? |
Donovan Peoples-Jones | WR | 5-star | 12 | 1 | NFL Draft (2019) |
Aubrey Solomon | DT | 5-star | 23 | 2 | Transfer (2018) |
Cesar Ruiz | OC | 4-star | 47 | 1 | NFL Draft (2019) |
Luiji Vilain | DE | 4-star | 57 | 5 | Transfer (2021) |
Drew Singleton | OLB | 4-star | 79 | 5 | Transfer (2018) |
Ambry Thomas | CB | 4-star | 90 | 12 | Opt-out (2020) |
Jordan Anthony | OLB | 4-star | 106 | 8 | Transfer (2019) |
Chuck Filiaga | OT | 4-star | 112 | 13 | |
Tarik Black | WR | 4-star | 116 | 15 | Transfer (2020) |
Dylan McCaffrey | QB | 4-star | 123 | 5 | Opt-out (2020) |
Nico Collins | WR | 4-star | 138 | 23 | Opt-out (2020) |
Oliver Martin | WR | 4-star | 181 | 29 | Transfer (2018) |
Josh Ross | ILB | 4-star | 211 | 9 | |
James Hudson | DT | 4-star | 231 | 13 | Transfer (2018) |
Deron Irving-Bey | SDE | 4-star | 249 | 9 | Transfer (2018) |
Jaylen Kelly-Powell | S | 4-star | 250 | 21 | Transfer (2020) |
Corey Malone-Hatcher | WDE | 4-star | 268 | 19 | Medical retirement (2017) |
O'Maury Samuels | RB | 4-star | 269 | 20 | Transfer (2019) |
Donovan Jeter | SDE | 4-star | 289 | 12 | |
JaRaymond Hall | OT | 4-star | 301 | 30 | Transfer (2017) |
Benjamin St-Juste | CB | 4-star | 338 | 39 | Transfer (2019) |
Andrew Stueber | OT | 3-star | 365 | 35 | |
J'Marick Woods | S | 3-star | 383 | 28 | Transfer (2019) |
Brad Hawkins | WR | 3-star | 425 | 66 | |
Joel Honigford | OT | 3-star | 441 | 46 | |
Phillip Paea | DT | 3-star | 459 | 38 | |
Kwity Paye | DE | 3-star | 487 | 29 | |
Ben Mason | ILB | 3-star | 817 | 32 | |
Kurt Taylor | RB | 3-star | 918 | 50 | Transfer (2018) |
Brad Robbins | P | 2-star | N/A | 16 |
As good as the 2016 class was for Michigan, the 2017 cycle was supposed to be the one that propelled Jim Harbaugh’s program to greater heights. Transfers happen frequently in the current landscape of college sports, but the misses and departures have done a number on the depth chart over the last few seasons.
Michigan lost a lot of games this season because it wasn’t talented or well-coached enough in a number of areas. They followed up the 2017 cycle with a 2018 class that ranked 22nd in the country.
Much is made about whether rankings matter or not, but the teams that consistently compete at the top of the Power Five stack consecutive elite classes on top of retaining and developing those players. Harbaugh has continued to recruit well even into times of recent uncertainty, but the biggest key to getting the program back on track is holding onto your blue-chip players and turning them into pros.