Michigan LB Nikhai Hill-Green enters transfer portal

The transfer portal is going bonkers across the country, with dozens of college football players entering the portal in the past few days.

Three Michigan players have now entered the portal, with all of the announcements coming on Monday.

First, it was wideout A.J. Henning, followed by safety R.J. Moten, and now a linebacker is entering the portal — Nikhai Hill-Green.

Hill-Green ascended during the 2021 offseason and impressed then-defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald. Hill-Green would go on to receive ample playing time, playing in all 14 games in ‘21 with six of those being starts. Hill-Green had 51 tackles in 2021, but a soft-tissue injury derailed his Michigan career and he didn’t play the entire 2022 season.

It took a while, but Hill-Green battled back from the injury and was healthy for Michigan’s month of spring practices and appeared in the spring game in front of fans at Michigan Stadium in early April.

Michigan added Nebraska transfer linebacker Ernest Hausmann to the mix this offseason, and there are other players in the mix such as Jimmy Rolder and Micah Pollard who will be vying for rotational playing time this fall. And of course, there are the mainstays in Junior Colson and Michael Barrett who will receive a sizable number of snaps. In short, there was no guarantee Hill-Green would have seen the field with much frequency in 2023.

Where Hill-Green will be missed the most is in Michigan’s locker room, where he became a great leader and someone willing to help the young linebackers improve their craft. Although Hill-Green was injured all last season, he was practically another coach and had a positive presence.