Former Michigan State safety Jaden Mangham announced his commitment to Michigan.
As a transfer portal player, Mangham is a 3-star, the #70 safety, and #718 overall. It's somewhat mind-boggling to me that an Honorable Mention All-Big Ten safety can be the 70th best player at his position and #718 overall, but I guess that tells you the ridiculous number of transfers that have taken place this off-season.
Related Articles
Anyway, Mangham was a 4-star, the #13 athlete, and #311 overall coming out of Franklin (MI) Groves in the class of 2022. He spent two years in East Lansing, making 12 starts and totaling 73 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 4 interceptions, 3 pass breakups, and 1 fumble recovery. Michigan had recruited him out of high school, but the interest was tepid in both directions; that was the same class where Michigan landed Zeke Berry, Keon Sabb, and Will Johnson, so even with some so-so guys mixed in - like Damani Dent, Kody Jones, and Myles Pollard - it was still an outstanding defensive back recruiting haul for the Wolverines.
Mangham is one of four transfer portal defensive backs to pick Michigan in this 2024 cycle, all within the last week; he joins Louisville safety Wesley Walker, Albany cornerback Aamir Hall, and UNLV cornerback Ricky Johnson. With Michigan having lost Sabb to Alabama and Rod Moore to injury, the need at safety was significant. Now there's some great competition to be had between Quinten Johnson, Walker, and Mangham for the safety spot not held by Makari Paige, and Berry might even factor in, though it seems like he'll be playing the nickel corner spot.
Mangham has two years of eligibility remaining and the plan is for him to finish his undergraduate education prior to fall camp, making him a grad transfer who won't have to worry about losing credits in the school switch. Once Paige moves on after 2024, Mangham could be a clear-cut starter going into 2025.
The last Michigan-to-Michigan State transfer was just a few years ago when linebacker Ben Van Sumeren became a Spartan, and a somewhat recent case saw Michigan State linebacker Edward Warinner join the Wolverines as a walk-on for one season in 2020 while his dad Ed Warinner was Michigan's offensive line coach. Warinner the Younger played special teams in just three games during the COVID season.
