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LaDarius Henderson: “It was a no-brainer to go to O-line U”

After spending four years at Arizona State, LaDarius Henderson is ready to make a splash on Michigan’s roster in 2023.

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The Michigan Wolverines offensive line, including Zak Zinter (65), Olusegun Oluwatimi (55), Giovanni El-Hadi (58) and Ryan Hayes (76), and tight ends Matthew Hibner (88) and Joel Honigford, get set against the Illinois Fighting Illini at Michigan Stadium on Nov. 19, 2022.

As Michigan’s incredible 2022 season comes to a close, the Wolverines are now focused on one thing: winning a National Championship in 2023. Over the past few months, Jim Harbaugh and his staff have assembled one of the best transfer classes in the nation — one that includes a variety of extremely talented offensive lineman. Among these offensive lineman is 4-star Arizona State transfer, LaDarius Henderson.

After playing four seasons with the Sun Devils, Henderson is ready to make an impact on the Wolverines’ 2023 roster as U-M pursues another Big Ten Championship this fall.

LaDarius Henderson is ready for Michigan football

A day after the transfer portal opened, LaDarius Henderson had already committed to Michigan football. At the time, U-M was 13-0 overall and coming off of a 45-23 win over Ohio State and a 43-22 win in the Big Ten Championship game. In the coming weeks, Michigan football earned numerous awards, including the Joe Moore Award for the nation’s top offensive line.

U-M is the first football program to win the Joe Moore Award in back-to-back seasons, and has established itself as “O-Line U.” Year in and year out, the Wolverines are loaded with offensive line talent and are producing the NFL-ready lineman at an exponentially high rate right now. LaDarius Henderson has all of the tools and drive to be a key contributor on the Wolverines’ offensive line this year and keep the Joe Moore Award in Ann Arbor for the third-straight season.

“I came back to college with the goal of raising my draft stock, which is something that I still intend on doing.” Henderson told CJ Mangum of Blue by Ninety. “But once I committed to Michigan my goals have gotten bigger. Help the guys will the Joe Moore Award three years in a row, and now, win the National Championship.”

Over the past two seasons, Michigan football has been as close as anyone to winning a National Championship. Since the start of 2021, the Wolverines are 25-3 overall with two-straight wins over Ohio State, two-straight Big Ten Championships, and two-straight CFP appearances. Sadly, U-M is yet to reach the National Title game; however, it feels as if it is only a matter of time. Heading into the 2023 season, Michigan football should be an early favorite to run the conference again, and perhaps have another shot at winning it all.

Henderson will be a great fit in the Maize and Blue

Throughout Henderson’s time at Arizona State, he earned numerous accolades both on and off of the football field. Henderson earned four varsity letters with the Sun Devils, was named a team captain in 2022, and only allowed two sacks on 619 pass-blocking attempts from 2021-2022. Additionally, LaDarius Henderson saw action in 33 games, made 29 starts, and earned his bachelor’s degree from ASU in 2022.

Now, as Henderson turns to the final page of his college football career, heading to Ann Arbor just made sense. As a 4-star transfer with proven on-field talent, a sizable frame, and plenty of Power Five experience, Henderson was highly-touted during his short time in the portal. Still, committing to Michigan was a no-brainer.

“I did have a good amount of options once I entered the transfer portal but once I knew I had an opportunity to play at Michigan, I wanted to take it.” Henderson said.  “I love what they do here, from Coach Herbert’s strength staff, to Coach Sherrone Moore’s O-line, to even the play calling. It was a no-brainier for me to go to ‘O-line U.'”

As a fifth-year graduate student, Henderson has many goals when he gets to Ann Arbor, yet making his team better stands out above the rest.

“I do have my own expectations for what I’d like to accomplish as a Wolverine, but I just got here, so my goal right now is to get to know my teammates and be a good teammate for them,” Henderson said.

Right now, it is hard to not be excited for the 2023 Michigan football season even after the Wolverines’ Fiesta Bowl loss on New Year’s Eve. Returning starters such as JJ McCarthy and transfer additions such as LaDarius Henderson will make the Wolverines a dangerous squad yet again, and could be a deciding factor in some of the biggest games of the year.

On top of being an incredible fit for the football program, LaDarius Henderson will be a perfect fit for the University of Michigan itself. Henderson’s drive and passion to improve as well as his high character off of the field show that he is a great addition to Harbaugh’s program and its culture of success.

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Michigan football makes final five for top 10 2024 linebacker prospect

The Michigan Wolverines are trending for a top 10 linebacker in the 2024 class.

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top 10 linebacker in 2024 recruiting class
Sep 3, 2022; Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA; Michigan Wolverines linebacker Junior Colson (25) pursues a play on defense against the Colorado State Rams at Michigan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

The Michigan Wolverines have been getting red hot in the 2024 recruiting cycle as of late, and heading into the weekend, it appears as if Harbaugh’s staff is heating up for a massive recruit. Qua Birdsong, a top 10 linebacker in the 2024 recruiting class, included Michigan football in his top 5 remaining schools that he will choose from.

Michigan makes final five for top 10 linebacker in the 2024 recruiting class

Qua Birdsong is rated as a consensus four-star recruit (across all four major recruiting outlets) and is ranked as a top 10 linebacker according to On3. Additionally, he is ranked as the No. 136 player in the 2024 recruiting class, the No. 10 linebacker in his class, and the No. 18 player in the state of Georgia.

On Friday, Birdsong released his top five remaining teams that he is considering committing to — among his top five is Jim Harbaugh and his Michigan football Wolverines. Along with the Wolverines are the Miami Hurricanes, Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, the Cincinatti Bearcats, the Central Florida Knights, and the Arkansas Razorbacks. As you can see, the Wolverines are the only Big Ten program in the running for this major top 10 linebacker recruit.

The On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine lists Georgia Tech, Cincinatti, and Arkansas as his top-3, though if Michigan football can get him to Ann Arbor on a visit this spring or summer, the Wolverines will likely make up a great deal of lost ground. For now, this is a great sign for Michigan football, who made the top-5 for his recruitment without him visiting Ann Arbor yet.



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Michigan football trending with top 100 recruit ahead of his second visit to Ann Arbor

The Wolverines are in good shape to land one of the best players in the 2025 recruiting class.

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Michigan football top 100 recruit
Oct 15, 2022; Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA; Michigan Wolverines running back Donovan Edwards (7) rushes in the second half against the Penn State Nittany Lions at Michigan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

ANN ARBOR, MI — It’s been a successful month for the Michigan Wolverines thus far, as the program has been hauling in some of the nation’s top talent at the same time as spring ball starts. Over the past week alone, the Michigan football team has hauled in two four-star players from Ohio, and with another big visit coming up, the Wolveirnes are trending in a good direction with a top 100 recruit in the 2025 recruiting class.

Michigan football trending in a good direction with LaMason Waller a top 100 recruit in the 2025 class

With nine players committed thus far in the 2024 recruiting class, Michigan football currently boasts a top 3 class in the nation per 247 Sports. Still, the Wolverines are hitting the 2025 recruiting trail hard right now as well, and on April 1st, the day of the Wolverines’ annual spring game, top 100 recruit LaMason Waller will be visiting Ann Arbor. Michigan has been picking up some steam with Waller as of late, and with spring/summer recruiting getting into full swing, the Wolverines will undoubtedly be looking to land his commitment.

247 has one crystal ball for LaMason Waller thus far — it is for Michigan football. On top of that, the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine lists Michigan and Oregon as Waller’s top two schools to this point.

According to the Industry Rankings, Waller is rated as a four-star recruit and is ranked as the No. 68 player nationally, the No. 7 athlete in his class, and the No. 11 player from the state of California in the 2025 recruiting class.



Thank you for reading Blue by Ninety. For more Michigan Athletics content from Blue by Ninety, follow us on TwitterFacebook, and Instagram. You can also subscribe to our YouTube Channel. For feedback, questions, concerns, or to apply for a writing position, please email our Managing Editor at Cj@BluebyNinety.com. Also, be sure to check out our shop and our podcast, which is available on Apple PodcastsSpotify, and all other steaming platforms. It is because of your support that we have become one of the fastest and most influential Michigan media outlets there is!

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Recent on-field and recruiting success proves the OSU-UM rivalry has hit a turning point

From the games to recruiting, Michigan is dominating Ohio State right now.

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Michigan football Buckeyes
© Kirthmon F. Dozier / USA TODAY NETWORK

Since the turn of the century, the Michigan Wolverines have been, for lack of a better term, dominated by the Ohio State Buckeyes. Though Michigan football still leads the all-time series against Ohio State (60-51-6), Ohio State has won all but five games against Michigan since the year 2000. In fact, over the past 20 seasons, Ohio State has a 16-4 record against the Michigan Wolverines. Still, over the past two years, we have witnessed Jim Harbaugh and company turn the tide a bit — recent on-field and recruiting success proves that Michigan football is making up for lost ground.

Michigan football is stealing Ohio prospects, including some major OSU targets

This week alone, the Michigan football team has added two four-star Ohio recruits to its 2024 recruiting class. Early in the week, the Wolverines stole the No. 2 player in Ohio — running back Jordan Marshall — from the Buckeyes. The next day, Michigan sustained its success and grabbed another 2024 four-star player from Ohio; this time, it was Rivals four-star Ben Roebuck, and offensive tackle from St. Edward.

Of Michigan’s nine commits in the 2024 class, four are from the state of Ohio — additionally, the Wolverines are locked in on a few more big-name Ohio recruits, and likely aren’t done yet.

Michigan’s on-field success speaks volumes

Michigan’s few recruiting victories over Ohio State would not be nearly as big of a deal if the Wolverines weren’t crushing the Buckeyes on the field as well. In 2021, for the first time in a decade, the Michigan football team steamrolled Ohio State to the tune of a 42-27 victory. The win sent Michigan to the Big Ten title game, and eventually saw UM finish the season 12-2 overall and ranked in the top-3.

A season ago, No. 2 Ohio State (11-0) hosted No. 3 Michigan (11-0) in a massive matchup in Columbus, OH. For the first time in 22 years, Michigan football beat Ohio State in ‘The Shoe,’ and it was ugly. All said and done, Michigan improved to 12-0 for the second time in program history with a 45-23 win over Ohio State — the following week, Michigan won its 44th Big Ten Championship.

With all of Michigan’s recent on-field and recruiting wins over the Ohio State Buckeyes, it’s clear that Jim Harbaugh’s Wolverines have turned the tide in the Michigan-Ohio State rivalry.



Thank you for reading Blue by Ninety. For more Michigan Athletics content from Blue by Ninety, follow us on TwitterFacebook, and Instagram. You can also subscribe to our YouTube Channel. For feedback, questions, concerns, or to apply for a writing position, please email our Managing Editor at Cj@BluebyNinety.com. Also, be sure to check out our shop and our podcast, which is available on Apple PodcastsSpotify, and all other steaming platforms. It is because of your support that we have become one of the fastest and most influential Michigan media outlets there is!

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