New Michigan football transfer portal addition is reason for excitement

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Yesterday, we spoke with new Michigan football transfer portal addition AJ Barner, a former standout tight end from the Indiana Hoosiers, for the first time since the start of fall camp. Barner has been on campus for a few months now, and it’s becoming clear that his presence in the locker room should have fans and coaches thrilled about his commitment to the Maize and Blue. Further down that same line of thought, Barner should have opposing Big Ten defenses on notice, especially when paired with rising sophomore superstar Colston Loveland.

Michigan football fans should be excited about new transfer portal addition

One of the most notable Michigan football transfer portal additions over the course of the 2023 offseason was Indiana tight end AJ Barner, who is coming in to help Colston Loveland fill in the gaps left by the departure of Erick All and Luke Schoonmaker. Right now, it looks like Loveland and Barner could form one of the nation’s elite duos, especially since JJ McCarthy and the passing attack continue to take notable steps in the right direction.

AJ Barner brings a massive 6-foot-6, 251-pound frame to the table for this year’s offense — he is a great blocker and has reportedly been developing into a huge receiving threat this fall as well. All of these skills could become deciding factors for the Wolverines this year.

“When I was at Indiana, I had two offensive coordinators, so I kind of had to learn some different things there,” AJ Barner said. “But I think Coach (Grant) Newsome has done a tremendous job with not only myself but the rest of the tight ends. He harps on the details. He’s always there to take the extra time if we need to go over something. So having him has been extremely helpful. And they just have a system in place that the coaches really know and then also the players know too — Colston (Loveland), Matt Hibner, Brede (Max Bredeson) and Marlin (Klein), and JJ (McCarthy) and all those guys have been there to help me also, and I feel like I’m at the point now where I’m really comfortable with everything.”

AJ Barner already catching on in Ann Arbor

Seeing as Barner has only been in Ann Arbor for a few months now and is already comfortable with the playbook and offense is huge news for Michigan football. With the season just two weeks out, Barner and Loveland being on the same page and ready to roll may turn into an X-factor for the Maize and Blue when game time hits on September 2nd; after all, in Jim Harbaugh’s offense, the only position that gets more action that the tight ends is the running backs.

Halfway through fall camp, AJ Barner has become aware of a simple yet essential fact of playing for Michigan football — the players he is facing in practice are likely the best that he will see all season long. Iron sharpens iron, as the saying goes.

“I wouldn’t say give me trouble,” Barner said when asked about any Michigan defenders that get the better of him during camp. “But I definitely love going up against Kris (Jenkins), and I love going up against Jaylen (Harrell) just because I know I’m gonna have to bring it, and that we both make each other better.”

Passing attack continues to improve with tight end help and more

I reported on this earlier today, but the Michigan football passing attack continues to improve as well, which is another huge factor for the Wolverines as they chase a national title this year. The rushing attack will still be the focal point of the offense, but JJ McCarthy, his wide receivers, and yes, even the tight ends, need to be able to emphasize the passing attack as well in order to reach the next level of college football.

“I think (the passing game is) very dangerous,” Michigan football transfer portal addition AJ Barner explained. “Having (JJ McCarthy) back there slinging the rock — he’s looked incredible all spring. He’s a tremendous leader, a tremendous football player. The O-line has looked incredible and they’re gonna give us time to do that and then we have plenty of weapons — whether it’s on the perimeter with CJ (Cornelius Johnson), Roman (Wilson), the freshman receivers, and then the tight ends also. So I think that’ll be a great thing for us and like you mentioned running the ball, that’s not going anywhere. And I think for me that’ll pop on tape too. I think that’s something that I’ve really improved at and something that I’m striving for is just to be the best blocking and receiving tight end in the country.”

Michigan football transfer portal addition is tuning out the noise

AJ Barner was thrown into a year of Michigan football with a lot of outside noise. Examples of this include the Wolverines’ battles against the NCAA, Jim Harbaugh-NFL rumors, and much more. That said, AJ Barner and his teammates have remained locked in on the 2023 season and nothing more — something he attributes to the experienced nature of the Wolverines’ roster.

“I think really well,” AJ Barner said when asked about how the team is handling the noise. “Obviously, you can read into that stuff if you want to, but we understand that we can control everything and take that stuff in doses and kind of tune it out. I think we’ve done a really good job just focusing on the present and just being in today and I think we’ll continue to do that because throughout the season, as we win games, there’s gonna be more and more distractions. And I think that comes with having an older team where we have a bunch of leaders and Mikey (Mike Sainristil) and all those guys, so I don’t think it’ll be a problem at all, and it hasn’t been thus far.”

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