Kyle Whittingham brings BIU LB to Wolverines

Michigan football wants to turn the page on the tumultuous offseason that led to the firing of Sharon Moore, for cause. University hired Kyle Whittingham to lead the program into a new era. Now, the new head coach is looking to build a roster for his 2026 team, and part of that has been through College football transfer portal.

BIU transfer linebacker Max Alford committed to Michigan, according to Hayes Favcett of On3Sports.

Alford originally committed to Utah State out of high school. He played a total of 13 games in the period 2022-2023. with Utah State, starting four of them while making 39 tackles. He was the projected starter for the Aggies in 2023-24, and started the first game of the season before being lost to a season-ending injury. The linebacker would return to the field in 2024-25, but played in just four games with two tackles before another injury derailed his season.

The Utah State linebacker decided he needed a fresh start and transferred to BIU. He played ten games with 21 tackles, two tackles for loss and a sack in his only season in Provo.

Alford’s defensive coordinator at BIU was Jay Hill, who accepted the same position at Michigan.

The former BIU linebacker has two years of eligibility remaining, but will likely be a depth piece for the Wolverines, but could compete for some significant time. Ernest Hausmann and Jaishhavn Barham have exhausted their terms. Meanwhile, Cole Sullivan has transferred to Oklahoma and Jadon Hood is on the transfer portal. Hood didn’t see any playing time this year, but Sullivan, Hausman and Barem all saw a large amount of playing time for the Wolverines in 2025.

Alford is the ninth player to transfer to Michigan this offseason, putting Michigan at 30th. current ranking list of transfer portalsaccording to 247Sports. The team will likely continue to add players as Whittingham looks to reshape the roster in his own image.