The Michigan football team made an intriguing move in the college football transfer portal on Friday as the Wolverines landed a commitment from Missouri transfer punter Luke Bauer. Bauer has spent the last two seasons with the Tigers, and he is coming to Ann Arbor as Michigan has to replace Tommy Doman who graduated.
“Missouri punter transfer Luke Bauer has signed with Michigan, @chris_hummer and I have learned for @cbssports/@247sports,” Matt Zenitz said in a post. “Was Missouri’s starting punter the last two years.”
The Michigan football team was great on special teams when it came to the kicking game last year, but punting was a different story. Tommy Doman had a bit of a rough senior season. He had some good punts, but he was streaky throughout the year and was hit-or-miss when it came to flipping the field.
Michigan does have senior punter Hudson Hollenbeck on the 2025 roster, and before the commitment from Luke Bauer, Hollenbeck was the only punter that the Wolverines had. Some will speculate that the Wolverines maybe wanted to add another punter because of Hollenbeck struggling, but it could also be a simple depth concern. Now, Hollenbeck and Bauer will compete for the starting job.
Spring ball is almost over for the Wolverines as they will wrap things up on Saturday with the spring game at Michigan Stadium. We should get a better idea of what the depth chart might look for the team after seeing them go at it on the gridiron, and there will likely be more transfer portal news surrounding the team in the coming weeks as well.
The spring transfer portal window is open, and once spring ball concludes, players will have a better idea of what their role will look like during the actual season. If they aren’t happy, they may choose to leave. The coaches will also get a good idea of what they still need in the portal, and they can bring in more talent.
Michigan’s spring game will get underway at noon ET from the Big House in Ann Arbor on Saturday. The game is open to fans, but it won’t air on TV until next weekend.
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