Michigan’s 2026 transfer class brought plenty of new faces to Ann Arbor, but one of the most intriguing additions is wide receiver Jaime Ffrench Jr.
Ffrench arrived from Texas after one season with the Longhorns, and he came into college with plenty of recruiting buzz. The Jacksonville, Fla. native was one of the top wide receiver prospects in the 2025 high school class and had offers from LSU, Miami, Tennessee, Florida and Oklahoma, among others.
Before landing at Texas, he initially committed to Alabama in 2023, then decommitted on Jan. 14, 2024.
This week, Ffrench sat down with Michigan QB Chase Herbstreit on the Champ Media podcast and opened up about how he ended up in Ann Arbor and what the move has been like so far.
One of the first things he highlighted was his early connection with new wide receivers coach Micah Simon.
“Man, coach Simon, he is my guy for sure,” Ffrench said. “He is more of an active coach so I like him for sure.
He’s definitely a players coach… Every day he brings the juice, he just makes me want to go to practice some days, even when it's hard sometimes; he makes you push through. He is a guy you want to play for.”
Simon joined the UofM coaching staff from Utah, where he spent a season with Kyle Whittingham and offensive coordinator Jason Beck while leading the WR room.
Ffrench also made it clear Michigan was not his first thought when he entered the transfer portal.
“Actually it (Michigan) wasn’t (my top option),” Ffrench said. “Even when we played you guys in the bowl game, I didn’t have any intentions of transferring at all… I loved Texas and everything it had for me… Going through the exit meetings and stuff like that, things weren’t talking like I thought it was… I am here now and I am happy.”
He added that he tries to shape his game after Ja’Marr Chase of the Cincinnati Bengals and Justin Jefferson of the Minnesota Vikings.
On the field, Ffrench looks like the kind of transfer who can make an immediate difference. Michigan already brought back its top receiving threat from last season, Andrew Marsh, who is expected to lead the room, and added former Utah receiver JJ Buchanan, who should also see valuable playing time.
That gives the Wolverines a promising trio at the position, with Marsh, Buchanan and Ffrench all in position to be Bryce Underwood’s top targets by the end of the 2026 season.
In Other News...
Michigan Awaits Huge Decision From A Blue Chip Line Priority
Michigans offensive line board is still taking shape, and one of the biggest names on it is nearing a call. Lincoln Mageo, a 2027 four-star interior lineman from Oceanside High in California, has been on the Wolverines radar for a while, and his recent trips to Ann Arbor have kept Michigan firmly in the mix. Rivals currently lists him as the No. 242 overall prospect and the No. 14 interior offensive lineman nationally, which gives a sense of why his recruitment has drawn so much attention.
The Wolverines are competing with Washington and Utah for his commitment, and Mageo has already seen enough of Michigans campus to make the race interesting. He has spoken positively about the coaching staff, and the programs pitch on player development clearly has his attention as the decision window closes. For Michigan, landing a prospect with his profile would be another important sign that the staff can keep stacking premium line talent in a class that still has room to grow. [Read more 🡒]
ESPNs Michigan Outlook Will Spark A Huge Wolverines Debate
ESPNs Football Power Index has Michigan sitting at No. 15 nationally heading into the season, a placement that should keep the Wolverines in the national conversation while also inviting plenty of debate in Ann Arbor. The number reflects a program that has changed a lot around the edges, but still has enough returning talent and incoming help to suggest this wont be a full reset.
Michigans outlook now comes down to how quickly the pieces fit together, especially with a challenging schedule waiting on the other side of the offseason. The Wolverines have kept key players in place, added help through the transfer portal, and will need real development from the roster if they want to justify that kind of ranking once Oklahoma and the grind of Big Ten play arrive. [Read more 🡒]
Troy Bowles Suddenly Carries Bigger Michigan Stakes Than Fans Realize
Troy Bowles arrived from Georgia and quietly became a steady piece for Michigan last season, appearing in every game and finishing with 27 total tackles. With so much turnover at linebacker, that kind of reliability matters more now than it did a year ago, especially for a room that suddenly needs new voices and new starters to emerge.
Michigans new head coach Kyle Whittingham has already flagged Bowles, Chase Taylor and Nathaniel Owusu-Boateng as the top names in the mix, which puts Bowles in the middle of a real spring and summer battle for a much larger role in 2026. The Wolverines do not just need depth there anymore, they need someone to help fill a major hole, and Bowles is suddenly carrying a lot more weight in that conversation than most fans probably realized. [Read more 🡒]