Michigan Opens Fall Camp With An Unexpected Depth Question

As Michigan kicks off its new era under Coach Whittingham, unexpected roster changes shake up the start of fall camp.

Michigan will head into fall camp with a thinner roster than expected, and two names are already gone before the first practice opens Wednesday.

The most recognizable departure is Taylor Tatum, the former highly touted running back recruit who signed with Oklahoma out of high school. According to Clayton Sayfie of The Wolverine, Tatum is no longer with the Michigan football program, and Sayfie confirmed that with the team.

Tatum spent 2024 at Oklahoma, where he played running back, averaged 5.0 yards per carry, and then suffered a season-ending injury. He did not play at all in the 2025 season before transferring to Michigan during the offseason.

At first, Tatum looked like a useful addition to the running back room. Then came the shift: he was reported to be moving to defensive back.

After that adjustment, he appeared to hold his own in the spring game, enough that there seemed to be a path forward. That path is now somewhere else, and it will be interesting to see whether another program takes a shot at him - and whether it views him as a running back or something else.

Tatum wasn’t the only player confirmed to be out. CJ.

Charleston is also no longer with the Wolverines. Charleston transferred in from Youngstown State before the 2024 season and appeared in 10 games that year, finishing with one catch for 22 yards.

He redshirted last season and was not expected to play a major role this fall.

There was no indication why either player left the program.

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For Michigan, the name to watch is Roddy Gayle Jr., the former Wolverines guard and national champion whose future now sits in the balance. If the ruling holds, the program may have to decide whether there is a path to bringing him back for another season, and coach Mike Boynton Jr. has already indicated he would be open to that possibility if the legal situation breaks the right way. [Read more 🡒]

Michigan Quietly Enters Fall Camp With A New Depth Concern

Michigans fall camp roster arrived with a quiet bit of turnover tucked inside it, as two scholarship players are no longer listed with the program. For a team trying to sort out its depth before the season gets rolling, those kinds of changes matter, especially when they hit spots where competition and flexibility are already under the microscope.

Taylor Tatum had come over from Oklahoma and was in the middle of a transition to defensive back, while wide receiver C.J. Charleston had joined Michigan ahead of the 2024 season. Their absence leaves another small hole to manage as camp opens, and it adds one more layer to the roster questions the staff has to answer before the picture gets clearer. [Read more 🡒]