Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh didn't release a spring roster for his 2017 football team. In fact, he didn't provide an update until Aug. 30, 2017, just three days before the Maize and Blue kicked their season off against Florida.
Harbaugh is doing things a little bit different this time around though. The school recently updated its 2018 spring roster, and as is always the case, plenty of changes have been made from last year's edition. Most of the differences involve player departures and jersey numbers — oddly enough, though, players' heights and weights were not modified.
Stay up to date with everything going on inside the world of Michigan spring football at The Wolverine's Spring Ball Headquarters.
Jersey Number Changes
• Junior quarterback Shea Patterson — who transferred in from Ole Miss and is still awaiting word on his eligibility status — will wear the No. 2 jersey. He wore No. 20 during his time in Oxford. Redshirt freshman receiver Oliver Martin is still sporting the No. 2 uniform as well, so that obviously means one of the two will have to change if they hope to see the field at the same time.
• Freshman early enrollee quarterback Joe Milton is listed at No. 5. In addition, fifth-year senior fullback Jared Wangler has switched from No. 38 to No. 5, meaning the Wolverines will now have three offensive players rocking the same numeral — Milton, Wangler and redshirt freshman running back Kurt Taylor.
None of the three are expected to be heavy contributors on offense in 2018, but regardless, no two players wearing the same number are allowed to see game action at coinciding times.
• Freshman early enrollee cornerback Myles Sims is tabbed as No. 6. Fortunately, there are no number controversies here — no other defensive player on the roster has the same jersey number.
• Perhaps the biggest change of all involved junior receiver Kekoa Crawford switching from No. 1 to No. 41. Although there had been plenty of controversy surrounding the coveted number (mostly from former U-M wideout Braylon Edwards), Crawford had worn it his entire two-year tenure so far at Michigan.
Seeing as how there are no other offensive players wearing it, it's highly unlikely the change was Crawford's idea. Perhaps Harbaugh is reinstalling the notion that the No. 1 jersey needs to be earned.
• Redshirt sophomore running back Kareem Walker has switched from No. 6 to No. 46. Redshirt sophomore walk-on quarterback Michael Sessa is now the only offensive player rocking the No. 6 jersey.
• Freshman early enrollee defensive end Taylor Upshaw will sport No. 91.
Heights/Weights of Newcomers
• Patterson is listed at 6-2, 203. Ole Miss' 2017 roster cited him at the exact same height and weight.
• Milton is tabbed at 6-5, 220. His Rivals profile also had him at 6-5, but at only 210 pounds. The freshman's 6-5, 220-stature is identical to that of redshirt sophomore quarterback Brandon Peters.
• Sims is 6-3, 173, and is tied with sophomore defensive back Jaylen Kelly-Powell as the lightest player on the entire team. The freshman cornerback is also tied with sophomore safety J'Marick Woods and sophomore cornerback Benjamin St-Juste as the tallest defensive backs on the roster.
• Upshaw is tabbed at 6-4, 240.
Notable Departures
• Tight end Ian Bunting announced he would be leaving the program as a grad transfer on Jan. 30, but has not yet listed his future destination. He has one year of eligibility left and will be able to play immediately at whichever school he chooses.
• Offensive lineman Ja'Raymond Hall — a freshman during the 2017 season — declared on Dec. 30 he would be transferring to Central Michigan. Hall will have to sit out the 2018 campaign in Mt. Pleasant, and will be eligible to play as a redshirt sophomore in 2019.
• Like Bunting, wide receiver Drake Harris also left U-M as a grad transfer, and will play his fifth and final season at Western Michigan.
• Despite only being a redshirt sophomore in 2017, quarterback Alex Malzone was able to graduate in three years, and announced his intentions to transfer to Miami (Ohio) on Jan. 22. Malzone will be able to play immediately for the RedHawks.
• The most notable omission from Michigan's updated roster is junior linebacker Elysse Mbem-Bosse. The reasons for his departure are not known. Mbem-Bosse played in just 11 games throughout his two-year career at U-M, including only four in 2017.
• Quarterback Wilton Speight is also absent from the updated roster, despite the signal-caller not yet having announced his future destination. Harbaugh created quite the stir last week when he said the "door has not yet been closed" on a potential Speight return to the team.
• Like Bunting, Harris, Malzone and Speight, receiver Maurice Ways also chose to leave the program as a grad transfer, and will spend his final season at California.
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