Wolverine Digest

Michigan Appears Set to Overhaul Recruiting Department With Major Domino Falling

The Wolverines' football program is parting ways with their GM.
Trent Knoop|
Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images

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Michigan Wolverines

Just when you thought Michigan was done overhauling its roster, the Wolverines are now moving on from some personnel. News broke on Tuesday morning that Michigan and General Manager Sean Magee are 'parting ways'.

The Michigan Insider's Sam Webb announced he was told both Albert Karschnia and Kayli Johnson are all moving on, along with Magee.

Sean Magee at Michigan

Magee was previously at Michigan from 2017-21, serving as the Wolverines' Associate Athletic Director for Football. He left to serve as the Chief of Staff with the Chicago Bears for two seasons. But then came back to Ann Arbor for the 2024 season under first-year head coach Sherrone Moore.

After coming back to Ann Arbor, Magee oversaw all aspects of the recruiting department and the new age of Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL). Magee was a big part in landing Bryce Underwood, in terms of building a package to get him to transfer from LSU.

Magee is one of the most sought-after General Managers in the game, and also helped build the roster that ultimately led to the Wolverines winning the national title in 2023.

Michigan Wolverines quarterback Bryce Underwood (19) throws the ball against the Texas Longhorns.
Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images

The Wolverines have been able to use the transfer portal well and build some solid classes with a big part due to overhauling their NIL landscape. Magee set budgets for what Michigan could allocate its money for and which players earned bigger contracts.

With Magee gone, Kyle Whittingham likely has a plan for who's going to fill those shoes.

Could a familiar face come in?

Like he did with the coaching staff, Kyle Whittingham wants familiarity. One name that immediately comes to mind to fill Magee's position is former Utah GM, Robert Blechen. Once Whittingham left, Morgan Scalley went out and landed his man, and that's now what Whittingham is likely doing.

From Utah Utes on SI:

Blechen helped the Utes win two Pac-12 championships and assembled Utah's best recruiting class in program history (2023) during his time in Salt Lake City. He spent the previous 12 years in various front office roles at Utah, starting as the recruiting assistant in 2014-15 before working his way up to director of player personnel in 2017.

"Did the best I could. Sorry Ute fans we didn’t do better. Change is tough but necessary sometimes. Onto the next opportunity," Blechen wrote in a post to X

Recruiting success under Blechen

Blechen was in his fifth year as Utah Football's director of player personnel and in his eighth year overall at the school. He spent two years as a recruiting assistant (2014-15) and was Utah’s assistant director of player personnel for one season before his promotion to director in 2017.

Blechen oversees Utah’s football recruiting department and coordinates all recruiting logistics, including prospective student-athlete visits. All four of his recruiting classes to date have ranked in the top 45 nationally by 247Sports, including No. 29 in 2020, highest in program history. The Utes received a No. 33 composite ranking in 2018 and were No. 42 in 2019.

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Trent Knoop
TRENT KNOOP

Trent began writing and covering Michigan athletics back in 2020. He became a credentialed member of the media in 2021. Trent began writing with Sports Illustrated in 2023 and became the Managing Editor for Michigan Wolverines On SI during the 2025 football season. Trent also serves as the Publisher of Baylor Bears on SI. His other bylines have appeared on Maryland on SI, Wisconsin on SI, and across the USA TODAY Sports network. Trent’s love of sports and being able to tell stories to fans is what made him get into writing.

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