Wolverine Digest

Michigan football defensive back to enter transfer portal

The freshman made 11 tackles for the Wolverines in 2025
Seth Berry|
Michigan defensive back Elijah Dotson (22) intercepts a pass intended for Central Michigan wide receiver Langston Lewis (20) during the second half at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor on Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025.
Michigan defensive back Elijah Dotson (22) intercepts a pass intended for Central Michigan wide receiver Langston Lewis (20) during the second half at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor on Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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Michigan Wolverines

Michigan football is set to lose a defensive player to the transfer portal.

On late Thursday evening, On3's Hayes Fawcett reported that freshman defensive back Elijah Dotson plans to enter the portal.

The college football transfer portal window is open from Jan. 2 through the 16th of the month. New head coach Kyle Whittingham has said he held a meeting with every player that was present for the Wolverines' Citrus Bowl game in Orlando. At the same time, he acknolwedged that there may be some departures, and Dotson looks to be one of those players.

Dotson at Michigan

Dotson came to the Wolverines as part of Sherrone Moore's class of 2025 after flipping from Pittsburgh.

At Belleville High School, where he was teammates with Bryce Underwood, he helped the Tigers post a 10-2 record during his senior season. Prior to that, Dotson played at University of Detroit Jesuit. As a junior, Dotson played in all three phases of the game, totaling 43 receptions, 1,653 all-purpose yards and 18 total touchdowns on offense and special teams.

Dotson made his debut as a Wolverine against New Mexico on Aug. 30 this past season and made two tackles in the Michigan win.

He registered his first career interception and played extensively in the Wolverine secondary against Central Michigan in the Wolverines' Week 3 win over the Chippewas.

Overall, Dotson appeared in 12 games on special teams/defense and totaled 11 combined tackles for the Maize and Blue.

Dotson has three years of eligibility remaining in his college football career.

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Seth Berry
SETH BERRY

Seth began writing on Michigan athletics in 2015 and has remained in the U-M media space ever since, which includes stops at Maize N Brew and Rivals before coming onto Michigan On SI in June of 2025. Seth has covered various angles of Michigan football and basketball, including recruiting, overall team coverage and feature/analysis stories relating to the Wolverines. His passion for Michigan sports and desire to tell stories led him to the sports journalism world. He is a 2020 graduate of Western Michigan University and is the former sports editor of the Western Herald, WMU's student newspaper.

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