Wolverine Digest

A second player has asked out of Michigan signing in light of Sherrone Moore's firing

This class of 2026 offensive lineman wants a release from his signing with the Wolverines, according to a report
Seth Berry|
Michigan tight end coach Grant Newsome watches warmups during open practice at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas on Saturday, Jan. 6, 2024.
Michigan tight end coach Grant Newsome watches warmups during open practice at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas on Saturday, Jan. 6, 2024. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK

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Michigan Wolverines

On Thursday, one day after Michigan fired head coach Sherrone Moore, Michigan lost its first class of 2026 signees as four-star tight end Matt Ludwig was released from his Letter of Intent.

As of Friday morning, it looks as if the Wolverines are losing a second 2026 signee as three-star offensive lineman Bear McWhorter has withdrawn his Letter of Intent from the Wolverines, according to a report from Ethan McDowell of The Wolverine.

McWhorter was ranked as the No. 609 player nationally in the class of 2026, the 58th-best interior lineman and the No. 67 prospect out of the state of Georgia, according to the Rivals Industry Rankings.

The 6-foot-3, 308-pounder released a statement on X (formerly Twitter) announcing his decision.

"In light of recent events, I’ve made the very difficult decision to withdraw my NLI,” McWhorter said in the statement. “I’m very grateful to the staff at UM for everything they’ve done.”

Offensive line coach Grant Newsome was McWhorter's primary recruiter at Michigan.

McWhorter narrowed his list of schools down to five earlier in the year and chose the Wolverines over Alabama on Feb. 28.

Michigan's 2026 class

In light of McWhorter's announcement, the Wolverines now hold 25 signees in the class of 2026 that ranks No. 12 nationally, according to the Rivals Industry Team Recruiting Rankings.

The winter transfer portal window opens on Jan. 2 and closes on Jan. 16 as Michigan scrambles to find its next coach.

Once the Wolverines do officially name a head coach, players then have the option of utilizing a 15-day transfer window beginning five days after the new coach is hired.

In the meantime, the Wolverines will do their best to keep the roster intact as interim coach Biff Poggi prepares the team for the Citrus Bowl, where Michigan takes on Texas on Dec. 31 in Orlando, Fla.

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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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