Michigan
5 Michigan Football seniors the Wolverines need to pursue for another year of eligibility
Following Michigan’s win over Ohio State, it’s now a waiting game to see who the Wolverines will play in their bowl game following a 7-5 regular season. Michigan is attempting to fill out its 2025 recruiting class and look at potential transfer portal targets to bring to Ann Arbor for the 2025 season.
But Michigan also has to recruit its own players to stay in Ann Arbor. There are plenty of seniors who have eligibility remaining who can either use it playing for Michigan or use it somewhere else. There are a handful of Wolverines who could stay and make an impact for Michigan next season, but I chose five Wolverines that Michigan needs to make a priority to keep around for one final season in Ann Arbor.
This is the most obvious of them all. Rod Moore never redshirted, so he would have to file for an injury redshirt — which he would receive for not playing a single game in 2024.
This would be a win-win for both sides. Michigan needs experience in its secondary. The Wolverines will lose Quinten Johnson, Wesley Walker, and Makari Paige this season. Moore would step right into the limelight and star for the Michigan defense.
Moore was arguably a top-five safety before his injury and would’ve likely been a second-day pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, but after not playing in ’24, his draft stock would take a hit. Coming back one more year in Ann Arbor makes all the sense in the world.
It’s a foregone conclusion that both Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant will enter the 2024 NFL Draft, which means both starting tackles are gone for the ’25 season. Rayshaun Benny redshirted his freshman season in 2021 and he’s been a formidable rotational piece the past three seasons.
The defensive tackle spot is going to be one to watch to see how Michigan targets it moving forward. The transfer portal is a legitimate option, but getting a guy like Benny to come back for a fifth year would be huge. He would have a chance to finally start in Ann Arbor and shine on the line.
Benny finished the regular season with 28 tackles (12th on the team) and No. 8 on the team with 3.5 TFLs.
Playing behind Derrick Moore and Josaiah Stewart, TJ Guy doesn’t get his just due. Guy has had a terrific 2024 season. The senior finished the regular season second on the team with 5.5 sacks, and tied for second with seven TFLs — as a backup.
Stewart is off to the NFL after this year and while Moore’s future is up in the air — coming back for his senior year is likely the right move — Guy would be a for sure starter on the defensive line as a fifth-year senior in 2025. Keeping Guy on the roster for one more season would be a great thing for Wink Martindale and the Wolverines’ defense.
You talk about a leader and a captain, you think of Max Bredeson. Keep Bredeson around for what’s likely going to be a new-look offense would be huge for the maize and blue. Bredeson could come back for a fifth year after redshirting in 2021.
A physical beast, Bredeson would provide blocking and we’ve seen Bredeson run routes more this season than years past. It’s unlikely Bredeson would receive a big draft grade in the 2024 NFL Draft, so coming back one more year in Ann Arbor to improve his game for NFL scouts would make all the sense in the world.
Nothing went the way Greg Crippen thought it was going to go when he came to Michigan with J.J. McCarthy in 2021. He had to sit behind Andrew Vastardis, Olu Oluwatimi, and Drake Nugent before thinking he would start his senior year — but he didn’t. Dom Giudice got the shocking start to begin the season before Crippen took a hold of the job.
Center isn’t an easy plug-and-play spot — unless you land guys like Oluwatimi or Nugent. Getting Crippen back for a final year would help keep some continuity on a line that’s going to be essentially new. Michigan will lose Myles Hinton, Josh Priebe, and Gio El-Hadi (who has another year of eligibility if he uses it). The Wolverines’ offense clearly operated better once Crippen got the starting job.
Others who could come back for another year:
OL Raheem Anderson
Edge Kechaun Bennett
OL Tristan Bounds
WR C.J. Charleston
P Tommy Doman
RB Tavierre Dunlap
OL Gio El-Hadi
OL Dom Giudice
LB Jaydon Hood
DT Ike Iwunnah
CB Ricky Johnson
CB Ja’Den McBurrows
Edge Tyler McLaurin
WR Peyton O’Leary
OL Jeff Persi
QB Davis Warren
– Enjoy more Michigan Wolverines coverage on Michigan Wolverines On SI –
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Michigan
Hockey roundup: Three Michigan State recruits at U18 worlds; Bruins top Sabres
Porter Martone becomes first teenager to score game-winning goals in his first two NHL playoff games.
Porter Martone becomes first teenager to score game-winning goals in his first two NHL playoff games.
Three Michigan State recruits will represent Team USA at the world U18 hockey championships in Bratislava and Trencin, Slovakia.
The U.S. opens against Czechia on Wednesday (10 a.m., The Hockey Network).
The future Spartans are: defenseman Nick Bogas (Royal Oak), defenseman Tyler Martyniuk (Washington Township) and forward Brooks Rogowski (Brighton).
Other local commits include: defenseman Abe Barnett (University of Michigan) and goalie Luke Carrithers (Western Michigan).
Team USA’s head coach is Nick Fohr (Dexter) with Kevin Porter (Northville) and Dan Darrow (Livonia) among the assistant coaches.
The tournament features 10 countries with the final scheduled for May 2.
Bruins tie series with Sabres
The visiting Boston Bruins scored three second-period goals and held off a late Buffalo Sabres rally to post a 4-2 win on Tuesday and even their Eastern Conference quarterfinal playoff series at one victory apiece.
Viktor Arvidsson scored in the last two periods, giving the Bruins 1-0 and 4-0 leads. Morgan Geekie and Pavel Zacha also lit the lamp for Boston, which heads home for Game 3 of the best-of-seven series on Thursday.
Jonathan Aspirot, Casey Mittelstadt and David Pastrnak each dished out two assists for the Bruins, and Jeremy Swayman made 34 saves.
Bowen Byram and Peyton Krebs scored as Buffalo climbed within 4-2 in the closing minutes.
Sabres goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen allowed four goals on 19 shots before Alex Lyon entered in relief following Arvidsson’s second marker, which came just 16 seconds into the third period.
Buffalo had a 36-26 shot advantage, including 20-8 in the third period, but its power play went 0-for-5. Boston finished 1-for-6 on the man advantage.
The physical contest featured 47 penalty minutes for each team.
Following a scoreless opening period, the Bruins took over in the second, scoring on three of their 11 shots against Luukkonen.
Arvidsson broke the deadlock 4:54 into the middle frame, taking Aspirot’s lob pass in ahead of the defense and beating Luukkonen five-hole with a backhander from the left circle.
A gaffe by Luukkonen helped Boston double its lead with 3:31 left in the period, as Geekie’s high backhanded dump from the far side of center ice eluded him over the glove.
The Bruins’ power play got in on the action 1:41 later. After Geekie’s one- handed keep-in at the blue line extended the play, Zacha tipped in Pastrnak’s shot from the top of the right circle while stationed in the bumper position.
Arvidsson made it 4-0 early in the third, prompting Sabres coach Lindy Ruff to change goaltenders. Aspirot banked a long feed off the boards to set up the play, leading Arvidsson down the left wing to score on a 2-on-1 rush with Zacha.
The Sabres struck twice in a 1:14 span to make things interesting. Byram accepted Beck Malenstyn’s back pass for a wrister from the top of the right circle to break Swayman’s shutout bid with 6:06 left.
Krebs soon made it 4-2, batting down and scoring the rebound of a Rasmus Dahlin point shot that caromed off the post and back into the crease.
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Michigan
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Michigan
10 things to know about kratom, which Michigan lawmakers want to ban
Michigan mother of three talks about how she broke her kratom addiction
Melanie Clark, 35, of Kincheloe in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, has fought a four-year-long addiction to kratom, the so-called “gas station heroin.”
Michigan lawmakers are debating a complete ban on the sale of kratom products in the state, citing cases of addiction and instances of death from people consuming the herbal supplement known as the “gas station heroin.”
Here is what to know about this unregulated herbal substance commonly sold in convenience stores, gas stations and tobacco shops across Michigan:
What is kratom?
Kratom is a tropical tree native to Southeast Asia whose leaves contain compounds that can produce stimulant effects at low doses and opioid-like effects at higher doses. It is manufactured and sold in different forms: liquid tonics, tablets, gummies, powders and capsules.
What is kratom used for?
Kratom is marketed as a herbal supplement for energy, mood, pain relief or opioid withdrawal, though the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not approved any of those uses. Some kratom users take it to get off heroin or fentanyl, according to University of Michigan researchers.
How is kratom pronounced?
Kratom is pronounced KRA-tum. The letter “a” takes a short “a” sound, as in crab or crack.
What is 7-OH?
7-hydroxymitragynin, or 7-OH, is an alkaloid found in kratom leaves. It is manufactured in a synthetic form to produce an opioid-like sensation of pain relief or sedation. It is more potent than pure leaf kratom and sometimes referred to as the hard liquor version of kratom (if pure leaf kratom were considered beer, which typically has a much lower percentage of alcohol by volume compared with distilled liquor).
Is kratom an opioid or addictive?
Kratom users, substance abuse counselors and doctors report symptoms of dependence and withdrawal from the substance, particularly when users exceed the recommended serving size.
The Drug Enforcement Agency has warned that kratom has “sedative effects” that “can lead to addiction.”
On July 29, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration moved to declare certain 7-hydroxymitragynine synthetic kratom products a Schedule I controlled substance, the same class of drugs as heroin, ecstasy and peyote. As of April 9, the substance had not yet been formally added to the list of Schedule I drugs, which would effectively ban 7-OH nationwide.
Does kratom have side effects?
The FDA has warned that kratom use can lead to liver toxicity, seizures or substance use disorder.
Withdrawal from the substance can lead to increased anxiety, insomnia and psychiatric episodes, according to University of Michigan researchers.
Dr. Eliza Hutchinson, a family physician based in Ann Arbor who is a clinical instructor at UM, said her substance abuse patients describe withdrawal from kratom as “the worst influenza of your life — times 10.”
CARE Southeastern Michigan, a recovery advocacy group, has reported some individuals experiencing psychotic episodes after taking 7-OH, the synthetic form of kratom.
The FDA has also said kratom is “not appropriate for use as a dietary supplement” and unsafe as an additive to food. The powder and liquid forms of kratom are sometimes marketed as an additive to shakes and smoothies.
Does kratom show up on a drug test?
Yes, if it’s part of a specialized screening of narcotics and other substances that looks for active ingredients in kratom products.
Some substance abuse clinics in Michigan are starting to test for it, said Madison Lauder, a counselor at The Guidance Center in Southgate.
“We see you so often, we have added into our (drug test) panel,” Lauder said.
Is there any age restriction on buying kratom in Michigan?
No, Michigan has no laws governing the sale of kratom and related synthetics, such as 7-OH.
But retailers set their own rules. Some stores won’t sell to anyone under age 21.
Some of the 7-OH kratom products on the shelves of stores are labeled “21+.”
But there’s no law on the books in Michigan requiring buyers to show a photo ID when buying kratom, as is required to purchase alcohol, tobacco or marijuana.
Which states have bans on selling kratom?
Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Rhode Island, Vermont and Wisconsin have outright bans on the sale of kratom.
In December, Ohio’s Board of Pharmacy used the state’s controlled substance laws to ban the retail sale, distribution and possession of 7-OH and other synthetic forms of kratom, board spokesman Cameron McNamee said.
The Ohio Board of Pharmacy has a separate proposal to ban natural kratom products that remains in the rulemaking process, McNamee said.
Some cities and counties across the country have imposed varying local sales bans, including Anaheim, Calif., Spokane, Wash., and the New York City suburbs of Nassau County on Long Island, according to published reports.
What’s the status of legislation to ban kratom in Michigan?
On March 18, the Republican-controlled Michigan House voted 56-48 on legislation that would completely ban the sale of kratom products in Michigan. All 46 Democrats and two Republicans opposed the legislation.
Democrats cited a lack of any committee hearings on the legislation.
“There is no question of the growing concern around this product, and no one is saying, with this vote or otherwise, that the concern isn’t justified,” the House Democratic caucus said in a statement. “What we are saying is an outright ban, without any testimony or dialogue, is not the solution.”
The bill moved to the Democratic-controlled Senate, where Majority Leader Winnie Brinks, D-Grand Rapids, assigned it to her Government Operations Committee.
Some kratom industry interests and individual users have advocated for a ban on just the 7-OH synthetic form of kratom.
Sen. Kevin Hertel, the St. Clair Shores Democrat who chairs the Senate Health Policy Committee, said the House’s passage of a total ban on kratom has changed the debate toward prohibition, which he favors until the FDA can further study the substance and its impact on the human body.
clivengood@detroitnews.com
Staff Writers Anne Snabes and Beth LeBlanc contributed.
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