Michigan State football is identifying targets across the board to being in for visits as the transfer portal window moves along. The latest visit to go public comes from a wide receiver at the FCS level.

Evan James, a Furman transfer, will be taking a visit to East Lansing starting on Jan. 5. A 5-foot-11, 170 pound receiver from Apopka, Florida, James had a breakout season for the Paladins. In 2025 he caught 65 passes for 796 yards and seven touchdowns. He also had seven carries for 72 yards and a touchdown, doing all of this as a true freshman, earning FCS Freshman All-American honors.

After doing this all as a freshman, he will bring three years of eligibility with him to the next school of his choosing. Aside from Michigan State, it is rumored that Boston College and Cincinnati will also be in contention.

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Even before high winds have kicked in from a strong incoming storm system, more than 50,000 homes and businesses were without power across Michigan.

The bulk of these outages are in Mid-Michigan. Clare County had the largest outage tally, with more than 16,000. Mecosta County had more than 7, 500 without power, and Isabella County had more than 6,000 out.

A couple counties in the very western Upper Peninsula were also reporting outages.

These outage numbers are expected to increase by early Monday, as high winds come in as part of this storm system. Sustained winds of 25 to 35 mph are expected, but wind gusts could top 60 mph in some areas.

The issue with the Mid-Michigan outages is rooted in Friday’s ice accumulation. Utility officials said there has been about a half-inch of ice accumulation on trees and power lines in that area through the weekend. Temperatures this weekend did not get warm enough to melt the ice, as they did in other areas. Heavy rain on Sunday froze again quickly, causing a heavier ice load and more outages.

Consumers Energy has said they have crews mobilized to work on outages as they arise with this storm.

To see the latest update on this storm coverage, follow our headlines on the MLive Weather page.

ORLANDO, FL — Athletic director Warde Manuel introduced Kyle Whittingham as Michigan football’s 22nd head coach in program history on the second story of the Hyatt Regency Hotel on International Drive in Orlando on Sunday, Dec. 28

It was an unusual setting for such a moment, but then again this has been an unusual month for the Wolverines. They began a search for their new coach shortly after Dec. 10 – the day Sherrone Moore was fired after U-M was presented with “credible evidence” of an inappropriate relationship with a staffer.

Manuel discussed the matter – which culminated with an arrest and multiple charges – for the first time Sunday. He called it difficult personally, but something that he had no hesitation about doing professionally.

ANALYSIS: Michigan football and Kyle Whittingham match made in heaven on paper

“Listen man, it’s hard,” Manuel said. “It’s hard when you have a colleague that is going through something personally, professionally, in his family and [knowing the] people and impact that it has on so many staff, student-athletes and the Michigan community.

“Personally, I’ve known him for seven or eight years, so it was difficult to see him, as a person, go through what he went through. But professionally, it was an easy decision to make because of the expectations that we have for everyone on our side.”

Moore was arrested hours after he was fired from U-M for allegedly breaking into the staffer’s home and threatening to kill himself, according to a police report.

While it was by far the most dramatic scene, in the eyes of many, it was simply the latest negative headline for the Michigan athletic department.

As a result, Michigan brought in outside law firm Jenner & Block to conduct a review into Moore’s situation and the athletic department at large. Manuel told reporters it was in part his idea – something he brought up to interim president Domenico Grasso as an effort to understand how everybody can improve.

MUST-READ: How Michigan’s culture melted under Sherrone Moore

“There’s not much I can say. There’s an investigation continuing into coach Moore, there’s a cultural evaluation around the department and so we will we obviously know some facts,” Manuel said. “There’s some things that are out there that I can’t comment on, that are untrue, and there may be some things that they find, but that’s why we do an investigation, and I’m very open to that. Wanted the cultural analysis to be done to help us get better.

“I asked the President to help with a cultural analysis and have somebody come in. So yes, I am very supportive of that, because as a leader, I face reality. There are things that happen. I don’t step away from it. Never have, never will. So we need to get better, and that’s part of is getting somebody to come in and to assess.”

Whittingham, for his part, was not deterred by the optics of instability in Ann Arbor. U-M is likely weeks away from naming a new president, and Manuel’s job security has also been called into question.

Whittingham said he didn’t know the details, but that he believes that his job is to focus on what goes on in Schembechler Hall and allow others to figure out what’s next.