Michigan football lands transfer DBs from Arkansas with NFL link

Michigan football got off the transfer portal sideline and landed two key pickups in the secondary on Monday.

Defensive backs TJ and Tevis Metcalf, brothers who last played at Arkansas, committed to the Wolverines after a weekend visit to Ann Arbor.

The brothers, cousins of NFL wide receiver DK Metcalf, announced their decision on social media with On3. Both players acknowledged their move in separate posts, trumpeting the maize and blue.

TJ is a 6-foot-1, 200-pound safety with two years of eligibility remaining. He totaled 57 tackles, three interceptions and 10 pass deflections as a sophomore in 2024, highlighted by a two-interception game at Auburn.

Tevis is a 5-foot-10,192-pound cornerback who played primarily on special teams in 2024. He has three years of eligibility left.

Both players were consensus three-star prospects out of high school according to 247Sports. While they grew up in Pinson, Alabama, TJ graduated from Pinson Valley High Schol and Tevis graduated from Clay-Chalkville. Jim Harbaugh’s staff offered TJ a scholarship out of high school.

Their arrival could not come at a better time for Michigan. Wink Martindale’s secondary is set to lose a pair of starting safeties, Makari Paige and Quinten Johnson, and cornerback Aamir Hall to expiring college eligibility, while All-American cornerback Will Johnson has declared for the NFL draft.

There’s also uncertainty surrounding veteran safety Rod Moore, sidelined during the 2024 season after suffering a torn ACL, and whether he will return.

The Metcalif brothers join former Indiana wide receiver Donaven McCulley, a former all-Big Ten honorable mention wideout, as Michigan’s three transfer portal adds this offseason. And more are expected.

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