Transfer running back Cole Cabana backs away from Gophers, picks Western Michigan

Cole Cabana, the former Michigan running back who announced Dec. 20 that he was transferring to Minnesota, changed his mind and instead will join Western Michigan.

Cabana, a 6-0, 204-pound four-star recruit out of Dexter (Mich.) High School, redshirted in 2023 after playing in two games for Michigan and did not play in 2024 because of injuries. In high school, he amassed 5,791 all-purpose yards and scored 76 TDs.

Cabana will have three years of eligibility remaining at Western Michigan and appears to have a chance to win a starting job. Jaden Nixon, the Broncos’ leading rusher with 921 yards and 12 touchdowns this season, entered the transfer portal last week.

Cabana was the third running back to commit to the Gophers when the transfer portal opened Dec. 9, joining Marshall’s A.J. Turner, who rushed for 864 yards and six touchdowns this season, and Washington’s Cameron Davis, a seventh-year player who has rushed for 1,093 yards and 15 TDs in his career. Turner and Davis, along with freshmen Fame Ijeboi, Cortez LeGrant and Kaeden Johnson, will compete for carries behind leading rusher Darius Taylor.