It took them a little while to get things going, but Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) efforts have really ramped up over the last year or so at the University of Michigan. Led by former football player Jared Wangler, Champions Circle — the main collective for the Michigan Wolverines — was the driving force in guys like Blake Corum, Zak Zinter, Trevor Keegan and other players coming back for the national championship-winning 2023 season.
This offseason, the collective stepped up once again and thwarted off rival schools from poaching Michigan players via the transfer portal. Offensive lineman Giovanni El-Hadi — who has patiently waited his turn to start along the offensive line — told 247Sports last week he was being offered “pretty big bags” to play at other schools this offseason.