Michigan earns commitment from Arizona State transfer OL Ladarius Henderson

Dec 6, 2022 - 6:49 PM

For the second season in a row, the Michigan Wolverines have earned a transfer commitment from a massive interior offensive lineman. Senior guard LaDarius Henderson announced he would be attending Michigan in 2023 after entering the portal yesterday:

Henderson is listed at 6-foot-5, 310 pounds and was considered one of the top interior offensive line draft prospects for 2022. Our friends over at SBNation’s House of Sparky (Arizona State site) called him “arguably the program’s top 2023 NFL Draft prospect”. Instead, he is coming to Ann Arbor with the hopes of continuing to shape a Joe Moore Award-caliber unit.

A freak hand injury in a game against Washington in October has kept Henderson off the field for the majority of this season. However, when he is in the game, he is making an impact, especially in the running game:

In 2021. Henderson started 13 games for the Sun Devils at left guard. He allowed just one sack, was PFF’s 11th-highest-graded guard in the Pac-12, and won the Pac-12 Offensive Lineman of the Week Award. He started his career at Arizona State as a left tackle before making a move to the interior; we will see where Jim Harbaugh elects to play him moving forward.

Last offseason, Michigan earned a transfer commitment from center Olu Oluwatimi, who has been one of the best offensive linemen in college football in 2022. While the bar is placed insanely high, even scratching that surface with Henderson would be a huge win for the Wolverines.

Harbaugh will have to replace several offensive linemen from the 2022 unit as Oluwatimi and Ryan Hayes will both be moving on after their final year of eligibility. Additionally, Zak Zinter, Karson Barnhart, and Trevor Keegan could all draw some attention at the next level and also depart Ann Arbor. Even if those players all stay, at the very least the Wolverines may have grabbed themselves a depth piece to compete for a starting role in 2023 after Henderson’s announcement.