Former Alabama DL Damon Payne signs with Michigan

On By Littum

Previous Alabama defensive lineman Damon Payne obliged to Michigan out of the NCAA transfer portal. On3’s Pete Nakos confirmed the news Wednesday morning.

After a redshirt year in 2021, Payne played six games in 2022 and saw time in 2023 as a rotation player on the defensive line. This past season, he logged 14 tackles and one fumble in eight games.

A member of the Class of 2021, Payne was a four-star recruit out of Belleville (Mich.) High, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that uses all four major recruiting media companies. He was the overall no. 2 in the state, the No. 1 defensive lineman. 7 in the class and no. 49 overall in the class.

To keep up to date with the latest players on the move, check out On3’s Transfer Portal thread.

Damon Payne commits to Michigan out of NCAA transfer portal

So Payne will trade a Crimson Tide jersey for a Wolverine uniform as Michigan looks to make a big leap in Year 2 under Sherrone Moore. Moore’s Wolverines went 7-5 in his first regular season, which included a win over Ohio State.

“I just want to win,” Moore said. “We’re going to do everything we can with all the guys that we have to win. That’s the number one goal, to win. We talked about recommitting like we did two weeks ago in the bye week, so recommit to your why, recommit to each other and do everything we can to be successful I think we’re in a really good place right now mentally, physically, spiritually and just want to do everything we can to win.”

Moore has had some time to evaluate the program since the season ended — including an offensive coordinator change — and now has a better idea of ​​what he wants Michigan to improve on under his watch. The work for this off-season and the set priorities begin now.

“Just like you saw in (the Ohio State game), the physicality, I want to turn it up to another level,” Moore said. “The toughness, the pressure we had in that game was excellent, but I want to get bigger. I want to get faster. I want to get stronger, more explosive on offense. I thought defensively we played so as good a game as you could against that team and then I’m going to do that and just continue to build as a team because that’s what it’s really about.