Michigan lands BYU transfer portal linebacker Max Alford

The Michigan Wolverines have landed BYU transfer linebacker Max Alford out of the NCAA transfer portal, according to On3’s Hayes Fawcett. He entered the portal on Monday.

He could have as many as two seasons of eligibility remaining after redshirting due to injury in 2023 and suffering a season-ending injury in 2024.

Alford spent his first three seasons at Utah State before transferring to BYU last year, where he played in Michigan defensive coordinator Jay Hill’s defense, and recorded 21 total tackles this season with a sack.

Alford is the nephew of running backs coach Tony Alford and cousin of Butler wide receiver Braydon Alford, who committed to Michigan last week. His father was the late Aaron Alford, who coached under Kyle Whittingham at Utah.

“Tony Alford, tremendous football coach,” Whittingham said during his introductory press conference. “I was blessed at Utah. His brother Aaron Alford, before he passed away, worked for us for several years. So I told the Alford family, great family. And Tony, you know, like I said, I got a ton of respect for him and we’ll see how things work out in that direction.”

Everything lines up perfectly for Michigan here given its need for linebacker depth in the transfer portal. Starting linebacker Jimmy Rolder is off to the 2026 NFL Draft, while up-and-comer Cole Sullivan transferred to Oklahoma during this portal cycle.