Players from Michigan with no earlier college roster elsewhere in the data filled 37% of roster spots in 2016 and 13% on the 2026 roster.
In 2016, 53 of 144 roster spots were filled by Michigan players not previously rostered elsewhere in the data. On the 2026 roster, 15 of 118 fit the same definition. The number of players previously rostered elsewhere changed from 2 to 17.
The median hometown distance moved from 222 mi in 2016 to 473 mi on the 2026 roster. The reliable geography record begins in 1997. Among players with a known home state, 42% were from Michigan, compared with 13% on the 2026 roster.
Before and during the portal era
2016–18 compared with 2021–25
- In-state, not rostered elsewhere
- Previously rostered elsewhere
| Measure | 2016–18 | 2021–25 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| In-state, not rostered elsewhere | 35.0% | 24.4% | |
| Previously rostered elsewhere | 1.6% | 8.1% |
The 2026 roster
- 764 miAverage hometown distanceAverage hometown distance among 115 located players.
- 12.8%In-state12.8% of players with a known home state are from Michigan.
- 9.6%Backyard9.6% of players with a located hometown grew up within 100 miles of campus.
- 14.4%Previously rostered elsewhere14.4% of the roster appeared on another college roster in an earlier season.
Where Michigan ranks
Homecoming Radius over time
The median hometown-to-campus distance, by season. The dotted line is the FBS median.
Roster composition over time
Where the in-state lens draws the line: home-state players with and without an earlier college roster, out-of-state players with and without one, and players with unknown geography. This chart begins where stable athlete IDs make transfer detection possible; the radius chart above carries the official-archive geography farther back.
Where do Michigan's players come from?
| Season | Roster | In-state | Rostered elsewhere | Radius |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 118 | 12.8% | 14.4% | 473 mi |
| 2025 | 119 | 21.4% | 15.1% | 432 mi |
| 2024 | 138 | 24.3% | 8.7% | 426 mi |
| 2023 | 143 | 23.9% | 9.1% | 460 mi |
| 2022 | 140 | 26.8% | 5.0% | 452 mi |
| 2021 | 120 | 31.4% | 2.5% | 422 mi |
| 2020 | 136 | 32.3% | 1.5% | 388 mi |
| 2019 | 148 | 32.9% | 1.4% | 289 mi |
| 2018 | 147 | 34.2% | 1.4% | 247 mi |
| 2017 | 144 | 34.7% | 2.1% | 236 mi |
| 2016 | 144 | 37.1% | 1.4% | 222 mi |
| 2015 | 132 | 40.5% | 2.3% | 172 mi |
| 2014 | 120 | 42.5% | 0.8% | 161 mi |
| 2013 | 116 | 43.1% | 0.0% | 140 mi |
| 2012 | 112 | 41.1% | 0.0% | 136 mi |
| 2011 | 112 | 40.2% | 0.0% | 169 mi |
| 2010 | 122 | 42.6% | 0.0% | 167 mi |
| 2009 | 124 | 29.8% | 0.0% | 647 mi |
| 2008‡ | 30 | 17.4% | 0.0% | — |
| 2007‡ | 35 | 13.3% | 0.0% | — |
| 2006‡ | 36 | 0.0% | 0.0% | — |
| 2005‡ | 32 | 0.0% | 0.0% | — |
| 2004‡ | 29 | — | 0.0% | — |
| 2003archive | 113 | 46.4% | 0.0% proxy | 129 mi |
| 2002archive | 121 | 41.5% | 0.0% proxy | 172 mi |
| 2001archive | 117 | 35.1% | 0.0% proxy | 213 mi |
| 2000archive | 117 | 36.0% | 0.0% proxy | 205 mi |
| 1999archive | 115 | 38.6% | 0.0% proxy | 207 mi |
| 1998archive | 108 | 39.6% | 0.0% proxy | 160 mi |
| 1997archive | 116 | 41.7% | 0.0% proxy | 162 mi |
In-state shares use players with a known home state. Radius uses located hometowns.
‡ fewer than 70 roster rows or under 75% known home state. Treat with caution.
archive = official athletic-site roster. “Proxy” is the share listing a previous school where that field behaved like a transfer field; it is not the same measure as the share previously rostered elsewhere.
Where the roster grew up
Located hometowns on the 2026 roster, with campus marked and the Homecoming Radius circled.
Homecoming Radius: 473 mi