The Michigan Wolverines will be playing in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl today, but some of their best players may not be suiting up.
Michigan (9-3, tied for fourth in Big Ten) is playing the Texas Longhorns (9-3, T-5 in SEC) Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida, on Wednesday, Dec. 31, at 3 p.m. ET (ABC).
Because this is a non-College Football Playoff bowl, the Wolverines expect to have at least a few players opt out of participating.
The three confirmed opt-outs are senior edge rusher Derrick Moore, senior linebacker Jaishawn Barham and graduate senior offensive lineman Gio El-Hadi. In addition, junior running back Justice Haynes and linebacker Ernest Hausmann missed the first day of practice on Sunday, Dec. 28, indicating that they might also not play in the bowl game.
Interim coach Biff Poggi alluded to “12-15” based on injuries on Tuesday, but did not state who they were.
But based on current trends in college football, Michigan could have had many more players opt out.
Traditionally, draft-eligible seniors with NFL aspirations (like Moore and Barham) often sit out bowl games to focus on offseason training, but there’s another reason players are choosing to sit out. Since the bowl games all take place around the transfer portal window, many players looking to transfer choose to sit their respective team’s bowl games to focus on their next destination.
Poggi revealed on a Texas Longhorns podcast before the hiring of coach Kyle Whittingham that the Wolverines may have faced the same issue, with as many as 25 players potentially sitting out if U-M hadn’t decided on a new coach by Dec. 31. But Whittingham signing a contract on Dec. 26 may have given transfer-curious players a signal of stability and convinced them to play in the bowl game.
Here’s what we know about Michigan players not playing at the Citrus Bowl:
Michigan Citrus Bowl known opt-outs
Michigan Citrus Bowl questionable opt-outs
Michigan players out for season
Based on most recent availability report from Nov. 29.
Michigan vs Texas channel for the Citrus Bowl
The Citrus Bowl will air on ABC at 3 p.m. ET.
Additionally, this game can be streamed on Fubo, which carries ESPN networks.
Watch Michigan-Texas on Fubo
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You can reach Christian at cromo@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan football opt-out tracker for Citrus Bowl vs Texas
Reporting by Christian Romo, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
