Michigan football lands first transfer commit of 2026 cycle

It might not be the most glamorous position, but Michigan fooball has landed its first transfer of the 2026 cycle.

Nico Crawford, a long-snapper who spent the past two seasons at Pitt, is transferring to Ann Arbor, he confirmed to the Free Press. He is the first addition by new special teams coordinator Kerry Coombs, who was hired in early December by former head coach Sherrone Moore and then retained by new coach Kyle Whittingham.

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Crawford will be a fifth-year senior after playing in 26 games over two seasons as the Panthers’ long snapper for field goals and extra points. He played in 11 games as the snapper the year prior at Charlotte, under former Michigan associate head coach Biff Poggi. He landed at Charlotte after he walking on at Illinois in 2022 without appearing in a game.

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The 6-foot-2, 235-pounder was ranked as the nation’s No. 16 long-snapping prospect by Kohl’s Kicking coming out of high school at Dublin Scioto in Dublin, Ohio. Michigan needed to replace its long snapper, Greg Tarr, who had his last year of eligibility in 2025.

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Crawford has appeared in 37 games in his career and has one year of eligibility remaining.

Tony Garcia is the Wolverines beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at apgarcia@freepress.com and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Nico Crawford is first Michigan football transfer of 2026 cycle