Michigan coach Sean Bormet is finally catching his breath from a whirlwind, month-long flurry of activity that saw the program add four All-Americans via the transfer portal, including three from a Big Ten rival and a past NCAA champion.

One by one they took to Instagram to announce they were heading to Ann Arbor, beginning with Northwestern heavyweight Lucas Davison, a two-time All-American, on April 6.

"Pumped to announce my commitment to the University of Michigan," he wrote. "Locked and loaded with all the resources, it’s time to do the work. Full steam ahead for an NCAA title."

On April 30, Chris Cannon, also a two-time All-American, and All-American Michael DeAugustino revealed that they too were trading the Wildcats' purple and white for the Wolverines' maize and blue. 

"Grateful for the memories, the lessons, and the friendships that I've made during my time at Northwestern (and) It's bittersweet to move on, but I'm excited to take everything I've learned with me to the next chapter of my life," an appreciative Cannon posted. "Thank you to everyone who has been a part of my journey so far. Ready to bleed blue."

DeAugustino was more succinct.

"I’m seeing blue, time to get wild in Ann Arbor," he exclaimed.

All of that was just a prelude to Michigan landing the portal's biggest prize -- three-time All-American and 2021 NCAA Champion Shane Griffith -- who announced he was departing Stanford and joining the Wolverines on May 4. 

Like the others, Griffith's post featured a photo of himself wearing a Michigan uniform with the word "committed" across the top, but his was not captioned. Some of Griffith’s 20,000 followers did that for him.  

"Congrats bro," five-time Michigan All-American and Olympic bronze medalist Myles Amine wrote in response. "Let's get it!"

Bormet and his staff are elated, but not entirely surprised, Michigan has been such a magnet for transfer talent. Only Penn State also added more than one All-American (two) from the portal this year. 

Griffith is the second national champion the program has landed in 18 months. Nick Suriano signed in November, 2021 before capping his career with a second national title. 

"I think Michigan is a place people want to be (because) we have an exceptional program, outstanding coaching resources, and have built an elite RTC (Cliff Keen)," he said. "That's on top of our world-class academics and expansive alumni base and connections. Our university provides a great platform for future success, which is attractive to guys like these four, who are high-achieving student-athletes. They are also excited for the opportunity to really make a run at winning (an NCAA) team title."

The Wolverines' lineup now features wrestlers with a combined 13 career All-American finishes and six currently ranked among the top 12 in their weight classes. That will undoubtedly increase to seven if three-time NCAA qualifier Dylan Ragusin does not use his redshirt next season. 

This compares favorably to Penn State's lineup of 16 All-American finishes and seven wrestlers ranked among the top 12. Iowa has six ranked among the top 12 and six All-American finishes in its lineup. 

"These four guys are all winners, bring a ton of experience and represent everything we value at Michigan like hard work, high character and a commitment to excellence on and off the mat," Bormet said. "I believe every one of them can compete for an NCAA title, but they also add incredible depth and maturity to our room. They're going to fit in very well here."

Why Griffith Chose Michigan

Griffith first had to decide if he was going to fit into any wrestling room next season after finishing fifth last season at the NCAA Championships. He won a national championship at 165 pounds as an eighth seed before falling to Missouri's Keegan O'Toole by a point in the 165-pound title match in 2022.

Overall, Griffith is 14-3 in the NCAA Championships with all of his losses coming by a single point to O'Toole, Iowa State's David Carr and Cam Amine, now his teammate. Those three have combined for three national championships and nine All-American finishes.

Griffith's All-American medal haul would surely be more had the 2020 NCAA Championships not been cancelled by the worldwide pandemic. He was poised to enter the tournament with a 28-0 record. 

In the end, getting a fourth shot at a national title, the frustrating losses to Carr and Amine during this year's NCAA Championships and the fact that he has decided not to wrestle competitively beyond college were major motivating factors in Griffith’s decision to use his final season of eligibility.

Encouragement from former Northwestern standout and current Stanford assistant Ryan Deakin, who used the extra season afforded to him by the pandemic to win his first national title in 2022, sealed Griffith's decision to return.

Exhausting his academic pursuits at Stanford sealed Griffith's decision to enter the transfer portal. He will put the finishing touches on a master's degree in communications this week and pursue a graduate certificate in real estate at Michigan. 

"I did have to take time to figure out if I was coming back and, if so, where, but, ultimately, I was just not satisfied with how things panned out at NCAAs this year and I really wanted to have four really good runs at a national championship," he said. "I was pretty open-minded when I entered the transfer portal and was going to appreciate any program willing to give me one more shot at college wrestling."

Many programs were willing, of course, but Griffith eventually narrowed his choices to Michigan, Rutgers and Iowa and finally to Michigan and Rutgers, in his home state of New Jersey.

Griffith committed to the Wolverines after several conversations with Bormet and his staff. He had actually been recruited by Michigan twice before -- in high school and in 2020 when he visited the campus after entering the portal when Stanford announced it was ending its wrestling program only to reverse the decision 10 months later.  

"There were a lot of phone calls with different schools, and I have been to Rutgers a few times and trained there some summers," Griffith said. "Wrestling my last year in front of family and friends all the time would have been great, but I decided Michigan would be the best place to make my final college wrestling run. I'm really excited about being pushed to another level by the coaching staff and all the incredible training partners."

In addition to having Amine to tangle with, there is two-time, 157-pound All-American Will Lewan. Cliff Keen's roster is loaded with practice partner possibilities as well, including Myles Amine, former Hodge Trophy winner and three-time NCAA champion Alex Dieringer and three-time All-American Alec Pantaleo. All are ranked among the 16 in the latest international freestyle rankings. 

"I'm always open to working on all aspects of my wrestling to perfect all the little things and become better overall," Griffith said. "It's about continuing to find my grove as a wrestler and keeping my foot on the gas because I might have backed off the gas a little in some matches last season."

Griffith boasts an 87-11 career record with 38 bonus-point wins. He captured a pair of Pac-12 titles at Stanford and was twice named Pac-12 Wrestler of the Year. Griffith was also a Hodge finalist as a redshirt freshman in 2020 and conference runner-up the past two years. 

"We've wanted Shane in our program since we first saw him as a sophomore in high school," Bormet said. "We were close to getting him the last time, but it made sense for him to stay at Stanford. Now, it makes sense for him to come here and experience a new environment with new coaching and new training partners. I'm really looking forward to being in his corner."

Griffith's resume of wins includes three-time All-Americans Evan Wick (Wisconsin, Cal Poly), Alex Marinelli (Iowa), Bernie Truax (Cal Poly, Penn State) and two-time All-Americans Ethan Smith (Ohio State), Josh Shields (Arizona State) and Dean Hamiti (Wisconsin). 

Griffith also displayed significant leadership skills during what was thought to be Stanford's final season of wrestling, blocking out all the noise to win a national title while wearing an all-black singlet, not a Stanford uniform. He told the media he could not support a school that did not support its wrestling program.

"The maturity and poise Shane displayed the year Stanford was dropping their program was remarkable and he's got the it factor," Bormet said. "I don't exactly know how to describe it, but he's got it. I respect the way he handles himself, and the more I get to know Shane, the more impressed I am with him. He is so hungry to really challenge himself."

With Amine holding down 165, Griffith will shift to 174 pounds, meaning three-time national champion Carter Starocci (Penn State) stands between him and another NCAA title. Starocci is ranked #1 at 174 while Griffth is #4 and second in the Big Ten. 

Griffith is eager to face whatever challenges await next him season.

"I can't wait to put on a show during my last hurrah," he said. 

Davison Fills Massive Shoes

Davison placed sixth and fifth at the last two NCAA Championships. He will attempt to fill the massive lineup hole left by the departure of NCAA Champion, Hodge Trophy winner and three-time All-American Mason Parris. Before Parris, three-time All-American Adam Coon held the spot. 

Davison, a four-time NCAA qualifier, has a 77-26 career mark with 27 bonus-point wins. He has placed fifth in the Big Ten the past two years. 

Davison's biggest career win to date was over three-time All-American Cohlton Schultz (Arizona State). He has also knocked off three-time All-American Trent Hillger (Wisconsin) and two-time All-American Marcus Coleman (Iowa State). 

Davison is ranked fourth overall and third among Big Ten wrestlers. His brother Andrew spent 2017-2021 at Michigan before, ironically, transferring to Northwestern and becoming a two-time NCAA qualifier. 

"Lucas still has a ton of upside in terms of his development and, with our heavyweight room, will really benefit from having elevated training partners," Bormet said. "He's a great competitor and also a mature leader. I've known Lucas since he was young, and we recruited him pretty hard in high school. Through his brother, Lucas comes to Michigan with some strong relationships and familiarity, so I think he's going to hit the ground running."

Parris and Coon will be among Davison's training partners.

Cannon Can Stay Two Years 

Cannon, who has two seasons of eligibility remaining, fell short of the NCAA Championships podium after finishing seventh the previous two years. He will likely remain at 133 pounds while Ragusin, who has started there for three years, either redshirts or moves to 141.

Cannon beat the NCAA Championships' fifth- (Aaron Nagao, then with Minnesota) and sixth-place (Jesse Mendez of Ohio State) finishers last season. He has also pinned three-time All-American Mike McGee (Arizona State) and beaten 2023 NCAA runner-up Matt Ramos (Purdue). 

Cannon is currently ranked #12 overall and fourth among Big Ten wrestlers. His overall record is 48-19 and he has placed in the top five in the Big Ten the past three years. 

"Chris is a gritty, hard-nosed competitor, who brings a lot of fire and intensity to both the competition mat and the practice room," Bormet said. "I think he’s really going to enjoy the level of competition in our room and certainly contribute to raising it. I know he is hungry to improve in all three positions, and our staff looks forward to pouring ourselves into him over the next two years."

DeAugustino Has Plenty Of Upside 

 DeAugustino will take over at 125 pounds after two-time NCAA qualifier Jack Medley. 

The four-time NCAA qualifier, also fell short of the podium this year after taking fourth in 2022. He has also finished between third and fifth in the Big Ten the past four years. 

DeAugustino's career mark is 55-28 and he has also beaten Ramos and Barnett along with two-time All-Americans Patrick McKee (Minnesota), Brandon Courtney (Arizona State) and Jack Mueller (Virginia). 

He is ranked 12th overall and is sixth among Big Ten wrestlers. 

"We've had Mike in our room some this summer already, and I can tell he's going to be a lot of fun to coach," Bormet said. "He's got a great personality and is a mat rat -- the type of kid you have to drag out of the wrestling room -- and a sponge, who loves the process of learning. I think there's a number of small areas where he can make big improvements to really help optimize his performance. Mike's got a ton of talent and a big upside."