Michigan freshman quarterback Jadyn Davis has inked his first publicly announced NIL deal since being a part of the program. The deal is with Brighton Ford and was announced on social media.

Davis was a four-star recruit out of Providence Day School in Charlotte, North Carolina. He was the ninth-rated quarterback in the class of 2024, according to 247Sports. Davis was also high school teammates with fellow freshman, wide receiver Channing Goodwin.

While the Wolverines may not be at the very top when it comes to NIL, they have certainly shown a propensity to prop up their players once they get on campus. A quick NIL deal for an early enrollee is just the latest example of that.

Davis enrolled early at Michigan and was able to take part in bowl practices for both the Rose Bowl and the National Championship. With J.J. McCarthy departing for the NFL, Davis is in the mix to potentially start at quarterback this fall. He’s in a position battle with Alex Orji, Jack Tuttle, Jayden Denegal and Davis Warren.

At 6-foot-1 and 203 pounds, Davis is a bit on the smaller end when it comes to your prototypical Big Ten quarterback. However, recruiting analysts have praised his poise and awareness in the pocket throughout the recruiting process.

While this is Davis’ first NIL deal, it certainly won’t be his last. Look for more NIL deals from Michigan’s 2024 recruiting class in the weeks and months ahead.

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Michigan football spring practice notes: On Kenneth Grant and Mason Graham, the edge rushers and more

Derrick Moore offered a peek into Michigan football’s defense as it reloads for the 2024 season.The rising junior edge rusher appeared in all 15 games last fall, making 34…

Derrick Moore offered a peek into Michigan football’s defense as it reloads for the 2024 season.

The rising junior edge rusher appeared in all 15 games last fall, making 34 tackles with 6.0 for loss — including 5.0 sacks — with a forced fumble, one fumble recovery returned for a touchdown, four quarterback hurries and two pass breakups.

Now Moore is expected to take a bigger role following the departures of Braiden McGregor and Jaylen Harrell.

Here are takeaways from Derrick Moore‘s conversation with reporters on Thursday:

Players who are stepping up on the Michigan defense

Derrick Moore joined a number of his teammates and coaches in naming TJ Guy as one of the spring standouts.

“From the edges, I have seen a lot of guys who have stepped up. Guys like TJ Guy — he’s having one hell of a spring ball right now,” Moore said.

“Cam Brandt, he’s also stepping up into the into having a great spring ball.”

Guy is entering his senior year with the Wolverines and appeared in nine games at edge rusher last season, while Brandt appeared in 14 games as a true freshman in 2023.

Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant are ‘different,’ special players

When asked about the two star defensive tackles, Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant, Moore was essentially at a loss for words.

“I ain’t got too much to say,” he replied, explaining that the two DTs will dominate “no matter what.”

Pressed for an answer, Moore alluded to an “incredible” play that Graham made in a recent practice.

“They’re two studs in the middle,” he said. “They can do anything. You can double team them; they’ll still beat it. You can triple team them; they’ll still beat it. You can drop them into cover and they’re going to track it down. It’s crazy.

“I’ve never see any D-tackles that can do that, and I’ve been around a lot of great D-tackles. But they’re different. They’re really different.”

A couple other defensive standouts during spring ball

Outside of his edge room and the defensive line, Moore highlighted defensive back Ja’Den McBurrows and linebacker transfer Jaishawn Barham as two players who have impressed him.

“Ja’Den: He had a great great spring ball also,” Moore said. “Losing Mike [Sainristil], he’s stepping up and taking a taking that step into being a new Mike on our team, being able to do a lot that Mike did.”

Barham and Moore were teammates at St. Frances Academy in Maryland and reunite in Ann Arbor.

“He’s playing real fast, he’s looking dominant out there,” Moore said. “It looks like he’s been here. … He’s been looking great so far.”

Derrick Moore targeting his pass-rush repertoire

Unlike last offseason, when Moore was focused on reshaping his body and losing weight, the edge rusher says this spring and summer are all about improving his technique.

“I’ve been targeting a lot of different angles,” he said. “[One thing] right now that I’m really trying to focus on is learning the different type of pass rush angles that I can understand when rushing an offensive lineman and how to set up all my pass rush moves — so going into the season, that I know how to play off all my rushes and set all my rushes up. And then coming down the fourth quarter I’m able to make a play. So I’m really just working on my rush angles right now.”