Michigan center signing with 49ers as undrafted free agent

Michigan had six offensive linemen from last year’s national championship team declare for the 2024 NFL draft but only three were selected.

It didn’t take long for center Drake Nugent to find an NFL home, though.

The Colorado native is signing with the San Francisco 49ers, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.

Michigan landed a graduate transfer to fill its starting center spot for a second straight year when it plucked Drake Nugent from Stanford last offseason.

He was a two-year starter with the Cardinal and a captain in 2022 before stepping in immediately at Michigan and earning the No. 1 job. Nugent started all 15 games for the Wolverines and was a first-team all-Big Ten selection and Rimington Trophy finalist as the nation’s top center.

He’s undersized at 6-feet, 1 ½ inches and 298 pounds but is agile, finishing fourth among offensive linemen in the 3-cone drill at the combine and seventh of 26 in the shuttle run.

Elsewhere, three of Nugent’s fellow starters along the line were drafted: guard Zak Zinter (third round, Cleveland Browns), guard Trevor Keegan (fifth round, Philadelphia Eagles) and tackle LaDarius Henders (seventh round, Houston Texans).

Michigan fell short of Georgia’s record of 15 players drafted, but it still set a program record with 13 selections, headlined by top-10 pick J.J. McCarthy.