The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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[ D E F E N S I V E L I N E ] THE WOLVERINE 2023 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ■ 87 was playing some of his best ball. He made three or four plays in the Ohio State game that were game-changing. He took that confidence into spring and was really productive." Minter also likes the newcomer, Stewart, who made 12.5 sacks and forced 3 fumbles for Coastal Carolina in 2021 before seeing those numbers drop to 3.5 sacks and 1 forced fumble in an injury-hampered 2022. "I'm really excited about him," Minter said. "The D-coordinator at Coastal is a good friend of mine. They moved him to a different position, and he had some injuries that he battled. "When you watch his tape, he plays the way you want guys to play — re- ally physical. In a baseball term, he's our change-up in the sense of he's 6-foot-1. Not as big and long as our other guys but he has a different skill set as a rusher." Juniors T.J. Guy (6-4, 246) and Ke- chaun Bennett (6-4, 241) add depth on the edge, while Breeon Ishmail (6-4, 225) from Hamilton, Ohio, and Aymeric Koumba (6-6-230) out of Bordeaux, France, are the incoming freshmen on the edge. "I call it the Michigan deal," Minter said of Guy and Bennett making jumps this spring. "They get with Herb [strength and conditioning coach Ben Herbert] for a couple years, and all of a sudden they're a monster. "I wasn't sure what to expect out of them going into spring, and both of them made progress. I'm happy with where they're at." Michigan football radio play-by- play man Doug Karsch insists Minter has plenty of reasons to be happy about what's developing (once again) on the Wolverines' front wall. "I think Aidan Hutchinson set a tone a couple years ago. He and David Ojabo were lightly recruited prospects who turned themselves into NFL play- ers through hard work and selfless- ness," Karsch said. "Then last year, Mike Morris emerged. "Now they've got another guy that appears ready to pick up the slack in Kris Jenkins. When you recruit in one class Derrick Moore, Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant, you're adding tal- ent that looks like it would be even better. "The culture in that room really is going to help Michigan solidify its reputation as 'Edge Rusher University.' … They have all the talent in the world — now just go do it." ❑ Jaylen Harrell Insists Michigan's D-Line Is Ready To Dominate Senior edge rusher Jaylen Harrell knows he's a key cog in a machine that seems to be run- ning effortlessly these days. From Aidan Hutchinson and David Ojabo on down, the Wolverine defensive front has become a force. Harrell — whose 7.5 tackles for loss in 2022 ranked second only to the 11 by linemate Mike Morris, now in the NFL — insists nobody should be anticipating a drop-off. "We're looking good," he assured. "We continue to get better each and every day. We've got a great group of guys returning this year. We're going to do a great job rushing together, stopping the run together, competing. "The culture has been embedded. We know what it is, so we just do it, day by day, keep building. All the new guys have bought into what we expect, how we run things." There are those along the front wall who could have opted to give the NFL a shot with eligibility remaining. The fact that they didn't says something, Harrell pointed out. "It just shows that the culture we have here is really something special," he noted. "They see something special. They see we have more to do, more to prove." The biggest proving grounds? Get to the College Football Playoff again — and win. Harrell is one of the many using Michigan's shootout loss to TCU in the CFP semifinal as booster fuel for 2023. "There are definitely lessons to be learned, especially on the defensive side of the ball," Harrell said. "We obviously didn't execute like we needed to, to get the win. You've got to look at yourself in the mirror, come back as a group and just know that we can't let that happen again." — John Borton SCHOLARSHIP ROSTER No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. — Brooks Bahr DL 6-6 280 Fr. 26 Rayshaun Benny DL 6-4 292 Jr. — Cameron Brandt DL 6-4 260 Fr. — Enow Etta DL 6-5 270 Fr. 99 Cam Goode DL 6-2 323 Gr. 55 Mason Graham DL 6-3 317 So. 78 Kenneth Grant DL 6-3 356 So. 92 Ike Iwunnah DL 6-3 321 Jr. 94 Kris Jenkins DL 6-3 309 Sr. 89 Alessandro Lorenzetti DL 6-5 289 So. — Trey Pierce DL 6-2 290 Fr. 52 Kechaun Bennett EDGE 6-4 241 Jr. 42 TJ Guy EDGE 6-4 246 Jr. 32 Jaylen Harrell EDGE 6-4 246 Sr. — Breeon Ishmail EDGE 6-4 225 Fr. — Aymeric Koumba EDGE 6-6 230 Fr. 17 Braiden McGregor EDGE 6-6 261 Sr. 27 Tyler McLaurin EDGE 6-3 231 Jr. 8 Derrick Moore EDGE 6-3 279 So. 5 Josaiah Stewart EDGE 6-1 237 Jr. QUICK FACTS Position Coach: Mike Elston (2nd year at U-M) Returning Starters: Kris Jenkins (18 starts), Jaylen Harrell (16) Departing Starters: Mazi Smith (28), Mike Morris (15) Projected New Starters: Braiden McGregor (3), Mason Graham (2) Top Reserves: Derrick Moore, Kenneth Grant, Josaiah Stewart (transfer), Rayshaun Benny, Cam Goode Wait Until 2024: TJ Guy, Ike Iwunnah, Alessandro Lorenzetti Newcomers: Brooks Bahr, Cameron Brandt, Enow Etta, Breeon Ishmail, Aymeric Koumba, Trey Pierce Moved In: Stewart Moved Out: Taylor Upshaw, Eyabi Okie, George Rooks, Julius Welschof Rookie Impact: Etta Most Improved Player: Grant Best Pro Prospect: Jenkins Senior edge rusher Jaylen Harrell finished second on the team a year ago with 7.5 tackles for loss, in- cluding 3.5 sacks, among his 30 total stops. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL