The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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84 ■ THE WOLVERINE 2024 FOOTBALL PREVIEW Grant an Indiana native, but they meshed immediately off the field, too. "Ever since we got in that room together, we were kind of like-minded people; same class, same position," Graham recalled. "We really just attached ourselves to each other and helped each other wherever we could to get ourselves in a better position. … I think we're both great teammates and leaders on this team. I feel like our relation- ship has only grown from that. "But our freshman year was a really good year for us, because we got on the field some, but not a crazy amount. We were always there for each other; we were always doing stuff together, just hang- ing out, chilling, talking, and not always football stuff, either. It's always cool to have someone like that on the team." "We clicked right away," Grant added of their first year. "Pretty much every- thing we'd do, we'd do it together. We were roommates in every hotel. We just clicked pretty good. "I definitely think we complement each other. We strive for the best, but we never really know what the best is. We just try to do the best we can." If it's yet to come — and new defensive coordinator Wink Martindale believes both still have much more in the tank — then the Michigan defense figures to be outstanding again in 2024. Great defenses start with outstanding line play, after all, and few would disagree with the notion that Graham and Grant have an opportu- nity to be the best interior duo U-M has ever had. New defensive line coach Lou Esposito might have felt like he'd won the lottery when he saw the group he inherited upon arrival this spring, starting with the 700 or so pounds of beef in the middle. "I haven't watched everybody else [in the country], but if there are two defen- sive tackles better than them, I would love to see them playing as a group," Es- posito said this spring. "I think they each do something different which makes each better. "K.G. is a huge person that has unbe- lievable feet, unbelievable quickness, but he can beat you with power at any mo- ment. You have to be prepared for that as an offensive lineman. Mason is a guy where you can see he was a high school wrestler. He plays with great leverage; he understands the transfer of weight and he understands his hands, and he's just get- ting better and better and better." Martindale challenged them to build on what they'd already accomplished, insist- ing that nothing they did last year would carry forward. They answered the call, Es- posito added. "I think both those guys have bought into it and have done a great job," he said. "They're great leaders of the defense, great leaders of the team." As for their roles — that's going to de- pend on the opponent and the scheme. Both, though, are too valuable to keep off the field too long, Esposito said, noting they'll play them together "as many plays as we can." "Every game plan is different … but you want your best players on the field as much as you can," he said. "The interior D-line- men, the reps — you don't want to get their reps too high because their level of play comes down. You want them playing at a high level. … "The reason why we were so good up front [last year] was because they were so deep, they could just roll bodies in and bodies in and not skip a beat. That's what we're trying to get to right now." On The Road To Stardom Pundits and analysts believe they're well on their way. While we're used to seeing SEC teams at the top of the pre- season defensive line prognosticators' lists … not this year. This season, the best duo appears to be in Ann Arbor. Pro Football Focus wrote that the defending national champions have "easily the best defensive tackle duo in college football heading into 2024," that despite losing a second-round pick at that position in Kris Jenkins. They listed Graham as the No. 1 returnee at the position in college football, not- ing he was one of only two interior de- fensive linemen in the country to fin- ish with top-10 grades as both a pass rusher and run defender. "Graham's a nearly complete defen- sive tackle who will continue terror- izing Big Ten offenses on his way to likely becoming a high selection in the 2025 NFL Draft," they wrote. "If he was eligible for the 2024 draft, he'd likely be the first defensive tackle off the board." Grant isn't far behind, listed at No. 6. He was PFF's sixth-most valuable tackle according to their wins above av- erage metric, and that was despite play- ing in a rotational role, they noted. His 78.4 pass-rushing grade in 2023 was top 15 among defensive tackles as well. Together, Martindale, said, "they're going to be fun to watch." "A guy like Mason, he knows the system," the coach said. "You can sit back and just listen to him talk to other players, and he knows different things that are going to help them. And both are very talented just naturally with the skill set. Mason uses his hands really well, and K.G., his athleticism jumps out at you. "But I've had conversations with Graham posted 36 tackles, including 7.5 tackles for loss and 3 sacks, to capture All-Big Ten and second-team All- America honors in 2023 despite missing two games with a broken thumb. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL