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 M E N 86 ■ THE WOLVERINE 2025 FOOTBALL PREVIEW BY JOHN BORTON T he "gifts to the football gods" are gone. Michigan's defensive line isn't. If you don't believe it, this crew stands ready to step up and rock your world. Jim Harbaugh once put that GTTFG tag on then-rookie defensive tackles Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant, although he wouldn't specifically identify at the time whom he referenced. Now every- body knows. Graham became the No. 5 pick in the NFL Draft, going to the Cleveland Browns. Grant lasted only eight spots later, taken by the Miami Dolphins as the 13th overall selection. Two rounds later, edge Josaiah Stewart packed his bags for Los Angeles, the Rams making him one of their own. Utter devastation for the Michigan de- fensive line, right? Guess again, they're saying inside Schembechler Hall. Not by a long stretch, according to D-line coach Lou Esposito. The boss of the bully boys up front isn't slighting the departed defenders in the least. He's just taken a hard look around and understands the pantry remained stocked like a Costco the day after Thanksgiving. "We were fortunate to have two elite, unbelievable players in the D-tackle room," Esposito said. "Then you had Jo- saiah Stewart in there. That front was really good. The exciting part is, we've got some good players coming back, and we've added some good players. "Some of these young guys who have been in the system a year are starting to get special and be the players we thought they were going to be. I'm excited about it. Every day, they get better. They're unique. They're fighters, and they've always been confident in themselves. We've always been confident in them." He's talking about those who can serve on a defensive line that might go 10 deep. The lead performers appear to be grad defensive tackles Rayshaun Benny and Damon Payne Jr., the latter a transfer in from Alabama. But expect to see a heavy dose of tee- ing off by grad Tré Williams and junior Trey Pierce, along with junior Enow Etta and grad Ike Iwunnah. On the edges, senior Derrick Moore and grad TJ Guy form one of the more formidable duos around, while junior Cam Brandt and sophomore Dom Nichols have earned their way into the next wave. There won't be any need for iron men among the steel curtain the Wolverines intend to put forward. "It's one thing to be a player and know you've got guys in front of you and STILL STOCKED UP Michigan's D-Line Is Ready To Rumble, Regardless Graduate edge TJ Guy finished second on the team last year in sacks (5.5) and tied for second in tackles for loss (7), behind third-round NFL Draft pick Josaiah Stewart in both categories. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL [FYI] ❱ Senior edge Derrick Moore tied with Josaiah Stewart, the No. 90 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft to the Los Angeles Rams, atop the Michigan team with 37 pressures last season. That figure ranked 10th in the Big Ten, according to Pro Football Focus. Playing only 51 more pass- rush snaps, Moore was right there with Stewart despite being well behind him in sacks for the majority of the season. Stewart finished with 8.5 quarterback takedowns, while Moore had 2 in the regular season, before doubling that total with another pair of sacks in the 19-13 ReliaQuest Bowl win over Alabama. Moore has accumulated 11 career sacks. ❱ Alabama transfer Damon Payne Jr. (558) and Clemson import Tré Williams (720) have combined for 1,278 defensive snaps in college football. Those totals are well ahead of any other Michigan defensive tackle outside of graduate student Rayshaun Benny (751). The Wolverines have three others with relatively significant experience, but none have more than 165 career defensive snaps — graduate Ike Iwunnah (165), junior Trey Pierce (153) and junior Enow Etta (95). ❱ Michigan lacked interior defensive line depth last season, despite possessing high-end talent. Starters Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant logged high snap count averages — 45.7 and 45.6 snaps per game, respectively — after neither were over 34 the prior campaign. ❱ Graham (No. 5 to the Cleveland Browns) and Grant (No. 13 to the Miami Dolphins) in 2025 be- came the first U-M defensive tackle duo to be selected in the first round of the same NFL Draft. At No. 5 overall, Graham is the third-highest Michigan defender in the NFL Draft since the AFL-NFL merger in 1966, behind only defensive end Aidan Hutchinson (No. 2 overall to the Detroit Lions in 2022) and cornerback Charles Woodson (No. 4 overall to the Oakland Raiders in 1998). ❱ Six of Michigan's 12 first-round draft picks over the last seven years have been defensive line- men. That timeframe spans the seven-year streak with the Wolverines having at least one first-round choice in the NFL.