The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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D E F E N S I V E B A C K S 108 ■ THE WOLVERINE 2026 FOOTBALL PREVIEW The rest will be asked to learn, and to learn quickly. "One big thing for that group is jelling," Hill said. "Communication, jelling, playing together … there's a lot to that. But I do like that group a lot." Safeties Stepping Up This Spring With or without Moore, the back end of the defense figures to be a strength of this year's defense given the experience returning and players added. But getting the graduate back healthy for a sixth year would raise the ceiling tremendously, and Hill knows it. Moore praised his defensive coach for keeping tabs on his progress, noting they'd already bonded as a result. "I love him. He's a great person, a great kid," Hill said. "You've seen his playmaking ability. The thing I see from him, he has the knack to make the huge play at the most important time. Not everybody has that. In fact, very few people have that. It just seems like he's that guy. "I've not seen him live in person, because he didn't really take many spring reps. But man, am I excited about when I finally get to do that." One he did see — Memphis transfer Chris Bracy, one of the overlooked portal trans- fers according to rankings. Though he only checked in at No. 1,799 overall, the senior didn't take long to make an impression in Stockton's group. Bracy was third on the Tigers in tackles a year ago with 81, and he also had an inter- ception, 9.5 tackles for loss, 9 passes broken up, and a fumble forced. His teammates loved what they saw from him this spring, calling him a great fit. "I'll say he's pretty balanced between be- ing able to play the run and being great in coverage," linebacker Troy Bowles said. "I think that's pretty useful for our defense." To say the least. Bracy started his career playing two seasons at UAB, seeing ac- tion in 15 games and starting just two. But his contributions for Memphis last season stood out. He played 869 snaps in 11 starts for the Tigers in 2025, split evenly between nickel and deep safety, and thrived mostly in the slot. He notched an impressive 91.8 grade in the run game per Pro Football Fo- cus, and Hill plans on moving him around this year. "I'm getting better at both," Bracy said of his success against the run versus pass. "If you watch my stats last year, I guess you could say the run game [was my strength], but I like to say my coverage skills are pretty good, as well." Hill gave him one area in which to im- prove over the summer. "He just wants me to get smarter IQ," Bracy said. "I asked him that question very early in the spring, just things that I can get better at. I come see him, watch film with him, try to learn things that he sees on the field so I can start seeing certain things." Hill was pleased with the progress and excited for what Bracy can bring. "He was a great addition," Hill said. "He did a great job. He was physical. He's got a good knack for the game, sees it well. He was very good." Two others will be vying for time, and both showed great potential when they first arrived on campus. Junior Mason Curtis (6-5, 211) was tried at three positions before he ended up at safety, and then he showed he was versatile enough even to play nickel, rare for his size. Former defensive coordinator Wink Mar- tindale praised how the ball always "found" him, comparing him to former U-M great Ty Law in that sense because he understood what his job was and how to do it. He and sophomore Jordan Young figure to be the first pair behind Moore and Bracy, and both have had their moments. Curtis played in 11 games with three starts at defensive back, notching 34 tack- les, including 2 for loss, a sack, 2 passes bro- ken up, and 1 pick. Young notched 15 tack- les and 3 breakups in 10 games and shared defensive player of the game honors after a great performance at Northwestern. "I thought they both got better this spring," Hill said. "Both showed that they're good enough to start in the Big Ten. I do be- lieve understanding watching film and con- tinuing to develop their craft will be critical, but yeah, those guys did a good job." They'll be pushed by junior Jacob Oden (6-1, 205), sophomore Kainoa Winston (5- 11, 204), Oklahoma junior transfer Taylor Tatum (5-10, 212) and freshman Ernest Nunley (6-0, 180). All were highly recruited and have the ability to play in the Big Ten. Between the corners and the safeties, Hill likes his group. "We have a chance to be very good back there," he said. How good, we'll know soon enough. ❑ [FYI] ❱ U-M enters the 2026 season with great veteran depth at cornerback with senior Jyaire Hill (710 snaps played in 2025) and graduate students Zeke Berry (562) and Smith Snowden (632) at the top of the depth chart. Each was an all-league performer last year, with Snowden mak- ing his mark in the Big 12 at Utah. The trio combined for 1,904 snaps in 2025 and is expected to fill out the two starting corner spots along with the nickel position. ❱ Defensive coordinator Jay Hill, who also coached the safeties at BYU from 2022-25, helped lead a pass defense that racked up 17 interceptions (seventh nationally) in 2025 and a nation- leading 22 interceptions during the 2024 season. Last year, the Cougars were also No. 5 in red zone defense (70.4 percent), No. 10 in defensive TDs (3), No. 14 in turnovers gained (24), No. 19 in third down defense (33 percent), No. 21 in scoring defense and No. 25 in pass efficiency defense (116.97 rating). During the 2024 campaign, the group was 20th nationally in passing yards allowed (182.5). ❱ Graduate safety Rod Moore, back for a sixth season in Ann Arbor, could become just the second player ever to be a three-time captain of the football program. Horace Greely Pretty- man is the only other player to be elected three times, serving from 1884-86. Despite being limited to three games over the last two years, Moore was elected a captain prior to both the 2024 and 2025 seasons. Year-By-Year Passing Defense Stats Season Yards Yards/Game TDs Allowed 2016 1,853 142.5 11 2017 1,951 150.1 11 2018 1,921 147.8 14 2019 2,412 185.5 16 2020* 1,533 255.5 12 2021 2,862 204.4 17 2022 2,719 194.2 11 2023 2,355 157.0 8 2024 2,812 216.3 19 2025 2,748 211.4 27 *Only played six games in 2020