The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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THE WOLVERINE 2026 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ■ 85 strength staff ratcheted the workouts up a notch — sometimes a few more, ac- cording to the players interviewed this spring — he and others were the first to embrace it. Elisaia and his staff tested them and introduced a "factor of toughness," Pierce said, one that should prepare them for fourth quarters of their toughest games on a brutal 2026 schedule. "We've been through this at 6:30 a.m., 6:15 a.m., all these days," Pierce said. "In the grind together, it improves team bonding. It also puts you in a headspace that, 'We've done harder stuff than this. Nothing else can break us.'" That's also the message he relayed to his teammates after being named a spring captain, an honor he doesn't take for granted. His first three years flew by, he noted, and being a senior is "bittersweet." He came in with the goal of progress- ing and making it to the NFL, but his fo- cus now is on his teammates and making 2026 a championship season. "I'm grateful," he said of his appointed leadership role. "I try and carry myself a certain way and do the right thing at all times. To see some of my teammates no- tice that, decide to vote me as a captain, was a truly humbling experience. I'm for- ever grateful to them, will hopefully do right by them. "But I was voted a captain for a reason. I think if I continue to hold the standard I hold for myself, that holds my team- mates to a high standard [too]. The ex- pectation doesn't change because there are more eyes on me. If I had to change what I do after being voted captain, I shouldn't have been voted captain in the first place." Spoken like a man who "gets it," and one of many who said the same com- ing out of spring ball. Most interviewed said this team felt "different" than the last few years, more focused from the top down and much more disciplined. "I think it manifests on the field … as a sophomore and junior under the last staff, just that experience and seeing what works and doesn't work," Pierce said. "We're seeing it here … "I'm super excited. I think the sky is the limit for this team. Just looking around during spring ball, we have guys at every position. I think, 'Man — this feels like a good team.' It feels pretty close to that 2023 team where you just have a guy at every position." That's Pierce on the defensive line, and he understands the expectations that come with being one of them. You often hear coaches with the cliché, "I'd take 22 [so-and-sos] on this team if I could get them." This year, Pierce is that man, and they're all following his lead. If his best is truly yet to come, that should bode well — very well — for Team 147. ❑ Michigan has had some great defensive tackles in its storied history, and some of the best have come in recent years. Mazi Smith, Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant were all first-round NFL Draft picks in the last three years alone, while Kris Jenkins went in the second round in 2024. Combined with all the high-end defensive ends they've produced, that's made U-M one of college football's "Defensive Line U" standards in recent years. Two Wolverines have a chance to add to that legacy this year, former Michigan defensive line coach Lou Esposito (who spent two-plus months with new coach Kyle Whittingham and his staff before moving on to the NFL) told us this spring. "Last year, we just kind of put Trey Pierce's name on the map," he shared. "He should have a great year this year, both him and Enow Etta." The duo arrived at Michigan in 2023 and earned national champion- ship rings, Pierce playing in 13 games and Etta three. Having experi- enced their ups and downs in Ann Arbor, they understand what it takes to be on top. That often starts with great interior line play, something the two talk about regularly. "I think it's a great opportunity," Pierce said. "Me and Enow, we've played a lot of football together. Coming back, we're able to get starts and play a lot more games together. I think it's a huge opportunity. It's exciting." The more they've played together, the more they've been able to an- ticipate each other's moves, Pierce said. Just like offensive linemen on their combo blocks, chemistry can go a long way on the defensive line. "We've been together since our freshman year," Pierce said. "I can kind of give him a look, and then we know we're going to do this, whether it's a game or whether we're rushing. Me and Enow have this unspoken thing where we know what each of us is thinking at the same time at this point. "That's huge. When you're rushing with someone you feel comfort- able with next to you, you don't have to worry about them doing their job. You know they know what they're going to do. It's huge … invalu- able." Both had limited success last year as pass rushers, but that's been an emphasis this spring under new defensive coordinator Jay Hill. Having played on the interior and the edge, Pierce understands it's a lot tougher to get to the quarterback from his projected tackle position. Things "happen faster," he said, adding, "guards are on you in one or two steps. Outside, it's like three or four. "Everything kind of speeds up the further you are inside," he added. "The fundamentals are the same, though. Power, hands, eyes, feet … it's pretty much the same across the board." Those are all things he and Etta will be working on together this sum- mer to make the Michigan interior pass rush one to fear again. "That's my main focus through this whole offseason," Pierce said. "Especially this spring, going against our guards and our centers and our tackles, too, it was getting our pass rush up. I feel like I left a lot on the table this season in that regard. "I think that's a gap in my game. If I get just a little bit better at that, it can change everything. It can change games, and it can change my trajectory as a player." — Chris Balas Pierce, Etta Hope To Be Michigan's Next Great DT Duo "I think it's just going to make us go harder. We're going to show that we are a strength of this team. We always have been, we always will be at Michigan." PIERCE, REACTING TO SOME ONLINE CRITICISM OF THE MICHIGAN DEFENSIVE LINE