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 THE WOLVERINE 2026 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ■ 89 line after a season in which he earned All- Big Ten honorable mention honors, start- ing all 13 games and notching 30 tackles with 1 for loss. He was named the team's co-Most Improved Player on Defense and shared Defensive Player of the Week hon- ors for his performances at Nebraska, at Northwestern, and at Maryland. Now 6-2, 310 pounds, the Chicago na- tive will be asked to elevate his game even more this fall. Hill believes he will, noting that he was voted a spring captain for a reason. "I love him as a player and as a person," Hill said. "He's so physical, and he's a great kid and is what I talk about when I say we've got great people at Michigan. He's a true student-athlete, he gets good grades … he does what he's supposed to do." Etta, a senior with two years of eligibil- ity remaining, has had a slow but steady ascent to the top of the depth chart over the last three seasons. He played in three games as a frosh, 10 as a sophomore, and all 13 last year when he notched 15 tack- les, including 2.5 for loss with a half sack, and broke up a pass. He shared Defensive Player of the Week honors for his per- formances at MSU and at Northwestern, and this year he'll be asked to take one more huge step to become a regular on the line. At 6-5, 320 pounds, the versatile Etta should be able to contribute just about anywhere on the line. He had a very good spring in showing off his ability to the new staff. "Oh, yeah," Hill said when asked if Etta had raised his game. "He's so athletic. Enow can run. For as big as he is, he's an athlete." Right there with them is Utah grad transfer Jonah Lea'ea, a 6-5, 285-pounder who has worked on adding weight in the offseason to compete in the Big Ten, and spring game standout Deyvid Palepale. Lea'ea appeared in 13 games with 13 starts QUICK FACTS Position Coaches: Lewis Powell and Larry Black (1st years at U-M) Returning Starter: Trey Pierce (14 career starts) Departing Starters: Derrick Moore (24), Jaishawn Barham (24), Rayshaun Benny (16) Projected New Starters: John Henry Daley (11, at Utah), Cameron Brandt (1), Enow Etta (1) Top Reserves: Dominic Nichols, Lugard Edokpayi, Nate Marshall, Jonah Lea'ea, Deyvid Palepale Newcomers: Carter Meadows, Tariq Boney, McHale Blade, Ndi Etta, Titan Davis, Alister Vallejo Moved In: Daley, Lea'ea Moved Out: Devon Baxter (Virginia) Rookie Impact: Meadows Most Improved Player: Nichols Best Pro Prospect: Daley DEFENSIVE LINEMEN TACKLE — Titan Davis (6-4, 275), Fr., DT 17 Enow Etta (6-5, 320), Sr., DT 92 Ted Hammond (6-5, 294), Jr., DT 99 Bobby Kanka (6-4, 305), So., DT 91 Jonah Lea'ea (6-5, 285), Sr., DT 57 Travis Moten (6-6, 315), So., DT 54 Deyvid Palepale (6-2, 335), Jr., DT 95 Trey Pierce (6-2, 310), Sr., DT — Alister Vallejo (6-3, 310), Fr., DT END 51 McHale Blade (6-4, 245), Fr., DE — Tariq Boney (6-2, 245), Fr., DE 9 Cameron Brandt (6-4, 270), Sr., DE 90 John Henry Daley (6-4, 255), Sr., DE 88 Lugard Edokpayi (6-7, 250), Jr., DE — Ndi Etta (6-2, 215), Fr., DE 37 Julius Holly (6-4, 230), So., DE 94 Nate Marshall (6-3, 240), So., DE — Carter Meadows (6-6, 235), Fr., DE 8 Dominic Nichols (6-5, 255), Jr., DE 93 Benny Patterson III (6-2, 270), So., DE Senior defensive end Cam Brandt played in all 13 games with one start a year ago and notched 22 tackles, including 1.5 for loss with a half sack. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL STARTER ★★★★ ★★★★ We were set to give this group 3.5 out of 5, even after Kyle Whittingham called the defensive line one of the team's top position groups this spring. After seeing them in ac- tion during the April 18 scrimmage, though — and given what we know about the talent that didn't participate this spring — we'll get a bit generous. No, there are no obvious standouts in this group, but veteran tackles Enow Etta and Trey Pierce were priorities to keep on the roster this fall. They had good springs. Defensive end Cam Brandt started a lot of games, and end John Henry Daley, an All- American at Utah last year, should be very good if he returns from a lower leg injury. He's well on his way. DEPTH ★★★ ★★★ ½ There are talented players both inside and out, but not many are proven. Defensive end Dom Nichols has the potential to be an outstanding pass rusher if he can become a bit more consistent, and Utah transfer and senior Jonah Lea'ea is a jack-of-all-trades capable of playing several positions on the line. He was in the Utes' defensive line rota- tion last year. Beyond that, some of the young guys are going to have to step up both on the edges and inside. Junior Deyvid Palepale showed he could be one of them in dropping bad weight and making plays this spring. OVERALL ★★★ ★★★ ½ We're still not overly bullish on this group, in part because we continue to hear they need a more consistent pass rush. Daley should help when he's back to full health, but ideally, you'd like pressure from both the interior and the edge, and we're not sure they'll have that. But we love the line coaches, and the play- ers have responded extremely well to them. The athleticism is there, and there are a few guys (Daley, Pierce especially) who have All- Big Ten or even All-America potential. That's a very good duo to build around. PRESEASON ANALYSIS