The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1546232
20 THE WOLVERINE ❱ SEPTEMBER 2026 BY CHRIS BALAS B efore Michigan's first spring practice under new head coach Kyle Whittingham, fans were already lamenting the losses on defense and wondering how the Wolverines would replace some out- standing talent. In addition to two 2026 NFL Draft picks on the edges in Derrick Moore and Jaishawn Barham, U-M lost nearly its entire linebacker corps, two safeties to the transfer portal, and was thought to be thin at corner. But good coaches have a way of ex- ceeding expectations without making excuses by developing young talent and finding ways. Whittingham, defensive coordinator Jay Hill and the rest of the staff on the defensive side were pleas- antly surprised with what they inherited and saw a hungry group with playmakers at all three levels this spring. "The basic scheme is going to be a 4-2- 5, 4-2-decker, which probably 90 per- cent of the country is the same with all the one-back sets and the 11 personnel that you get," Whittingham said during Big Ten Media Days in Chicago. "We'll also jump into some odd front on certain downs. … Maybe you can put a percent- age on it of 65 percent even, 35 percent odd as far as facing a lot of good quarter- backs in the Big Ten … "But I know defensively in the Big Ten, you'd better be able to stop the run. To me, that is universal in football. The key to playing great defense is to turn a team one-dimensional by taking away the run, getting them in third-and-long, and when they're in third-and-long, get after the quarterback. It's a pretty simple equation. That will be no different here at Michigan." Word from the first week of fall camp was that the defense was ahead of the of- fense, as expected, with several position groups getting fortified. Here's a look at where things stood as the 2026 season drew near. DEFENSIVE LINE The Michigan defensive line was sup- posed to be a question mark heading into the year, but the unit was one of the spring's most pleasant surprises. It was to the point that Whittingham called it one of the Wolverines' top position groups coming out of spring camp, and his assistants concurred when inter- viewed this summer. Utah edge transfer John Henry Daley's return from an Achilles injury raises the ceiling of the defensive ends drastically, and junior Dom Nichols (19 tackles, 5.5 for loss last year), senior Cam Brandt (22, 1.5), and others are having good camps. But the interior line —specifically, the pass rush — is what needed work, and Whittingham indicated that they are making progress. "First of all, [seniors] Enow Etta and Trey Pierce, our two starting D-tackles, are exceptional pass rushers for D-tack- les. Typically, the tackles are somewhat limited pass rush-wise," the Michigan coach said. "But not those two guys. And [Utah transfer] Jonah Lea'ea is another guy that is playing as good as anybody up front." Lea'ea is considered smallish for the position at 6-foot-5 and 290 pounds, but the senior is reminiscent of former edge Josaiah Stewart in that they both play bigger than their size. AHEAD OF SCHEDULE Depth Remains A Question Mark, But This Michigan Defense Has Talent Senior defensive back Jyaire Hill aims to be one of the more explosive threats on what could be a very talented Michigan defensive unit. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL