The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1546678
OCTOBER 2026 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 65 A fter the first three weeks of the season, Michigan football still is putting together the pieces of the puzzle, particularly on offense. Sophomore quarterback Bryce Under- wood had a very shaky start against Western Michigan in the opener, but he has rebounded some since then (19- for-25 for 223 yards and 2 TD vs. UTEP). U-M's offensive line has had too many missed assignments and blocks, with junior and freshman running backs Jordan Marshall and Savion Hiter, re- spectively, having struggled to find their footing — both average less than 4 yards per carry. However, on the other side of the ball, the Wolverines have emphatically an- swered one big question: whether they can get pressure on the quarterback. The response? A resounding yes. After the departures of Derrick Moore, TJ Guy and Rayshaun Benny along the de- fensive line, Michigan needed new players to step up and create havoc. There has been no shortage of that. The most obvious candidate was in- coming Utah transfer John Henry Daley, who recorded 11.5 sacks in 11 contests before suffering an Achilles injury last year. Daley has regained his prior form in a winged helmet. He has 8 pressures and a team-leading 2.5 sacks after three games. His 1.5-sack performance against Okla- homa, which included other tackles for loss, netted him Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honors. He has been punish- ing with power on the edge. Yet Daley has not even been Michigan's best pass-rusher. That title belongs to junior Dominic Nichols. Nichols has made the leap this sea- son. In 2025, he still was honing his skills, with only 9 pressures in 87 pass-rushing snaps. In 2026, he already has tallied 11 pressures and 2 sacks in only 56 pass- rushing snaps. According to Pro Football Focus, his pass-rushing win percentage leapt from 14.1 to 20.0 percent. He has been a menace off the end with his speed and getting to the quarterback in a hurry. As a result, PFF has assigned Nichols a 90.6 pass rush grade, which is the fourt- best rating among Power Four defensive ends who have played at least 20 percent of their team's snaps. He is performing at an All-Big Ten threshold. Daley and Nichols make a terrifying team on the edge for Michigan's defense, but the starters are not the only defen- sive ends making an impact. Freshman Tariq Boney has jumped off the screen in limited time. In only 7 pass-rushing snaps in two games, Boney has gener- ated 3 pressures, including a sack, and drew a significant holding call against the Sooners. At the snap, he has rocketed past opposing offensive tackles and maneu- vered through them in ways not seen by first-year players. Boney may have ben- efited from facing an injured Oklahoma offensive line and sub-par UTEP outfit, but he has flashed too much to stay off the gridiron. His 91.1 pass rush grade from PFF would be better than Nichols' if he had played enough snaps. Additionally, sophomore Nate Marshall has made an impression. Marshall has posted at least half of a sack in all three contests, including the game-clincher against Oklahoma. He still needs to be more consistent with his pressures (3) be- cause he is predominantly out there on passing downs (18 pass-rushing snaps to 10 run defense snaps), but his 16.7 percent win rate is higher than Daley's. Freshman Carter Meadows, a former five-star pros- pect, also joined the fun in the backfield when he became healthy and debuted against the Miners with a noticeable pres- sure. As such, Michigan's defense has been one of the best at making opposing sig- nal-callers uncomfortable. The Maize and Blue are third in the country in PFF's team pass rush grade (85.9), eighth in sack rate (11.54 pct.) and tied for 10th in sacks per game (3.33). Their ability to collapse the pocket for quarterbacks has provided a tremendous assist to an already excel- lent secondary. Working in tandem, Michigan's defense is sixth in adjusted expected points added per play (-0.17), which measures the change in expected points produced by one play, and 11th in SP+'s defensive metric (15.4), which proj- ects a unit's efficiency against an average FBS squad. However, the challenges should get tougher for Michigan's defensive front. While the Wolverines' first three oppo- nents all rank outside the top 100 in PFF's team pass-blocking grades, U-M's next opponent, Iowa, surrendered only 1 sack in its first three games and is 24th in PFF's team pass-blocking grade. The path to the quarterback should have more obstacles in Big Ten play. However, with Daley and Nichols at the top of the depth chart and a rotation of Boney, Marshall, Meadows and senior Cam Brandt to keep them fresh, U-M is deep and talented at defensive end, and it would be a surprise if the Wolverines do not keep introducing themselves to the quarterback. ❑ INSIDE THE NUMBERS ❱ DREW HALLETT Michigan's Endless Ends Utah transfer John Henry Daley, with 8 pressures and 2.5 sacks through three games, has been a major force along the Wolverines' defensive line. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL Staff writer Drew Hallett has covered Michigan athletics since 2013. Contact him at drew.c.hallett@gmail.com and follow him on X (Twitter) @DrewCHallett.