Jesse Minter breaks down what he sees from Michigan defensive line

Michigan‘s defensive line has been the heart and soul of their defense for the last couple of years, and according to defensive coordinator Jesse Minter, that will not be changing in 2023. Minter gave a detailed breakdown specifically on the Wolverines’ interior defensive line on a recent episode of the ‘In the Trenches with Jon Jansen’ podcast, starting with star Kris Jenkins.

“I see five really really capable players, it’s hard not to start with Kris Jenkins,” Minter said. “He’s a monster, he gets bigger and bigger every time I see him, his work ethic, the thing about him is the way he plays is the way we want all of our guys to play. He plays really really hard but he does all the little things right play after play after play after play. So his consistency, his physicality, I think we’ll see him make even more plays this year. I think we’ll see him get more opportunities as a pass rusher this year which will be awesome to see.”

Minter also likes what he’s seen out of a pair of defensive tackles that showed flashes of promise last year, but this season may put it all together with a new level of experience and confidence they’re bringing to the table.

“Mason Graham, another one that everybody knows the freshman year that he had and excited about him. Another guy that just gets better and better every time on the field. A guy that may be the most improved in the last year since I’ve been here Rayshaun Benny. He’s a guy I thought made some really big plays late in the year, I mean he gets pressure on (CJ) Stroud that causes him to throw a pick,” Minter said. “All these guys have now made some plays and so there’s just a different level of confidence that they have now that every time that they go out there they feel like they can make plays.”

A veteran and a second-year player round out Minter’s five, as Kenneth Grant will be looking to build on his freshman season and Cam Goode will be looking to end his career on a high note after transferring in from UCF in 2022.

“I think Kenneth Grant’s gonna be a name everyone’s gonna know about, he’s a monster in the middle and has a chance to be a really really dominant dominant type of player here,” Minter said. “And then I’ve really been really really proud and really excited about Cam Goode and the improvements he’s made since the end of the season that he’s putting himself in a position to really be a contributor here as well.”

The Wolverines were the Big Ten’s best run-stopping defense a season ago, holding opponents to just 85.2 yards on the ground per game. It seems Michigan is poised to do so again this season, which could play a role in finally propelling them to another Big Ten Championship win and College Football Playoff appearance and beyond this upcoming season.

“So five really good players that could probably all play at a lot of schools across the country. They’re really really bought in to our ability to rotate and keep guys fresh, and so that group they kind of drive our defense. I think this program, the reason we’re good, we’re built on the o-line and d-line, we’re driven by those guys. Some programs it’s their quarterbacks and the receivers and I think here it’s the o-line and the d-line and I think that’s what makes us good on both sides of the ball,” Minter concluded.