Michigan DL coach Lou Esposito says freshmen EDGE duo has impressed, including an 'absolute athletic freak'
ANN ARBOR – The Michigan Wolverines are expected to deploy a deep rotation of pass rushers when the season starts this Saturday night against Fresno State, but there is always one eye on the future when it pertains to the long-term growth of the younger pieces on the roster.
Michigan defensive line coach Lou Esposito has one in freshman Dominic Nichols who has impressed from the moment he set foot on campus this winter. While he might be on the outside looking in on the two-deep depth chart, Nichols has the “it” factor that could make him a contributor at some point this year, and a fixture down the road.
“I think the biggest thing for Dom is… you work on things,” Esposito told the media on Wednesday. “But you either have it or you don’t. And he’s a natural pass rusher. He can rush the passer. No matter what the call is, if you said, ‘Hey, Dom, go rush the passer right now,’ he can go create pressures. He’s a freshman and he’s doing a great job.
“He’s continuing to work and he’s continuing to learn how to manage class, how to manage playbooks, how to manage playing time and not being the guy right away. He has done an unbelievable job so far in camp for us. So we’re really excited about him.”
Michigan classmate Lugard Edokpayi joined this summer and has a lot more growth to do, but the sky is the limit for a player On3 ranked as its No. 39 overall prospect in the 2024 class. Standing at 6-7, 230 pounds, the physical strides he takes could determine when he gets on the field.
“He is an absolute athletic freak,” Esposito said. “A year in the weight room and he’s going to be like… he’s 225, 230 right now. He’s going to be 255 pounds and look exactly the same because he’s 6-7 and super, super long. He has a great knack for using his length. He still makes some freshman mistakes, like he’s running by the quarterback. But the thing that I appreciate about him is when you talk to him, he doesn’t make the same mistake over again, which is great.
“It’s the same thing with Dom. Those are the kids that are coachable, that make things easy to do because now you can move on to the next thing. ‘Hey, now we’ll talk about hand placement.’ Now we talk about your eyes. So it’s really exciting. That group is really, really good.”
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Michigan’s success over the last few years has set up the future as talent players pass the baton. Aidan Hutchinson gave way to Mike Morris. Morris gave way to Braiden McGregor and Jaylen Harrell. Now, players like Josaiah Stewart and Derrick Moore could help usher in the next great wave of Wolverine pass rushers.
“I feel like it’s like a rite of passage because all those guys have had that happen to them when they first got here,” Esposito said. “And that’s where you say it’s a good team and the culture is good because those guys love helping each other. It’s truly if somebody else makes a play, guys are just as excited as themselves making a play. And that’s the special sauce there.
“Those guys have done a great job with that. And it’s been awesome. You see more and more kids every night in here watching film in here with teammates. Knock on my door. ‘Hey, Coach, can you watch this play with me real quick? What do you think?’ And this is before we have meetings.
“We’ll have meetings today, and 90% of the guys have already watched all the clips. So it’s been exciting to see that.”
