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Michigan DT Kenneth Grant reveals weight, discusses role, two areas he's working on

clayton-sayfieby:Clayton Sayfie•03/23/23•

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Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh is going for three straight titles. (Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images)

Michigan Wolverines football sophomore defensive tackle Kenneth Grant is looking to make the jump from reserve to key contributor, and it looks like he has all the tools to do so. Former Michigan defensive tackle Mazi Smith took Grant under his wing last season but departed for the NFL Draft, clearing the deck for Grant and classmate Mason Graham on the interior of the defensive line.

“Mazi Smith has been a great mentor to me,” Grant said. ‘He’s been that guy to give me a small hints and details. I feel like I could be a leader on this team just by him setting the example.”

Grant is putting forth a lot of work on and off the field this offseason. He came into the program last summer, at almost 360 pounds, was down to 335 during the season and revealed he’s up to 345 this offseason.

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He ranked No. 46 on The Athletic writer Bruce Feldman’s ‘Freaks List’ heading into last season, even before he played a college snap, and he uses that as a source of motivation.

“It definitely made me strive to be bigger and better in the weight room,” Grant said. “It definitely put that fire to me, like there are a lot of eyes on me and I gotta keep grinding no matter what and keep doing the best I can.”

The low man wins — Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh has said that’s one of the best terms in all of football — and Grant is looking to fire off the ball lower this season. The interior of the defensive line as a whole is aiming to become more of a pass-rush force.

“The whole D line as a group, we’ve got to get better at our pass rush,” Grant explained. “So that’s something we’re targeting right now to get better at is our pass rush. For me, personally, it’s my pad level. Trying to stay lower and attack people.”

Michigan’s defensive tackles were responsible for only 6.5 of the team’s 37 sacks last season.

“That was our weakness,” Grant continued. “It was more of the EDGE guys getting sacks. But this year, we want to have the whole D-line as a whole getting a lot of sacks — getting pressure from the inside and the outside.”

Grant has put a lot of the onus on himself.

“There are a lot of eyes on me, and I’ve got to keep grinding no matter what, and keep doing the best I can,” Grant stated.

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