Michigan EDGE depth chart shaping up, young defensive linemen 'have bright futures'

Michigan Wolverines football has one returning starter on the defensive line: senior EDGE Derrick Moore. He and graduate EDGE TJ Guy, a backup last season who made three spot starts, have taken on much bigger leadership roles this season.

Moore and Guy are entering their fourth and fifth seasons in Ann Arbor, respectively, and they’ve combined to play well over 1,500 defensive snaps in college football.

“We do cut ups when we do teach tape, and you can go back three years, and both of those guys are on the field making plays,” Michigan defensive line coach Lou Esposito said. “They’ve played so much football here. They’ve seen so many different things.”

Those two are at the top of the EDGE depth chart, and they’re acting like individuals who will be relied upon heavily in 2025.

“The thing that has jumped out to me is the leadership,” Esposito continued. “They’ve done an unbelievable job with leadership.

“Derrick Moore is calling the defense up. TJ Guy is calling the defense up. Those guys have been great leaders, and they feel the same way we do — at the end of the day last year, we didn’t perform to the way we wanted to, and they’re going to do everything in their power so that doesn’t happen again, which has been great.”

Moore recorded 4 sacks last season, while Guy added 5.5 to rank second on the team behind Josaiah Stewart (8.5).

Both players stepped up in Michigan’s 19-13 win over Alabama in the ReliaQuest Bowl, while other standouts decided not to play, highlighted by 2 sacks and a fumble recovery from the 6-foot-3, 256-pound Moore. It wasn’t just them, though, who emerged on the defensive front, and the performance from the group that was without Stewart and others fueled some confidence heading into the 2025 campaign.

“Those guys are unique, man, and they’re fighters,” Esposito said. “They’ve always been confident, and they’ve always been confident in themselves.

“What the bowl did for those guys was prove that they belonged. Alabama’s two guards are gonna be first- or second-round draft picks, and they held their own and kinda won a bunch versus those guys. It was good to see that, and it was good for some of those guys to come out of their shell like, hey, we’re depending on you.

“And it’s one thing to be a player and know you have guys in front of you. Hey, I’m in the rotation, I’m gonna play, but I’m not gonna be counted on like some of these other guys. But now all of the sudden, the run’s pulled out; hey, we’re depending on you. And those guys really stepped up.”

Sophomore EDGE Dominic Nichols was one that Esposito pinpointed as in that situation. He was praised all season long for his work behind the scenes, but Michigan needed him in the bowl game, and he delivered with a forced fumble and other positive plays.

Nichols and junior Cameron Brandt appear to be the second-string EDGEs at this point, followed by sophomores Lugard Edokpayi and Devon Baxter.

“Feel good,” Esposito said of Michigan’s depth at edge rusher. “Obviously, TJ and D-Mo have been great. Cam Brandt is just like a starter; he’s played so much football here.

“Dom is coming into his own. And then you got Lugard and Baxter, who have been really good for us, and the young guys — [freshman early enrollee Julius] Holly has been good. We’re excited.

“And then you got another freshman coming in, in [four-star signee] Nate Marshall, who’s electric, and you feel good about that.”

Later in his press conference, Esposito was asked specifically about sophomore defensive tackle Deyvid Palepale and Edokpayi. He said he’s been impressed.

“Both of those guys are doing really well,” Esposito remarked. “Deyvid, the last three practices, has been really coming on well. [Sophomore defensive tackle] Manuel [Beigel] has been good, Lugard has been good, D-Bax has been good. Those guys have bright futures ahead of them, and they’ve been playing well.

Added the Michigan coach: “The consistency piece for young guys is the hardest thing. Like, you watch film on a young guy — and I don’t care what position it is — they flash and you’re like, ‘Oh, yeah, that’s why I recruited him.’ And then the very next play, they’re supposed to go left, and they go right. Being consistent with technique is the most important thing, and that’s what we keep trying to pound into these guys is technique, technique, technique.

“[Head] Coach [Sherrone Moore] has done a great job in the first five days — all fundamentals, the fundamental five. We’re gonna get off blocks, we’re gonna play with good hands, we’re gonna play with good pad level — we’re gonna do the fundamental things to win games in those days, less scheme. And now, we’re getting into the scheme stuff, so it’s been fun.”