Michigan football: Rayshaun Benny's recovery, another defensive tackle 'dinged up'
Michigan Wolverines football defensive line coach Lou Esposito inherited a talented position group when he was hired last month, in the middle of spring practices, replacing the resigned Greg Scruggs. The interior of the line is headlined by juniors Kenneth Grant and Mason Graham, with senior Rayshaun Benny being a talented player behind them.
Benny, though, has been unable to compete during spring practices due to a lower right leg injury suffered in Michigan’s 27-20 overtime win over Alabama Jan. 1. TheWolverine.com has seen Benny rehabbing at Glick Fieldhouse, the team’s indoor practice facility, and he’s appeared in photos without a brace, cast or boot while observing practices.
“He’s still injured,” Esposito said Tuesday. “Not available to play, but he’s still done an unbelievable job this spring of coaching guys and helping guys out. You watch him at every practice, he’s grabbing guys. And that’s the one thing I talked to him about is how do you keep guys involved when they’re not able to physically go out there.
“He’s done an unbelievable job. He meets with me twice a week. We watch his plays from last year. And then when we’re out on the field, he becomes another coach for some of those guys that we’re trying to build depth with. He’s done a great job.”
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Added the Michigan assistant coach when asked if Benny will be available for fall camp: “Yeah, he should be back for camp. He’ll be ready to rock.”
Benny, a 6-foot-4, 296-pounder out of Detroit, was a key piece for the Wolverines last season. He made 27 tackles with 5.5 for loss and 1 sack, adding 2 pass breakups. He also forced a fumble to set the tone in the second half of a 24-15 win over Penn State, which was recovered by fellow Detroit native and Michigan safety Makari Paige.
The West Bloomfield (Mich.) High product made 13 tackles the previous season in 2022, after redshirting as a freshman in 2021.
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Michigan sophomore defensive tackle Trey Pierce, meanwhile, garnered rave reviews behind the scenes last season, with former position coach Mike Elston mentioning him as a player to watch for this coming season. He hasn’t been talked about as much this spring, and Esposito gave the reason why.
“He’s done a great job,” Esposito said of Pierce. “I got to come here. He practiced a couple times, he got dinged up a little bit. He’s come back, got dinged back up.
“But he’s really progressing. I think the biggest thing for Trey was just realizing what he can do. And I feel like for me, I constantly meet with him and talk to him about the things he does really, really well. Let’s keep doing those things really well and then work on the things that we need to maybe be a little bit better.
“He’s been great. He’s been a sponge. He’s been around almost two or three times a week with me one-on-one, so he’s done a great job.”
Michigan’s spring practices are coming to a close and will conclude with an April 20 scrimmage at The Big House.
