Michigan's Mason Graham named top returning DT in college football, Kenneth Grant in top 10
Michigan Wolverines football‘s defense is built from the inside out heading into 2024, with the strength being in the middle at defensive tackle. Pro Football Focus (PFF) released its rankings of the top 10 interior defensive linemen returning to college football this coming season, and U-M had two players listed, including junior Mason Graham at No. 1. His classmate, Kenneth Grant, checked in No. 6.
Michigan and Notre Dame are the only two schools to have two top-10 returning defensive tackles. The Fighting Irish saw Howard Cross III and Rylie Mills rank third and 10th, respectively.
During Michigan’s 15-0 national championship-winning season in 2023, Graham was fourth on the squad with 7.5 tackles for loss, to go along with his 35 total tackles, 3 sacks, 1 pass breakup, 3 quarterback hurries, 1 forced fumble and a fumble recovery. The 6-foot-3, 318-pounder checked in tied for second on the team and first among interior linemen with 29 pressures on 251 pass-rush snaps. Graham led the entire Michigan defense with a 90.0 overall PFF rating.
“Graham was excellent in his first year at Ann Arbor, leading all FBS true freshmen interior defensive linemen with an 80.3 PFF grade,” PFF’s Max Chadwick wrote. “He took his game to a whole new level as a sophomore. According to PFF’s wins above average metric, he was the fourth-most valuable defensive tackle in the nation and was sixth in that same group with a 15.9-percent pass-rush win rate. Graham was one of only two interior defensive linemen in the country to finish with top-10 grades as both a pass rusher and run defender. The other was Texas’ T’Vondre Sweat.
“The rising junior has a relentless motor to combine with ridiculous agility that makes him nearly unblockable. Even if an offensive lineman gets a clean shot on him, he has great power at 6-foot-3, 318 pounds to shed the block and find the ball carrier. Graham’s a nearly complete defensive tackle who’ll continue terrorizing Big Ten offenses on his way to likely becoming a high selection in the 2025 NFL Draft. If he was eligible for the 2024 draft, he’d likely be the first defensive tackle off the board.”
“Grant, meanwhile, was another breakout player for Michigan last season. The 6-foot-3, 339-pounder posted 29 tackles, including 5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks, 1 interception, 7 pass deflections and 1 fumble recovery.
“Between Grant and Graham, the defending national champions have easily the best defensive tackle duo in college football heading into 2024,” Chadwick wrote. “That’s despite losing a projected second-round pick at that position in Kris Jenkins.
“Among returning Power Five interior defensive linemen, Grant was the sixth-most valuable according to our wins above average metric. That’s despite playing in a rotational role on Michigan’s defensive line. The sophomore’s 78.4 PFF pass-rushing grade in 2023 was a top-15 mark among defensive tackles as well. With Jenkins gone, Grant should only shine more as a full-time starter next to Graham.”
With Jenkins off to the NFL Draft, both Graham and Grant are expected to play bigger roles on the Michigan defensive line this fall. Senior Rayshaun Benny and sophomore Trey Pierce project as being in the rotation, as well.
