Sherrone Moore excited about 'super deep' Michigan defensive line: 'Find me a better EDGE group in the country'

Michigan Wolverines football may have three defensive players picked in the first round of the NFL Draft Thursday night (cornerback Will Johnson and defensive tackles Kenneth Grant and Mason Graham), plus another projected top-100 pick in EDGE Josaiah Stewart.

Head coach Sherrone Moore, defensive coordinator Wink Martindale and Co. are tasked with replacing a lot of production, but to offset the losses of the aforementioned high-end talent, they feel depth can be a difference-maker.

There were glimpses of the next wave of players in the Dec. 31 ReliaQuest Bowl against Alabama, and they’ve had a great offseason so far.

“Those guys on the defense just kinda rolled into what they did in the bowl game, what they did against Ohio State,” Moore said on the ‘In The Trenches’ podcast with Jon Jansen. “I really felt like they just took the momentum and ran with it. Even the new guys that came in, they just assimilated to the culture.

“It looks like we’re gonna be a deep defense, fast, physical, long, tall. Super excited about them, and see where they’re at.”

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The entire defensive staff is back now, too, and that’s not a small thing.

“It feels like now that there’s staff camaraderie — because the same staff is there, the players understand the staff, the players understand Wink, Wink understands the players — it flows really well, and it’s cool to watch,” Moore added.

The defensive line is the deepest position group on the Michigan defense, perhaps.

“It is super deep,” Moore said.

The Wolverines have talked about being “10 deep” up front, with six defensive tackles — graduates Rayshaun Benny, Tré Williams, Damon Payne and Ike Iwunnah and juniors Trey Pierce and Enow Etta — along with four EDGEs in graduate TJ Guy, senior Derrick Moore, junior Cameron Brandt and sophomore Dominic Nichols.

Williams and Payne are newcomers, transferring in from Clemson and Alabama, respectively, and have generated a lot of buzz already.

“You start with a guy like Rayshaun Benny, who’s been here and played a lot of football, been an impact player,” Moore said. “He’s been sitting behind guys every year, but he’s played every year, so he’s got the experience in the big games and every game possible to know what it looks like and how he prepares. He’s been great.

“A guy like Ike Iwunnah. To watch him, where he’s been, he was a guy that was on scout team two years ago and now is a guy that’s in the rotation.

“I can do down the list. Damon Payne — transfer. Tré Williams has been an impact player for us. Trey Pierce is a young guy that played a lot in the bowl game, and then Enow Etta. So, you got six guys right there that you feel like you can throw in the game and they’d be ready to play.”

Staying fresh will be key for those six Michigan defensive tackles that can come at offenses “in waves.”

“Especially if you go through a long season, you want all those guys to not play so many snaps,” Moore explained. “Being able to rotate guys is a huge piece for us.”

The EDGE position lost Stewart, but Moore had 37 pressures last season, the same amount as Stewart, and posted 4 sacks, 2 of which came in the bowl game. Guy had 5.5 sacks as a backup and spot starter and will elevate into a starting role. Brandt was in the two-deep a year ago, while Nichols was an oft-talked about freshman.

“Right now, you’ve got four guys with TJ Guy, Derrick Moore, Dom Nichols and Cam Brandt, who, you find me a better EDGE group in the country,” Moore said. “I gotta see it, because those guys are unbelievable.

“You got two older guys with Derrick and TJ, and then you got the two younger guys who just follow suit. They all have a little something different, but all have the same mindset. It’s been great to watch, and those guys have been giving the tackles fits but made them a lot better.”

Michigan middle linebackers impressing, Jimmy Rolder too good to keep off the field

Michigan hasn’t shown many three-middle-linebacker sets in recent years, but that could change this fall. Senior Jimmy Rolder has been a proverbial “third starter” in the past but might actually play alongside classmates Jaishawn Barham and Ernest Hausmann, the team’s two leading tacklers in 2024.

Sophomore Cole Sullivan, too, has emerged as an option on defense. He logged just 14 defensive snaps last season but played a big role on special teams and burned his redshirt.

“Jimmy, to us, is another starter,” the Michigan coach reiterated. “I feel like we got three true starters in that room with those guys, and then adding a guy like Cole Sullivan, who really can play multiple spots, too.

“But those three, and all three of those guys are seniors, but they’re all guys that there are going to be packages where they’re all three on the field at the same time. And we feel like we’re gonna need that to win the big games.”