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ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- As Michigan football departed the field after beating rival Ohio State at the end of the season last year, there were questions about the viability of the defense in the coming year given the losses along the defensive line.
The Wolverines had two standout defensive tackles, Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant, both expected to be first-round draft picks, thus, replacing them is easier said than done. But the maize and blue went out for another game and shocked Alabama in the ReliaQuest Bowl with the next wave of players at the position.
Fifth-year Rayshaun Benny was one of the defensive tackles who dominated against the Crimson Tide. But it wasn't just him. Junior Trey Pierce, senior Ike Iwunnah, and junior Enow Etta all played well, too, showing that the future is bright in Ann Arbor. Now all return and Benny says that the confidence the group gained should play a key role this upcoming season.
"That's very important," Benny said. "I think it gave a lot of younger guys who didn't have quite the opportunity that I had to play as much last year. I think it gave them a big confidence boost, and it really just set the tone for next season. Real happy with how we ended, so just look forward to how the guys keep developing."
But they're not the only ones. While the aforementioned four tackles should all be involved in 2025, the Wolverines added two more via the transfer portal in Clemson transfer Tré Williams and Alabama transfer Damon Payne.
Benny is confident not only in their abilities, but that they're embracing what Michigan is all about as they continue to get acclimated to the program this spring.
"Yeah, we're going to dominate this year," Benny said. "Those guys came in, they embraced the culture and what we're about here. They know the history with our D-line. We get together, try to build a routine, a little connection because we all haven't played together. We all played a lot of ball, but not together. Just trying to see how they see things and so they can hear from me how we do things here, actually."
Benny isn't exactly tempering expectations, at least not in his position group. When he looks at the talent in his room, he sees it similarly to the one that won the national championship, as that group was deep and came in waves.
"I like how deep we are, so I don't know, we'll see how that play out. This year reminds me actually of the '23 year, how deep we are on the D-line. So I got high expectations for this year."
Fans will get an opportunity to see the revamped defensive tackle group on April 19 at The Big House in the annual spring game.
This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: Michigan football defensive line 'going to dominate' in 2025
Continue reading...
The Wolverines had two standout defensive tackles, Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant, both expected to be first-round draft picks, thus, replacing them is easier said than done. But the maize and blue went out for another game and shocked Alabama in the ReliaQuest Bowl with the next wave of players at the position.
Fifth-year Rayshaun Benny was one of the defensive tackles who dominated against the Crimson Tide. But it wasn't just him. Junior Trey Pierce, senior Ike Iwunnah, and junior Enow Etta all played well, too, showing that the future is bright in Ann Arbor. Now all return and Benny says that the confidence the group gained should play a key role this upcoming season.
"That's very important," Benny said. "I think it gave a lot of younger guys who didn't have quite the opportunity that I had to play as much last year. I think it gave them a big confidence boost, and it really just set the tone for next season. Real happy with how we ended, so just look forward to how the guys keep developing."
But they're not the only ones. While the aforementioned four tackles should all be involved in 2025, the Wolverines added two more via the transfer portal in Clemson transfer Tré Williams and Alabama transfer Damon Payne.
Benny is confident not only in their abilities, but that they're embracing what Michigan is all about as they continue to get acclimated to the program this spring.
"Yeah, we're going to dominate this year," Benny said. "Those guys came in, they embraced the culture and what we're about here. They know the history with our D-line. We get together, try to build a routine, a little connection because we all haven't played together. We all played a lot of ball, but not together. Just trying to see how they see things and so they can hear from me how we do things here, actually."
Benny isn't exactly tempering expectations, at least not in his position group. When he looks at the talent in his room, he sees it similarly to the one that won the national championship, as that group was deep and came in waves.
"I like how deep we are, so I don't know, we'll see how that play out. This year reminds me actually of the '23 year, how deep we are on the D-line. So I got high expectations for this year."
Fans will get an opportunity to see the revamped defensive tackle group on April 19 at The Big House in the annual spring game.
This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: Michigan football defensive line 'going to dominate' in 2025
Continue reading...
