ANN ARBOR, Mich. — While the loss of Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant was going to felt either way this fall, Michigan did its best in the offseason to help limit the blow.
Not only did the Wolverines like what they had coming back, they augmented it by turning to the transfer portal to help beef up the tackles especially. Damon Payne Jr. (Alabama) and Tre Williams (Clemson) were added in the month of January, setting the stage for a crowded interior position group that Michigan coaches believe could be one of the deepest on the team.
Payne, or “Mr. Payne” has he’s become known, played in 32 games for the Crimson Tide over four seasons and earned his first start last season. Williams, a graduate student in his sixth season, made 44 appearances and four starts for Clemson.
“The biggest thing (was), do they fit our system? We play a unique system,” Michigan defensive line coach Lou Esposito said recently. “We’re going to build a run-wall, so you have to be stout inside, you have to hold good edges, and you have to have guys that have an ability do that.”
Esposito said there were some players in the transfer portal who piled up stats in more zone-based gap-and-attack defenses, but he emphasized this week “that’s not what we do here.”
“We play an NFL-style defense,” Esposito said. “We’re going to hold the point, we’re going to be firm, we’re going to build a run-wall, and those guys fit into our system.”
Graham and Grant, both of whom became all-Big Ten defensive linemen at Michigan, with the former projected as a first-round NFL draft pick later this month, bullied opposing offensive linemen. And Michigan’s most disruptive when it can put pressure on the inside and get its ends in one-on-one situations on the edge. Josaiah Stewart benefitted greatly from having Graham and Grant on the inside, making for one of college football’s most potent run defenses.
Payne (6-4, 303 pounds) and Williams (6-2, 315 pounds) are both expected to help fill those needs this fall.
“Then you research their background. Who are they as a person? Do they fit our culture? Both those guys were home runs for us,” Esposito said.
Of course, some of Michigan’s returners at d-tackle are going to have a say in that. Rayshaun Benny is back for his fifth year and assumed a leadership role, paving the way for significant playing time this fall. Juniors Enow Etta and Trey Pierce both emerged late last season as options, even starting in the ReliaQuest Bowl against Alabama. And Ike Iwunnah is back for his fifth year, providing experienced depth in the room.
Esposito has said the plan is to send the group “in waves” this season, an attempt to get everyone involved while keeping them fresh, a change in approach from last season when Graham and Grant averaged nearly 45 snaps per game.
As for the transfers, they have garnered glowing reports from the coaches so far. Michigan is at about the halfway point of its spring practice schedule, with the annual game set for April 19 in Ann Arbor.