ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Former Michigan football head coach Jim Harbaugh used to always say that players made their biggest jump from either Week 1 to Week 2 or from their first year to their second year. You often see that when, all of a sudden, players that were unfamiliar to the casual fan suddenly become household names as they work their way into the rotation.
The Wolverines brought in several defensive linemen in the 2024 recruiting cycle and only one emerged in his first year -- edge rusher Dom Nichols. But there were others who were highly thought of -- such as defensive tackles Deyvid Palepale and Manuel Beigel as well as edge rushers Devon Baxter and Lugard Edokpayi.
On Monday, WolverinesWire asked Michigan defensive line coach Lou Esposito about Palepale and Edokpayi and he gave brief thoughts on the aforementioned four players.
"Both those guys have been doing a good job," Esposito said. "Deyvid, in the last three practices, has been really coming on well. Manuel (Beigel) has been good. Lugard has been good. (Devon Baxter) has been good. Those guys are, they got bright futures ahead of them and they've been playing well."
With that in mind, what is their timeline? When will the Wolverines be able to get them on the field to get the requisite experience?
Esposito says that he can see the flashes from the group, but it's all about getting to a point this spring where it's less about showing flashes and more about doing things the same way all of the time.
"The consistency piece for young guys is the hardest thing," Esposito said. "You watch film on a young guy, and I don't care what position it is, they flash and you're like, 'Oh man, yep, that's why I recruited them.' And then the very next play, they're supposed to go left, and they go right. You know what I mean?
"Being consistent with technique is the most important thing, and that's what we just keep trying to pound into these guys is like technique, technique, technique. And Coach (Moore) has done a great job in the first five days -- all fundamentals, the fundamental five. And, like, literally we're going to get off blocks, we're going to play with good hands, we're going to play with good pad level, and we're going to do the fundamental things to win games. In those days, less scheme. And now we're getting into the more scheme stuff. So, it's been fun."
This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: How young Michigan football DL are faring in spring ball
