ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Despite being a top 10 transfer portal class according to On3, Michigan football's haul this offseason has somewhat flown under the radar. While former Alabama running back Justice Haynes has been the headline-grabber, perhaps the most underrated additions come along the defensive line.
Already a position of strength with four players who dominated against the Crimson Tide in the ReliaQuest Bowl, the Wolverine defensive tackle group got deeper by adding former Clemson tackle Tré Williams, and former Alabama DT Damon Payne.
It's an embarrassment of riches for defensive line coach Lou Esposito, to add two marquee players to the group, even if neither were household names for their former teams. But most importantly, Espositio believes, both fit into what the maize and blue want to do perfectly.
"I think the biggest thing is do they fit our system?" Esposito said. "We play a unique system. Our system is we're going to build a run wall. You have to be stout inside. You have to hold good edges, and you have to have guys that have the ability to do that. There's some guys that play in gap and attack systems that are going to have a bunch of stats, and they're jumping up the field, and they're creating vertical lanes and horizontal lanes because it's gap and attack. That's not what we do here. We play an NFL-style defense. 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.
"That's tape-wise. And then you research, obviously, their background. Like who are they as a person? Do they fit our culture? And both those guys were home runs for us."
The bonus to adding both is that, like in 2023, the tackles can consistently and constantly rotate, coming in waves. With fresh legs and energy, it should be that much more challenging for opposing offensive linemen to keep up with what Michigan football is putting out there along the front.
"Each guy is unique in his own way, and they do things that are special," Esposito said. "The one thing that we do have is we have a lot of big bodies. I mean, if you go down, Damon Payne is 315 pounds. Enow is 320 pounds. Ike is 315 pounds. Trey Pierce is 310 pounds. Benny is 300 pounds. Tré Williams is 320 pounds. I mean, those six guys inside are all really, really big. And when you can do that, football is still a game of big people leaning on little people. And when you have to take somebody and move them where they don't want to go, sometimes if you're bigger, it's a little bit easier, especially later in the game.
"So we're excited about those guys. And then you still have, some of the freshmen that were here last year that are doing a good job, too. So it's great competition. And I'm a big believer. Iron sharpens iron. Competition breeds success. So now it's, hey, if you're not doing it right, the next guy in. So we've been really fortunate in the spring, and there's been great competition there."
This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: Why the Michigan football defensive front will dominate in 2025
