makari paige

Offense was yesterday. That has an explainer for the faces.

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Defensive Line

Trying Etta at tackle is good for Etta, bad for the other tackles. [David Wilcomes] 

The question we're asking is: Got any depth?

But they're acting like it's: Do we need any?

What are we hearing? We don't need much talk about the starters except reminders that they're awesome. Jaydon Hood noted they keep terking his jerb.

There's times where I might have a gap, and they might wreck it. Sometimes it's fun. It really is. Just let them work. Either they're going to get it or I'm going to clean up after them.

Probably more fun in a game than when you're trying to win the third LB job. Speaking backups, Rayshaun Benny should be back by fall camp, says Lou Esposito. Trey Pierce, our other backup tackle, was seen on crutches. It doesn't sound too serious if you ask Espo.

He's done a great job. [Since] I got to come here, he's practiced a couple times, he got dinged up a little bit. He's come back and got dinged back up. But he's really progressing. I think the biggest thing for Trey was just realizing what he can do. … He's a sponge. He's been around almost two or three times a week with me one-on-one so he's done a great job. I expect him to have a good fall, and we need him to have a good fall. We've got to build that depth.

In their absence the third team DTs have been getting more run, and edge Enow Etta, listed at 6-4/292, has been asked to try playing inside. Etta needs time to adjust, says Espo:

He's a really, really good athlete. It's just that he has to learn. As you get closer to the ball, the hand combat becomes quicker. It gets on you faster. The further away from the ball, it kind of takes a little bit of time and you can use your athletic ability out there. I think the biggest thing with him is getting some of those inside reps has really helped him on the edge. Now when you put him on the edge, some of the weaknesses that he had he doesn't have anymore in the physicality part. He's been extremely physical all spring, and he's a big part of what we're gonna do moving forward.

An insider thought Etta's "a little too trim" for this. "He's got big legs. No butt though." The only other guy being mentioned by name is the only other scholarship guy recruited to play DT.

I think Ike (Iwunnah) has done a great job this spring for us. He's played a lot of snaps.

It seems they need someone for the Goode role, and are pursuing Kent State DT CJ West for the job. West put up an 85.9 (pro caliber) last year and an 80.1 in 2022. Kent State didn't really play anybody—their FBS non-conf games were UCF and Arkansas—last season but West started against Washington, Oklahoma, and Georgia in 2022, so he's show he can hold up against P5 talent. I'm guessing they don't get involved with back-in-the-portal-again MSU DT Simeon Barrow, nor TCU's Damonic Williams, but those familiar names could help to keep other teams away from West.

As for edge, TJ Guy's name was on the tip of various tongues at Pro Day, adding to a pile of people who see him as the next in line at the DE/LB spot. Esposito's presser was more getting-to-know-you stuff so there wasn't much more to add. An insider said Guy is making it hard to judge the right tackle race because there isn't a substantial drop-off when they get a break from Josiah Stewart.

What it means? It's nice to hear from Ike finally, but they're saying too little for it to sound like he's any more than a warm body at this point. The scholarship name nobody's mentioning is Alessandro Lorenzetti, a 2022 sleeper they bumped over from offensive line when they flipped Giudice to offense. He was always a project, but if it's not happening by spring of Year 3 it's probably not.

It's too bad none of the four DTs in this year's class were able to enroll early, because they'd be getting all sorts of playing time, and we'd have an idea which among them can play. That they've moved Etta doesn't mean much for Etta other than he was willing to do it. It does mean the depth isn't where they need it to be. You can have Grant/Graham soak up more usage, but we're probably looking at a freshman getting in the back end of the rotation, with any injuries graduating that freshman to the two-deep.

Depth Chart: Expecting Michigan to pick up someone in the portal but for now…

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[After THE JUMP: I cannot get insiders to talk about anything but Barham]

We told you #7 is back. We told you their star safety is back too. How about another #7 who's also a star safety.

This is gonna good. Michigan gets back two of the best safeties in the nation to add to the Grant-Graham-Moore-Stewart defensive line, two of the Big Ten's most promising young linebackers, and Will Johnson. Find a corner, plug in a nickel, age up the backups, and Michigan should be in the running again for the #1 defense.

UFR GLOSSARY is here.

FORMATION NOTES: PSU gets weird so some nomenclature reminders. This is Gun Wk Stack, which they used a lot.

This is Pistol Diamond.

And a reminder for some of my nomenclature, this is Gun Trips (H) Y-SB:

Trips is the receiver alignment and I use parentheticals around the (H) because the slot receiver is covered/an ineligible receiver. A dash means motion, so Y-SB means the tight end motioned to a superback spot. "Empty 2x1" means 2 wide to the field, 1 wide to the boundary, and the rest are tight ends. You should be able to interpret the rest of the weirdness from there. You also won't need it again because PSU fired their OC on Sunday.

SUBSTITUTION NOTES: Penn State often used a TE as a slot receiver; M sometimes matched that with regular nickel personnel but often had an extra safety in the slot and moved Sainristil out to cornerback. Snap counts are in the chart now but there was finally a clear delineation between "starters" (Graham, Jenkins, Grant, the four DEs, Colson, Barrett, Paige, Moore, Wilson, Sainristil, and Johnson) and "rotation players" like Goode, Benny, Hausmann, Q-Jo, and Sabb. That's everybody who played.

[After THE JUMP: Draft ding-a-lings.]