Previously: Quarterback, Running Back, Receivers, Offensive Line

The Enemy, Ranked now shifts to the defensive side of the ball as we break down Michigan's opponents for the 2023 season. Today we start in the trenches, looking at the opposing defensive lines. While perhaps not quite as grim as offensive line, I can't say I came away from this exercise terribly enthused by the opposing defensive lines. Yet again you can partly chalk that up to the schedule, avoiding Illinois, Wisconsin, and Iowa, but I also am not sure how great of a year for the B1G on the DL this is in general. Regardless, let's get going: 

 

12. Bowling Green 

DE	DT	DT	JACK
Jordan Porter	Anthony Hawkins	Dontrez Brown	Demetrius Hardamon
Ali Saad	Davonte Miles	Billie Roberts	Chasius Howell

Today we start off with a tight battle for the bottom of the list between BGSU and the team just ahead of them, but I ultimately opted to go with the Falcons in 12th place. Bowling Green's DL last season was a solid group, emerging as one of the strengths of the defense, but now they lose three of four starters and are in for a bit of a rebuild. To make matters worse, Anthony Hawkins, the one returning starter, graded out pretty poorly in PFF's data. We should note that it's not all bad though. DT Dontez Brown and JACK Demetrius Hardamon, who are now leveling up to the starter role, were rotational pieces last season, each logging >250 snaps. They aren't completely inexperienced and both charted pretty well in their appearances.

The other EDGE spot is pretty murky though. I listed Jordan Porter as the starter since he has played the most at Bowling Green, but it could easily be one-time Minnesota transfer Ali Saad or UTSA transfer Chace Davis. Those three are all pretty inexperienced and haven't done much when they've played. As a whole, this defensive line is not in a terrible position for a Gof5 unit, but it's not in a good spot either, with three new starters, multiple players taking on elevated roles, and no proven impact starters. They're not far off from being #11 but I narrowly opted to put them here. 

[AFTER THE JUMP: more defensive lines]

 

[Lucas Peltier]

11. UNLV 

DE	NT	DT	RUSH
Jalen Dixon	Darius Johnson	Waisale Muavesi	Carter Zavier
Nathan Arguelles	Cooper Webb	Naki Fahina	Brennon Scott

See, I said there were similarities... one returning starter and it's a DT! In a lot of ways, the Rebels have a nearly identical layout to Bowling Green, a returning starter at DT, two new starters that each played legit rotational snaps a year ago, and then one spot on the depth chart that's very up in the air. Those two new starters who are familiar to LV fans are Jalen Dixon and Waisale Muavesi, who each played more than 250 snaps last season with middling grading. Darius Johnson, the one returning starter, graded out a bit better than BGSU's in PFF's grading, but again, pretty similar situation. 

For UNLV, the question mark position is their RUSH edge spot, where some changes in defensive scheme under new coordinator Mike Scherer has shaken things up. Right now I'm listing LSU transfer Carter Zavier, a legit 4* who didn't see the field much at all in two seasons in Baton Rouge, as the starter. This depth chart got muddled when Ryan Keeler tragically died this spring, or else he would've probably been listed ahead of Zavier. Moreover, Elijah Shelton was a key pass-rusher last season but he may now be a true LB rather than an EDGE, so he'll show up in the next piece. JUCO transfer Nathan Arguelles and Brennon Scott, who was a useful piece back in 2021 but missed 2022 with injury, are also in the mix as depth EDGEs. I'm not exactly sure how this depth chart is going to shake out, so I'm leaving it pretty open-ended as a whole.

In comparison to BGSU, I decided to rank UNLV narrowly ahead because I like their one returning starter a bit more and the talent level at the question mark position is a bit better, though BGSU's two-deep is probably preferable. Honestly I could've made these two a tie to start the list, except that I never do ties so let's go with it this way. 

 

10. Nebraska

DE	DT	DT	OLB/EDGE
Princewill Umanmielen	Ty Robinson	Cam Lenhardt	MJ Sherman
Blaise Gunnerson	Elijah Jeudy	Nash Hutmacher	Jimari Butler

Our first B1G team on the list is the Huskers and the reason is self-explanatory: there is a legitimate chance they could start multiple true freshmen on the defensive line. Now look, they are talented true freshmen, both solid 4*s nestled in the 250-300 range of the composite, but they are still true freshmen being slated to start at positions where you very much don't want that to be the case. The reason is a hollowing out of Nebraska's depth chart in the trenches, especially at EDGE, where they lost Ochaun Mathis, Garrett Nelson, and Caleb Tannor, the only three Huskers to have >2 sacks last season. This left Matt Rhule in a position of frantically trying to toss a depth chart together at the position. 

His solutions include our name of the week candidate Princewill Umanmielen, one of the aforementioned true freshman. Other options are MJ Sherman, a transfer in after a seldom-used career at UGA, and then deep depth pieces from last season Jimari Butler/Blaise Gunnerson, who combined for barely 150 snaps. You can also toss converted tight end AJ Rollins in that category, but it doesn't change the base line at all. Long story short at EDGE... not ideal! 

The tackle position, which you may recall getting blown off the field repeatedly by Michigan in the game last year, doesn't appear to be much better. Ty Robinson is a multi-year starter, the only pillar of stability on the whole line, but he has been subpar in both of his seasons. I described my reason for putting the cyan on him in last year's FFFF: 

Robinson is a returning starter, off of last year's very good three-man DL with Damion Daniels and Ben Stille. He was the weakest of the three last year, though, and seems to have regressed further, with an extremely poor showing against Illinois

Probably not great to have him be your one returning starter. Next to him could be Nash Hutmacher, who played 204 unsatisfactory snaps last season and was also cyan'd or the other true freshman, Cam Lenhardt. TAMU transfer Elijah Jeudy is also in the mix, but he seldom saw the field in College Station. Right now there is no projected area of strength on this defensive line and could honestly have three or more cyans starting if we were diagramming it right now. It's going to be a multi-year project for Rhule's staff trying to reconstruct this DL and that's enough reason for me to park Nebraska at #10. 

 

Blake Corum might be getting to the second level often against Maryland this year [Bryan Fuller]

9. Maryland

DE	NT	DT	JACK
Quashon Fuller	Jordan Phillips	Tommy Akingbesote	Donnell Brown
	Taisze Johnson	Lavon Johnson	Riyad Wilmot

Maryland was last on my ranking of defensive lines last year among B1G opponents and this year have an almost entirely different depth chart. They move out of the cellar among B1G squads, but that's not any testament to Maryland. This is still a dire situation. The entire starting four that I projected last summer have all departed College Park, as have two backups, so this is a real who's who of new Terps defensive linemen. Given that level of attrition, Mike Locksley understandably knew that he had to dip into the portal to replenish the depth chart and boy did he ever: three of my four projected starters in the above chart are transfers. 

Maybe the biggest get was FCS superstar Donnell Brown from St. Francis (PA). How will he translate to the FBS? Not sure, but he was a heck of a player at his former level, DPOY for the NEC in '22. Jordan Phillips at NT is a RS Fr, a former 3* transferring in after the riding the pine at Tennessee for a year while. Quashon Fuller is a transfer from FSU who logged four seasons with the Noles, never playing much though. The one non-transfer projected starter is Tommy Akingbesote, who got 224 snaps for the Terps last year and was quite bad when he played. It's a starting group that is not terribly experienced, has no experience playing together as a unit, and is counting on multiple players to pop at a new school/new level of CFB. 

If that isn't creaky enough, the reserves are just as much of wild cards. No transfers among the ones I listed, but none of them have ever logged 150+ snaps in a season and Lavon Johnson is a true freshman (3*). I guess you can argue that Maryland is decently well positioned to stomach injuries because it isn't clear that the starters are better than the backups, but that's not a good statement; rather it's an indictment of the whole unit. In most circumstances, Maryland would rank last among B1G teams on this list, but Nebraska taking it another step further with potentially multiple Tr Fr starting was the reason I put Maryland just ahead. 

 

8. East Carolina

DE	NT	DT	RUSH
Chad Stephens	Elijah Morris	D'Anta Johnson	Jeremy Lewis
	Jason Shuford	JD Lampley	Jack Powers

For the first time since the QB piece, one of the non-con opponents usurps a B1G squad and it's ECU's stout defensive line. The Pirates return three starters, all of whom graded out respectably well in PFF's charting, and the fourth starter played 278 snaps last season. They also have three reserve DL who all logged 100+ snaps, so this is a unit that is experienced and more than competent. Chad Stephens and Jeremy Lewis return on the edges, combining for seven sacks last season though they profile better as run defenders, anchoring what is a strong rush D as a whole. Jack Powers had a sack last year in 170 snaps and figures to be next man up on the edge if needed. 

At tackle, Elijah Morris is a fourth year player and a returning starter, while his classmate D'Anta Johnson was close to starter status last year, logging 278 snaps of his own. JD Lampley actually played a few more snaps than Johnson did (albeit with worse results) and projects as the first man off the bench at the position, while Jason Shuford rounds out the two deep, another fourth year player who can bring years of experience in the program to help. There are no immediate transfers in the mix, everyone is an upperclassman, three returning starters who posted good results for a Group of 5 program last year + real depth, that's enough for me to put them in front of B1G teams who have no defensive lines for all intents and purposes. ECU may honestly finish the season higher than this, but I'll leave 'em at #8 for now. 

 

[Patrick Barron]

7. Indiana

DE	NG	DT	DE
Andre Carter	Patrick Lucas	Philip Blidi	Myles Jackson
Trey Laing	LeDarrius Cox	Marcus Burris Jr.	Lanell Carr Jr.

If you thought Maryland had a lot of transfers, let me introduce you to the Indiana Hoosiers. Tom Allen dove head first into the portal for a transfer bonanza, so much so that five of the eight players listed in the above chart are transfers in. The biggest pick up is probably DE Andre Carter from WMU, who eclipsed an 80 grade from PFF and was second team All-MAC. I doubt he will be that good in the B1G but a high end Group of 5 EDGE will likely be at least a solid starter in the P5 and he brings with him years of starting experience in CFB. Myles Jackson at the opposite DE spot is one of the few returners on this group, 336 snaps a year ago as a rotational piece with middling results, while the depth is from the portal, Lanell Carr Jr. from TT (319 snaps last year) and Trey Laing, who was an elite FCS player at Southern U.

At DT, Allen got Philip Blidi from Texas Tech, not a starter but a rotational piece for the Red Raiders, while Patrick Lucas slides in after being a reserve for IU last season behind Sio Nofoagatoto'a. Based on my charting and PFF's numbers, I doubt either are going to be impact players but again, they have college football experience and are merely taking a step forward in role, rather than being tossed into the deep end. The depth is a little thinner, LeDarrius Cox did play a decent bit last year for Indiana but didn't do terribly well, while Marcus Burris Jr. arrives from TAMU after two seasons of rarely seeing the field. The high volume of transfers and the caliber of play they've shown (mixed, at best) means there's a ceiling on where I was willing to rank IU, but in comparison to the atrocious situations at Nebraska and Maryland, I don't think this group should be terrible. Probably not great, but their transfers in have more FBS experience than Maryland's and in Carter's case, much better results. 

 

6. Purdue

DE	NT	DT	EDGE/OLB
Isaiah Nichols	Cole Brevard	Malik Langham	Kydran Jenkins
	Demarjhe Lewis	Jeffrey M'Ba	Khordae Sydnor

Ryan Walters is installing his 3-4 system from Illinois at Purdue, but since I count primary pass-rushers as EDGEs for the purpose of this piece, EDGE/OLB pass-rusher is included in this article and not in the LBs one (as I did last year with Illinois). Purdue's DL that Walters inherits is in a rebuild after their 2022 unit was ravaged by the $EC in the offseason. Toss in the coaching change and it indeed looks quite different, with two transfer starters in Isaiah Nichols, who stared at Arkansas, and Malik Langham, who was very close to being considered a starter at Vandy (formerly Florida). Neither guy graded out favorably in PFF's data, but you take what you can get. 

Cole Brevard is slated to start between them, the third DT on the depth chart last year for the Boilers who logged 275 snaps (I didn't have any notable takes on him when I did FFFF). Projected to play at the stand-up EDGE spot is Kydran Jenkins, who was their LEO last year, dropping into coverage a decent bit, so he should be a decent fit for that spot. Jenkins and his backup Khordae Sydnor combined for 8.5 sacks last season so at the very least, there should be some pass-rushing pop on the outside, the spot on the line that projects to be the strength as opposed to the much iffier true DL. The reserves for the true DL spots include Frenchman/Auburn transfer Jeffrey M'Ba as well as Dermarjhe Lewis, who was bad in 2021 and missed last season with injury. It's not a great group, but a few more in-house options and marginally less reliance on transfers (plus, these transfers being SEC borderline starters) were why I put Purdue a nose ahead of the hated Hoosiers. 

 

[247 Sports]

5. Minnesota

SDE	NT	DT	RUSH
Jalen Logan-Redding	Kyler Baugh	Darnell Jefferies	Danny Striggow
Jah Joyner	Logan Richter	Deven Eastern	Chris Collins

The Gophers represent another tier up from Purdue, replacing a couple starters but with plenty of familiar faces and decent options to choose between in filling in the gaps, as opposed to a treasure trove of transfers. Thomas Rush departs at one EDGE spot (the one that tends to drop into coverage) and is replaced by Danny Striggow, who has seemed well-groomed to take over that position, playing 284 snaps last season with solid results. Opposite him at the SDE spot among the traditional three man DL is Jalen Logan-Redding, a returning starter. Logan-Redding is joined by Kyler Baugh at the nose position, giving a fair bit of experience among the starting group on the defensive line and all of them project to be of decent quality as players. They lost a starter in the portal at the other DT spot, but Darnell Jeffries also has gotten on the field some, but that is an area to pay attention to. 

Among the reserves, Jah Joyner at EDGE came on strong late last year and could be a player that blows up in 2023. Transfer Chris Collins was also close to starting status at UNC, deepening that EDGE position, while the defensive tackle backups are a bit more dicey, hulking converted OL Logan Richter and the largely untested Deven Eastern (now a RS So). Minnesota's group doesn't wow me or have the upside that I think these next two groups do with individual pieces, but like so many other positional groups in this series, the Gophers have a high floor because they're a well-run program, with well-maintained internal depth and aren't sprinting to the portal to shakily plug holes (unlike IU/Purdue). There's an expectation of competency and this group should totally be able to provide it. 

 

4. Michigan State 

DE	NG	DT	DE
Avery Dunn	Simeon Barrow	Derrick Harmon	Tunmise Adeleye
Zion Young	Maverick Hansen	Dre Butler	Khris Bogle

If there's hope for MSU's season, it's that the strength of both their offense and the defense is arguably in the trenches. On offense it's a relative "strength" but on defense, it's a real strength. They've got pass-rushing questions to answer but it should be a pretty solid unit against the run with plausible depth. As always, the strength of the defense for Michigan State is at tackle, where they lose Jacob Slade, but we have a pretty good idea of what that looks like due to the injuries he suffered last year. Slade never really seemed 100% and the focus instead turned to Simeon Barrow and Derrick Harmon. Barrow in particular popped for me, while Harmon was next to Maverick Hansen as decent players with potential to keep improving. Dre Butler joins the depth chart from Liberty (also JUCO and Auburn previously), a 5th year player who shouldn't be expected to do a ton but will help make the Spartans deeper. Barrow may not be a superstar yet, but this remains a strong group that is probably the deepest area on their team. 

Edge is more unproven, but they don't lack options. The new name on the block is Texas A&M transfer Tunmise Adeleye, a former blue chip prospect who never got on the field much with the Aggies but the Spartan insiders are hyping him up. Anecdotal reporting suggests Adeleye should be better against the run than the pass. Khris Bogle was a big transfer add last offseason from Florida who battled injuries and we never got to truly see what he was capable of. What he can do in 2022 is anyone's guess, but I do think he has potential to provide more on-field production.

At the other DE spot you have Avery Dunn and Zion Young, players who were underclassmen pressed into duty too soon last season when Jacoby Windmon moved to LB and injuries struck Bogle. I can't say I love anyone at EDGE but they all have played some college football and three of the four are now third year players or older, so they're starting to ripen to the age where more can be expected. That's the case for optimism and when you mix a mildly competent EDGE group with a decently strong DT group, you get a top four ranking on this list. 

 

[David Wilcomes]

3. Rutgers 

DE	DT	NT	DE
Aaron Lewis	Kyonte Hamilton	Mayan Ahanotu	Wesley Bailey
Mohamed Toure	Troy Rainey	Isaiah Iton	Jordan Thompson

Rutgers returns three solid starters on the defensive line, which helps propel them to the #3 spot on the list. The most famous of the starters for readers of this site is Aaron Lewis, the one-time Michigan commit who opted to play at home during COVID. The native New Jerseyan has developed into a quality EDGE player, not quite a star but has the chance to get there this year as a pass-rusher who is solid against the run. I could see Lewis getting All-B1G consideration when the 2023 season is up. Wesley Bailey is not as far along as Lewis, but was by no means bad either. Those two will soak up the majority of the snaps at EDGE, while they'll get help in pass-rushing from Mohamed Toure, who profiles as a SLB style EDGE. Toure missed last year with injury but was a reliable piece in 2021. 

The interior defensive line returns Kyonte Hamilton, a mediocre player last season who's a bit undersized for tackle, and then has some question marks after that. Mayan Ahanotu and Troy Rainey both had rotational roles at tackle on last year's defense and neither player set themselves apart or proved they were knocking on the door of starter caliber. Schiano added a JUCO transfer (formerly of Ole Miss) in Isaiah Iton to help out, but the Rutgers faithful will be looking for someone to step forward and snag a real job here. When comparing Rutgers to MSU, the Scarlet Knights are stronger at EDGE while MSU is stronger at DT. It was very close between the two but three returning starters against two for MSU was enough for me to put Rutgers ahead but both teams should be moderately formidable on the defensive line in 2023 (neither knock my socks off though). 

 

2. Penn State 

DE	NG	DT	DE
Adisa Isaac	Hakeem Beamon	Dvon Ellies	Chop Robinson
Amin Vanover	Zane Durrant	Coziah Izzard	Dani Dennis-Sutton

The Nittanys take the #2 slot again, just a shade below the other B1G East heavyweight, but don't take this ranking to mean that PSU has no questions on the DL. While their ranking is bolstered by the returning production, there is a sizable looming question at the DT spot in particular. PJ Mustipher departs after an extremely long career that saw him decline in his later years, not the player he once was in 2022. Still, he was a reliable pillar for PSU on the interior and now they enter the post-Mustipher era without an obvious answer at the DT spot. All of Hakeem Beamon, Dvon Ellies, Coziah Izzard, and Zane Durant logged at least 150 snaps last season but none stuck out in any major way. Not necessarily pure cyan territory, but no impact players and they certainly weren't immune from getting blown away by great IOLs last year (*motions towards Michigan-PSU 2022 tape*). Like the next team on the list, the biggest question on the DL is whether their DT room can progress to a level above "fine". 

At EDGE, much hype revolves around the return of Chop Robinson, who wasn't technically a starter last season but was close to it, a very strong pass rusher who PFF was crazy for. I thought he was a good player, but was a bit underwhelmed by his performances against Michigan/Ohio State. Regardless, 5.5 sacks is not nothing and now he'll be a third year player, looking to take that leap. Can he become a dominant, every-down pass rusher who can also be trusted against the run? Adisa Isaac probably isn't going to become that, though he was a decent player as a starting EDGE a year ago. Among the reserves, the biggest hope is probably Dani Dennis-Sutton, a former 5* who will now be a second year piece and could be expected to take a big leap forward after plenty of spring buzz. 

In totality, I ranked PSU at #2 because I like OSU's defensive tackles a bit more and the level of talent overall is a notch higher for the Bucks, but these two are pretty close and they both have similar questions, talented EDGEs looking to make the leap and defensive tackles needing to go from okay to great to scare me as a Michigan fan. 

 

[Patrick Barron]

1. Ohio State 

DE	DT	DT	DE
JT Tuimoloau	Ty Hamilton	Michael Hall	Jack Sawyer
Kenyatta Jackson	Tyleik Williams	Tywone Malone	Caden Curry

Another list, another time OSU ranks at #1, but I am not completely sold on this group yet. Reasons for optimism include the further maturation of their two former 5* EDGEs, JT Tuimoloau and Jack Sawyer, who are now aging into their third seasons. After a couple seasons getting to be shielded by Zach Harrison and Tyreke Smith while they aged into a starting capacity, those two are now going to be expected to do all the heavy lifting themselves. Both show up on NFL Draft rankings for 2024 due to their recruiting profile, but they have more growing to do at the NCAA level to earn that ranking.

Sawyer had his moments but still only played 329 snaps. Is he ready to handle 500 snaps and to do so with solid production? As for JTT, he was at least a starter last season, but the question for him is stringing an entire season together. Tuimoloau was the talk of college football after his massive performance in late October against PSU, but his close to the season was disappointing, not noticeable against UGA/Michigan in my viewings, which is backed up by PFF ratings in the 50s over his last five games. JTT could make another jump and get to Chase Young/Bosa territory, but he needs to actually do it- and do it against quality competition- before I coronate him. The focus on Tuimoloau and Sawyer is emboldened by the fact that the reserves, Kenyatta Jackson and Caden Curry, while talented, are young (both second year) and unproven. The best hope to get quality play at the EDGE position for OSU is to have JTT/Sawyer pop as juniors and since both were 5*s, that ought to be the expectation. 

Tackle is a position that is a more simplistic version of what it was last year, from a five man rotation down to three or four. The player who soaked up the most snaps from last year, Taron Vincent, moves on but I was not at all convinced he was one of their best DTs among the many that the Bucks rotated through. Ty Hamilton was next in terms of usage, a nominal returning starter, but I was also not terribly convinced about his prowess. More intriguing are Michael Hall, who the scouts love, and Tyleik Williams, who was your author's favorite of this group. To round out this two-deep, they added a former touted recruit as a transfer from Ole Miss in Tywone Malone, but I'm not sure of his role this upcoming season after being seldom used in two years with the Rebels. 

The big question for OSU and this DT group is whether someone (or ideally two players) can emerge as Dudes. Last year, the DTs were just guys and that was a major part of why they played Cover 0/1 as often as they did in The Game... Knowles knew his DTs couldn't hang in there against the IOL of Michigan without help (see: the one drive where they dropped the safeties back and what happened). These players are all talented, they've gained an extra year of experience. I wouldn't be shocked if one or two make a leap to being a legitimate problem, but we shall see if they get there. I like the DTs more than those of PSU and that's why they're here at #1, but both EDGE and tackle have some questions to answer going into this season. As you can tell, I'm not enthused about anyone's DL in this article. 

 

[Patrick Barron]

Where would Michigan rank?

I think they'd rank first. It may be closer than it appears, because Michigan does have some questions on the DL, particularly which EDGEs will emerge and how much organic pass rush they can generate, but the unit as a whole is the deepest among these teams listed. At EDGE they have a "returning starter" in Jaylen Harrell, a transfer in who was a starter elsewhere in Josaiah Stewart, and then a player in Derrick Moore where it's reasonable to expect a sizable step forward and the same could be said for Braiden McGregor with another year removed from his HS injury. It doesn't have a name like a Chop Robinson or a JTT, but at the same time, I'm not sure the actual on-field output will be terribly different and that's what matters. 

Where I really like Michigan over PSU/OSU is at defensive tackle, if we are able to reasonably project with Mason Graham going forward. Kris Jenkins was already a quality player last year and now we're hearing rumblings about another leap forward (coming in Football Bits later this week). If Graham also takes a leap, as is reasonable to expect like with Derrick Moore, that could be the best DT tandem in the B1G hands down. Toss in Rayshaun Benny as a rock solid 3rd DT and again, you have serious depth, which is always important at a position like defensive line. The combination of depth and a rising star in Jenkins + possibly Graham and others is enough to put them ahead of some DLs I like but definitely don't love at #1/2 on this list.