Michigan football started out spring ball on Tuesday and had its first of 15 practices (including the spring game on April 19) in preparation for the 2025 season.
The deeper side of the ball between offense and defense definitely appears to be the latter as the majority of players who will either start or be in deep rotation dominated in the ReliaQuest Bowl against Alabama in December. Also, the entire coaching staff, minus behind-the-scenes assistant Kevin Wilkins, returns, giving some consistency to the group from defensive coordinator on down.
With that in mind, here is our spring ball projection of the two deep for each position group within the defense.
Defensive tackle
| Starters | Backups |
| Rayshaun Benny | Trey Pierce (or) Enow Etta |
| Tré Williams | Ike Iwunnah (or) Damon Payne |
This is the hardest position to project on the whole team. Benny is the one obvious starter and though Pierce started in the bowl game, the two incoming transfers make things a bit more difficult. This group goes deep, and that’s not even getting into some players who could make a push, like sophomore Deyvid Palepale. We had to separate the backups with ‘or’ designations, but all six should be in rotation. Perhaps the most underrated is Iwunnah, who appears to be getting a lot of shoutouts from Wink Martindale in the past few weeks.
Edge rusher
| Starters | Backups |
| Derrick Moore | Cameron Brandt |
| TJ Guy | Dominic Nichols |
We would like to see some of the younger players, like Devon Baxter and Lugard Edokpayi, make some moves this spring, but these four were the primary pass rushers in the ReliaQuest Bowl. What might be interesting is when Nate Marshall — rated a five-star on Rivals — arrives on campus this summer. Additionally, we should see a bit of linebacker Jaishawn Barham rushing from the edge.
Linebacker
| Starters | Backups |
| Ernest Hausmann | Troy Bowles (or) Jimmy Rolder |
| Jaishawn Barham | Jaydon Hood (or) Nathaniel Owusu-Boateng |
Cole Sullivan could also be involved, but for now, we’re going with the true freshman getting into the rotation. Michigan coveted Owusu-Boateng perhaps more than anyone not named Bryce Underwood this recruiting cycle and he’s been mentioned as an early play candidate throughout his recruitment.
Safety
| Starters | Backups |
| Rod Moore | TJ Metcalf (or) Mason Curtis |
| Brandyn Hillman | Jaden Mangham |
Moore will eventually get into play but it appears as if he’ll still be out this spring as he recovers from his ACL tear last spring. Metcalf was very productive for Arkansas last year and Mangham (who didn’t play last year) was a starter at MSU two years ago.
Cornerback
| Starters | Backups |
| Zeke Berry | Shamari Earls |
| Jyaire Hill | Jo’Ziah Edmond |
| Ja’Den McBurrows (NB) | Zeke Berry |
Nickel is somewhat unclear, so we slotted Berry back to the position he started in at the beginning of last year. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see a different safety (or sophomore Tevis Metcalf) slot into that role. The other roles appear accounted for, but spring could see some moves made.
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