Despite losing defensive tackle Mazi Smith to the first round of the 2023 NFL draft, the expectations for Michigan football’s interior defensive line is bigger ,
than it was at this time last year. And that says a lot about the personnel that the Wolverines will be trotting out.
Senior DT Kris Jenkins is being spoken of in a similar vein to Smith this year, but the hype is largely due to the amount of depth the maize and blue currently have.
At Big Ten media days, Jenkins spoke about how far they’ve come and why those younger players are in a position to succeed this year.
“I’m not gonna hype them up too much. But (Kenneth Grant), Cam Goode, Rayshaun Benny, Mason Graham —
yeah, I could go down the list,” Jenkins said. “They’re absolute dogs or animals.
And the biggest thing I love about them is that they continue to work, they’re hungry,
they love getting better, they love learning from their mistakes and becoming better defensive tackles.
And I think you’re gonna see a lot of improvement, and they’re definitely going to make a lot of statements this year.
“But yeah, they’re definitely really coming into their own. And I’m really excited and proud of them with how far they come, and they’re gonna continue to grow.”
As a whole, the defensive tackle group is becoming more and more of a microcosm of the team and its recent success.
As a whole, the defensive tackle group is becoming more and more of a microcosm of the team and its recent success.