ANN ARBOR, Mich. — There are few players who have gotten more hype for Michigan football in and around Ann Arbor than second-year defensive tackle Enow Etta.
Etta was the talk of spring and those accolades behind the scenes have continued into fall camp. Once an edge rusher, Etta bulked up and prepared to move inside this season, and he’s learning from the best that the Wolverines have to offer.
“Enow is doing a lot of good stuff,” junior defensive tackle Mason Graham said. “I feel like he’s going to be a player for us that is going to get a lot of snaps, and I feel like he’s ready to excel and show what he’s done this offseason the whole time he’s been here.”
Graham would know how much Etta has improved. Not only is he a star player in his own right, but he’s taken him under his wing.
Defensive line coach Lou Esposito likes the way that Etta is being proactive and professional about his business this offseason. Even though he’s all but ensured that he’ll be in heavy rotation this fall, he’s seeking out more knowledge and information — from both his teammates as well as his coaches.
“The last two weeks of camp, he came over and met. I didn’t ask him, didn’t say anything. He just came over and met with me and met with me and met with me,” Esposito said. “Came in yesterday before class, met with me. Meets with Coach Lewis. He’s becoming a sponge, football-wise.
“And I really think the most impressive thing was, we talked about Mason, there was a day in practice where Mason and I walked in the D-line room, and Mason and Enow were in there with the door shut, and they were just watching film. Mason was coaching him and Enow was, like, writing notes down, writing notes down, writing notes down. And Mason was saying the same message.
“He handled it pretty good,” Graham said. “He latched on to a lot of us, older guys, the coaches, and really invested a lot of his time and wanted to role inside. So that’s what he chose to do.”
According to Esposito, that attention to detail and yearning for knowledge should pay off greatly this year. That’s what the best do, in Esposito’s eyes, as they’re more than physical specimens — they’re students of the game.
“He wants to learn football,” Esposito said. “Those young guys, I talked about the football IQ, about the guys here. The older guys that have played in games, their IQ is up here. The young guys, we got to keep moving it up. And even the older guys, there’s still room to improve. But the willingness to do that is second to none. That’s why they’ve been successful. One of the many reasons why they’ve been successful here.”
Fans will get their first opportunity to see Etta in action on Saturday when Michigan takes on Fresno State in the season opener.