INDIANAPOLIS — 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. There are a lot of young players who showed off in glimpses a year ago that are expected to take a big step forward in 2023. 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. The culture changed in 2021, and it was a large part due to the Wolverines moving on from factions to all 130-plus players pulling in the same direction.
Jenkins said that one boon for the tackles has been becoming a more tight-knit group when the unit isn’t in uniform.
“Just improving our communication on the field and improving on really our culture and our chemistry off the field,” Jenkins said. “Just working with each other more off the field, spending extra time with each other and trying to learn each other’s position more, so that we could really get a different perspective on the game. And actually a better perspective on what’s going on, so we can be more — affect the game more.”
Fans will get a chance to see firsthand just how far the group has come on Sept. 2 when Michigan football opens up the season against East Carolina at The Big House. The game will kick off at noon EDT and will be televised on the streaming service, Peacock.
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