Tag: Braiden McGregor

Braiden McGregor and Leonard Taylor III make 53-man roster with New York Jets

According to New York Jets reporter Ethan Greenberg,  rookies Braiden McGregor, Leonard Taylor II, & Eric Watts all made the 53-man roster.

The New York Jets wanted to make sure they kept a plethora of defensive lineman to make an impact at the line of scrimmage in 2024. According to team reporter Ethan Greenberg, undrafted rookies Braiden McGregor, Leonard Taylor II, and Eric Watts all made the 53-man roster.

The Jets ranked No. 25 in the NFL in opponents rush yards per game and No. 7 in total team sacks. Defensive Coordinator Jeff Ulbrich hopes that the establish depth will afford him the opportunity to deploy fresher legs in 3rd & long situations.

Congratulations to Taylor III, Watts, and Mcgregor for solidifying themselves on the Jets’ team roster.

Report: Giants met with Michigan DE Braiden McGregor

The New York Giants met virtually with Michigan DE Braiden McGregor.

Quarterback J.J. McCarthy was not the only player New York Giants scouts, coaches and executives were interested in seeing at the University of Michigan’s pro day on Friday.

They reportedly held a recent online meeting with McGregor.

McGregor, who is 6-foot-f5ive and 257 pounds is a dark horse in the 2024 NFL draft. He recently told The Draft Network that he planned on “turning some heads” at his pro day after being hindered all winter by an ankle sprain he sustained at the Senior Bowl.

McGregor is projected to be a Day 3 pick in this year’s draft.

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Why former Michigan football edge Braiden McGregor is confident in the new U-M coaching staff

The confidence isn’t wavering! #GoBlue

Braiden McGregor has seen good times and he’s seen bad times during his tenure as a Wolverine.

Having arrived in 2020 as a true freshman, McGregor saw what it was like to truly hit rock bottom as a program in Ann Arbor. But then, he witnessed and partook in greatness over the course of the next three seasons.

But all good things must come to an end, and as McGregor departs the program now that his senior year is done, he’s watched something of a coaching exodus also happen with Jim Harbaugh and the entire Michigan football defensive staff leaving the program.

At the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis, McGregor reacted to former offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore being elevated to be the team’s new head coach. While that interim role he assumed for four games last season is in the rearview, McGregor sees a team that should thrive in Moore’s first full season, and it’s clear that Moore has his confidence.

“I think they did a great job of hiring coach Moore,” McGregor said. “I think that was the No. 1 thing is make sure we get the right guy. That whole locker room, everybody, loves coach Moore. So now that they got him I think it’s just up from here.

“They have all the tools on defense. The offense is reloading, a lot of young guys that have been itching to get their chance. So this year, I think we’re still on the up-and-coming. I mean, even at the top of college football last year, I think they still have a good opportunity this year, too.”

But it wasn’t just the defensive coaches that moved on.

Many were surprised when strength and conditioning coach Ben Herbert opted to follow Jim Harbaugh to the NFL, especially as there were rumblings that Herbert had intimated that he planned on staying with the program in Ann Arbor. However, it appears he received an offer he couldn’t refuse and ended up moving on to a new challenge. Thus, one of his underlings, Justin Tress, was elevated to the new strength and conditioning coordinator.

Tress joined Michigan football at the same time as Herbert, in 2018, and bided his time until he moved up the chain.

McGregor has full confidence in what Tress brings to the table, noting he has a lot of similarities as Herbert did, but also knows when to back off and jell with the players a bit.

“First of all, I’m so happy for coach Tress,” McGregor said. “When I got there, he was kind of the younger guy. I think he was like the third in line. So it’s kind of cool to just to see. OK, I went through four years, coach Herb went to the Chargers, coach Ro, he went to Purdue, and now coach Tress gets the job.

“It’s just so exciting to see what he does, because he was the type of guy, he was like coach Herb and then he would like have an off-switch to be able to actually hang out with you — kind of understand that.

“So I’m just excited to see what he does. I know he’s got these turn-up Saturdays going on right now where the boys are getting lit in the weight room, shirts off, water bottle squirting. And so I’m excited when I go back to be able to go in there and be able to see the new staff and see what he’s doing.”

While McGregor’s time with the Wolverines is done, he appears to believe that the national championship for the maize and blue is just the beginning. Certainly, fans in the state of Michigan will hope he’s right.

List of linebackers and edges at 2024 Senior Bowl

List of linebackers and edges at 2024 Senior Bowl

With the NFL as pass-happy as it is, pass-rushers are extremely valuable. Having a good week in Mobile can also help such players. Just ask the Jets. They have selected an edge that was at the Senior Bowl in the first round in each of the last two drafts — Jermaine Johnson, 2022; Will McDonald, 2023.

Could the Jets add another this year? Defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich will get a close eye on some of these players as the American team head coach. Not just Ulbrich, but linebackers coach Nathaniel Willingham as well, as he will be on the coaching staff. Joining Willingham is Imarjaye Albury of the Vikings, Rob Leonard of the Raiders and Cato June of the Colts. [anyclip-media thumbnail=”undefined” playlistId=”undefined” content=”dW5kZWZpbmVk”][/anyclip-media]Here’s who’s in Mobile this week at the edge and linebacker positions.

Michigan football leaning in on defensive side of the ball

Not enough people are talking about the #Michigan defense. #GoBlue

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — For whatever reason, when it comes to defense in the Big Ten, all of the talk has centered on Ohio State and Penn State. Both are deserving, of course, but the reigning conference champion and the team with the best defense for the past two years is Michigan football — and it’s only getting better.

The Wolverines lead the country in scoring defense, though not in total yards. The impressive part is that the starters have mostly rotated out midway through he third quarter, thus, we still haven’t even seen the starting defense for a complete game, whereas the others have needed to use their starters for the entire 60 minutes.

But what makes this particular iteration of defense so good? One Wolverine has some answers, and part of it is expectation.

“We were just talking about this, about how deep we are, and how well-coached we are, and how we just don’t give in if they get a first down,” senior edge rusher Braiden McGregor said. “(We) say, ‘OK, well, now we got to stop them on this first down.’ It’s not like — we never worry. Michigan is always known for the defense. You look at the 2016 defense, 2018, 21, 22, and now 23. It’s just like, every year, there’s an elite defense here. And that’s kind of the standard is just — when you come to Michigan, you play defense. You got to be able to stop the run, you got to get the quarterback, and you don’t want these guys to score. So be able to have one of the best defenses this year, we just got to keep growing, and keep grinding every day.”

All season long, the Michigan defense has worked hard for a shutout, but on the final drives of some of its games, it’s lost out on looking up at a zero on the scoreboard. East Carolina scored a walk-off field goal in Week 1, UNLV scored a final possession touchdown, and Nebraska got a long TD against the backups in the fourth quarter. But against rival Michigan State last week, the defense finally didn’t relent, keeping the Spartans from getting on the scoreboard.

For this group, it’s been a long time coming, and McGregor is proud that his unit was finally able to secure the zero against a hated rival.

“It’s been a goal for us ever since the beginning of the year: don’t let these guys score any points. There’s no reason they should,” McGregor said. Every time we play, we go out there and do what we should do or what we can do. There shouldn’t be a point scored. So be able to get our first one on Saturday was against Michigan State, which is awesome, being able to go out there and walk out and look at 49-0 — which is like, and that’s awesome, man. They scored zero points, and then Mikey scored six. So as Coach Harbaugh always says, ‘Defense, you guys get scored more than they scored!’ So, it’s just awesome to be able to walk out there with a win and a shutout.”

The Michigan defense was on bye this week but will take the field again on Saturday when the Wolverines host Purdue. The game will kick off at 7:30 p.m. EST and will be broadcast on NBC.

Michigan football players got a jump on Ohio State, Penn State during bye week

Good. #GoBlue

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Some Michigan football players didn’t wait long to start getting an idea of what Penn State and Ohio State were doing once bye week started. In fact, many started looking at both teams before the last game.

Michigan’s last game, last Saturday at Michigan State, started at 7:30 p.m. EDT. With Penn State playing Ohio State at noon, some of the players took that as an opportunity to catch some of the game.

Edge rusher Braiden McGregor started watching the game with Jaylen Harrell, but the duo decided to move on while the contest was still in question.

“Yeah, so Coach Harbaugh always tells us don’t get too invested in the games when you’re sitting there,” McGregor said. “So you know, (Jaylen Harrell) and I were sitting in the room, we were watching it. And, we didn’t really watch too much of it, we ended up going down in the hotel hot tubs in there and get our bodies loose and just kind of just chat with each other about what we expect and our game plan for Michigan State.

“I think a big thing for us to focus on when we’re playing, obviously, looking at who we’re gonna play at the end of the year. But I think just watching them, they’re both really good teams are both ranked top 10. You got to come to play against them and just continue to (be ourselves) and we’ll be alright.”

Similar was true for quarterback J.J. McCarthy in terms of tuning into the game live. But McCarthy took it to another level.

Once his game was over, on Sunday, McCarthy delved into the film to get a clearer picture of both teams. While the star quarterback says the team focus is certainly on the Wolverines’ next opponent, Purdue, it certainly didn’t hurt to start in on both of his future opponents.

“I watched all of it, I already watched the all-22 cut of it,” McCarthy said. “But you know, it’s a lot of stuff on tape that we’re — I would just say, it’s good to observe it, stuff that, where we think we can attack them, just finding weaknesses and stuff like that. But at the end of the day, we’re focused on Purdue. And that’s the only focus so far.”

Michigan will play Purdue at 7:30 p.m. EST on Nov. 4, but Penn State looms the following week. Ohio State is still four weeks away.

Senior Bowl director singles out two Wolverines as potential breakout players in 2023

Expect both of these guys to be game-breakers in 2023! #GoBlue

Big things are expected of Michigan football this fall, and if those things are to come to fruition, it will be in large part due to some of the talent rising up from previous levels — particularly on defense.

The Wolverines lost more on the defensive side of the ball than the offensive side, yet the defense is expected to take a step forward and be the shining star for the maize and blue.

Executive director of the Reese’s Senior Bowl Jim Nagy always has his eye on talent in Ann Arbor as he was once a Wolverine himself as a student. He took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to share two players for the Michigan defense he expects to take big steps forward in 2023 — defensive tackle Kris Jenkins and edge rusher Braiden McGregor.

Much has been made of how much future NFL talent @UMichFootball has coming back on OL but @seniorbowl also has two prospects on defensive front graded near top of their respective positions—DT Kris Jenkins & EDGE Braiden McGregor.

Bottom line, there are plenty DT in this 2024 draft class with better measurables than Jenkins (6024v, 287v, 33 1/2 arm) but few have better tape.

@KrisJenkinsJr1 is a fun study because he’s a consistent factor versus both run & pass. He’s an excellent technician (s/o @CoachMikeElston) who plays down the middle of blockers with natural two-gap leverage and he’s athletic enough to get skinny & finish in backfield.
Staff sources say he’s packed on 15 pounds of muscle this offseason and we can’t wait to see what that looks like on field this fall.
Jenkins has All-Pro bloodlines and we think he can be an immediate force at next-level with his NFL-ready game. We’ve been hearing great things about McGregor’s spring work from staffers all offseason and we were pleasantly surprised by how much we liked his 2022 tape.
Things that got us excited about McGregor were his violence, aggression, and natural power. Reminded us of Bengals’ Pro Bowler Trey Hendrickson when we scouted him coming out of FAU.
While our Day 2 grade includes some projection, if he takes expected next steps as full-time starter then @BraidenMcgregor could be next in-line of Top-100 edge guys coming out of Ann Arbor (Winovich, @_Uche35, Gary, Paye, Hutchinson, Ojabo).
Both Jenkins and McGregor could make big (money emojis) in 1-on-1 pass rush drills in Mobile! #BestoftheBest #TheDraftStartsInMOBILE
As a starter last year, Jenkins is a little bit more of a proven and known commodity, and he’s earning a lot of hype as being a potential first-round NFL draft pick in 2024. McGregor, however, has only shown glimpses as a backup, and it will be incumbent upon him to make good on the promise of his capability. However, with not as much of a safety net given there are no surefire edge rushers waiting in the wings, nor are there any blue chip pass rushers on the team compared to previous years, McGregor will have a lot riding on showcasing his ability if the defense is to be as good as advertised.
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Why Braiden McGregor feels he’s on the verge of breaking out

He’s going to be a beast this year. #GoBlue

Back in 2019, one of the state of Michigan’s most talented sons sat in the stands of Crisler Center as a football visitor for a basketball game and envisioned his future. Ranked one of the best players in the country and rising at the time, Braiden McGregor was one of the most highly-sought after defensive ends nationally.

Despite having several other high-profile offers (Alabama, LSU, Florida, Notre Dame, Ohio State, and others), McGregor chose to go to the in-state school and wear a winged helmet. However, he tore his ACL in his senior season of high school, and the rising prospect found his rating drop, as well as his ability to see the field early at the college level.

Since then, it’s been a mixture of rehabbing his body as well as his confidence. McGregor got his first opportunity to see the field in 2021 and saw a little more time in 2022. But it was the games against rivals Ohio State and Michigan State that inspired confidence that he could be a viable starter for the Wolverines moving forward.

Speaking with Jon Jansen on the ‘In the Trenches’ podcast, McGregor shared why he feels he’s ready to step into a starting role and what’s different about this offseason compared to when he first arrived in Ann Arbor in 2020.

“Going back to my lessons and trusting the people that know what they’re talking about,” McGregor said. “I definitely think that the verge for me of breaking out is I was there at the end of the year. I felt like myself, I felt like I can go out there and make plays, not doubting myself, not thinking too much about the plays. And now it’s just putting it all together.

“I have what I think is everything I need to be successful. And I think just going out there every day and proving it to everybody that doubted me or everybody that I would never be the same after my injury. And proving it to myself. I’ve been through, like I said, this long journey, and I just want to make it all worth it and not have any regrets.”

Realistically, what can McGregor be in 2023? Can he emerge as one of the best in the country or is that just wishful thinking?

McGregor harkens back to some of the recent edge rushers that have come through Schembechler Hall and notes their emergence as well as the expectations within the building. For him, that’s what the goal is — to have his name resonate among the likes of his recent predecessors.

“For this football season, my main goal is put my name in that category of great Michigan defensive ends that came through here,” McGregor said. “I’ve been here with two first-rounders — should have been a third one with Jabo. Mike Morris is about to be up there too. Just putting my name in that category of guys that have been under Coach Harbaugh that go to the league. And leaving a mark in the stadium of when I walk out of there for last time, being, not looking back and having any regrets and just appreciating the journey. I went from watching every game my freshman year to playing every game my senior year.”

McGregor has a particular opportunity given that the aforementioned Mike Morris departed for the NFL while fellow high-level contributor Eyabi Okie transferred to Charlotte this offseason to follow Biff Poggi.

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Why Michigan coaches expect EDGE Braiden McGregor will be ‘dominant’

#Michigan is Edge Rush U! #GoBlue

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Jesse Minter is hoping the next man up will be the next great Michigan football pass rusher. Generally in the Jim Harbaugh era, once a Wolverine EDGE moves onto the NFL — usually in the first three rounds of the draft — his replacement is of the same, if not better, caliber.

Harbaugh’s first two defensive ends, Taco Charlton and Chris Wormley, went in the first and third rounds, respectively. Rashan Gary and Chase Winovich, the same. Kwity Paye and Aidan Hutchinson were both first-rounders. David Ojabo was a second-rounder, but would have been in the first if it weren’t for a pro day Achilles injury. We’ll see where Mike Morris goes, but he’ll likely be a day two guy.

The next man up appears to be senior Braiden McGregor. McGregor had an ACL tear in his senior year of high school and when he finally got a chance to see the field his sophomore season, he was behind a lot of talent. He started coming on strong late last year, but now the Wolverines need him to step up and into a starting role.

Minter, the team’s defensive coordinator entering his second-year, says he has the capability of taking over a game, it’s just about consistency.

“Braiden McGregor, man, there’s a guy that when you talk about the process of development, everybody’s sometimes on a different trajectory,” Minter said. “They’re sometimes injury-related, confidence-related people-in-front-of-you-related. And so he’s had a career here, where — dealt with injuries, dealt with the No. 2 pick in the draft being in front of him, other guys.

“And so I think he’s trusted the process here, and he’s continued to develop at a really fast, high rate, especially coming off what he’s dealt with prior. So I’m really, really excited about Braiden, I think he has a chance to be a dominant player. And I think the challenge for him is he does it in spurts. And he knows this, and it’s to take over a game, and he has that capability. So I’m excited to see that happen.”

The other candidate to step up is Josaiah Stewart, the transfer from Coastal Carolina. Stewart had 12.5 sacks two seasons ago, but just 2.5 last year. Minter notes that he’s not quite the same type of edge rusher as the others on the roster, and is looking forward to see how he acclimates in the spring game and beyond.

“Josaiah is a tremendous addition, first of all, just from his personality and fit into the culture, the way he works, the way he attacks things,” Minter said. “It’s like he’s been here. So when that happened, you pick up a guy that, one, he practices really hard. He’s got a really unique skill set. He’s different than some of our edge rushers with his measurables. And so he’s a — just really excited about him and he’s had a productive spring. I think if he talked to some of our guys, they would say he’s stood out at times. And looking forward to seeing that on Saturday in more of a game environment, and also seeing that in the fall as well.”

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Michigan football players look back on TCU game, championship game that wasn’t

They need to get back to the playoff and win this time. #GoBlue

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — There’s a problem when a team is coronated to win a big game before playing in it — sometimes the other team has something to say about it.

That was the case for the Michigan Wolverines against the TCU Horned Frogs in the College Football Playoff semifinal in the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl — the maize and blue were far and away the favorites. And when Donovan Edwards ripped off a big run on the opening offensive play, it looked all but ordained that Michigan would emerge the victor.

However, they play games for a reason, and after two J.J. McCarthy pick-sixes, two missed scoring opportunities on the goal line, a handful of missed tackles that resulted in TCU touchdowns, the Wolverines were heading back to Ann Arbor while the Horned Frogs went to LA to play Georgia in the national championship game.

Now that the Wolverines are in spring ball and preparing for another season where they’ll likely be prohibitive favorites to at least play in the championship game, many of the players are going back and reflecting on what happened in late December, knowing that he who forgets the past is doomed to repeat it.

“There’s a lot of things that we did wrong. We just didn’t play our best ball but — it sucks,” fifth-year tackle Karsen Barnhart said. “But I mean it is what it is and it’s only gonna fire us up more to get ready to do we got to do the coming up season.

“Like, I mean, we watched it and then you start to like have in the back of your mind that that happened. But I mean, you’ve just got to move forward and we’re moving forward now in the right direction with the 2023 season. Just got to ball out.”

Senior edge rusher Braiden McGregor didn’t just rewatch Michigan’s loss to TCU, but he watched the other playoff game featuring Ohio State and Georgia, as well as Georgia’s romp over TCU. Seeing how close OSU came to taking down the Bulldogs, he couldn’t help but wonder what might have been had Michigan taken care of business as expected in its own College Football Playoff game.

“Yeah, I watched it. And it’s just — it wasn’t great to watch because, you’re watching it, like, we should have gotten there,” McGregor said. “I feel like we had a lot of mistakes that game, we kind of beat ourselves. And, you watch the other semifinal game, and I was like, OK, (Ohio State) hung with them, and they’d had a good game, maybe should have won, you know? Speculation and everything. But it was like — we handled them and you see what happened in the final game, you’re like, ‘Man, that should have been us.’

“The biggest takeaway, we get to that time this year, shot ourselves in the foot two years — not prepared first year, and then this year being prepared, and it was like, we just got to get there. And just, when adversity hits, we just got to say, whatever, you just got to keep going. Because I feel like that was the biggest thing of like — we didn’t lose a game, and it really wasn’t a lot of games where there was adversity. So I think when that happened, it was a little tough for us. But I think we’ll be prepared this year for sure.”

Being more prepared was the mindset heading into last year’s CFP game, but now these Wolverines have to take that mentality and push it forward into 2023.

Junior linebacker Junior Colson admits he’s gone back and watched the game multiple times, but now is not a time to lament. It’s more so fuel to push he and his teammates to the point where they can go back to the playoff and actually win.

“Watched it quite a bit, watched it quite a bit,” Colson said. “But I’ve been trying to move on. There’s a lot of things, a lot of plays didn’t go our way — a lot of things. And just trying to get back to that spot and just further, in a way, because two times now we’ve gotten to that spot, that’s where our end has come.”

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