Michigan defensive linemen praise Lou Esposito: 'He's challenged us to remember why we do this'

PLYMOUTH, Mich. – The Michigan Wolverines football team took part in the Champions Circle Golf Classic on Monday afternoon, but it was the defensive lineman who may have brought the most noise and juice to the event.

Defensive tackles Rayshaun Benny and Tre Williams, along with EDGE Derrick Moore, stopped by The Wolverine’s podcast set during the event to discuss the upcoming season and more. Each player comes into the year ready to show what he can do in an expanded role.

Moore has played in EDGE rotations with the likes of Mike Morris, Jaylen Harrell, Braiden McGregor and Josaiah Stewart. And now, he has the chance to lead that group.

  “I have been around a lot of great guys in that [EDGE] room,” Moore told The Wolverine. “I just sat back and, just watched and learned a lot from them. I still talk to a lot of those guys. They give me a lot of feedback on what they saw from me and things like that going into this season. They pretty much just tell me to just let it all out.

RELATED: Podcast – Michigan football players join from Champions Circle Golf Classic

“They know what I can do. I know what I can do, but they challenge me. They challenged me to, really just, pull everything out of my bag and just go out to be a ball player.”

Benny is one of the guys who will step into shoes, replacing Michigan’s first round picks from last season in Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant at defensive tackle. His biggest priority is showing that the talent gap is not as wide as it might appear on paper.

“I think the biggest thing that I wanna show is just no drop in production,” Benny said. “I could play the same ball that the guys before me could play. I see the whole thing where it is big shoes to feel and big roles to play, but I always had that pressure for myself anyway, so like, it’s nothing to me. I’m just looking forward to being able to prove to people who have been doing what I can do. And prove myself right. just showing that it just wasn’t my turn at that time. So that’s the biggest thing.”

Williams joins Michigan after four years at Clemson, which saw him hampered at times due to injury. But the defensive tackle has been healthy all offseason, and added a boisterous personality to the tackle rotation.

“ I think the biggest thing Tre brought to the room is energy,” Benny said. “I’m more laid back, not too much gonna talk. He is going to talk your ear off and some more, then he is going to talk to anybody. He is gonna keep the conversation going. So I think the biggest thing he brought is an older mindset, being able to teach me. And just be able to pass along the message to the young guys, showing them the process of growing up and being behind people because it’s a role you gotta play that you gotta learn.

“It’s the simple fact. You gotta learn and if it’s your time. And just being able to be patient and humble.”

All of them will play under the direction of defensive line coach Lou Esposito, who has become one of the Michigan staff’s ace assistants for his work both on the field and on the recruiting trail. Esposito has guided the team through his first full offseason, and the players are bought into what he is selling.

“I’d say he brought a developed mindset,” Benny said. “When I think of him, I kind of think about like multiple coaches. He kind of reminds me [personality-wise] of my first coach, Shaun Nua. Then, he has the coaching style of Mike Elston. So just being able to take away bits and pieces from him. He’s a good person and a good coach. He likes to make it fun for us, instead of it just being like a job, you feel me? We’ll come in and everybody wants to make jokes before we get to meeting seriously, just to lighten up the mood because you never know what somebody’s going through. 

“And he is always the one to bring around the energy. We got this thing around the building, everybody’s taking his phrase. We all call each other ‘kid.’ Everybody is like, ‘What’s up, kid?’ His energy and attitude he brings to work [stands out].”

Esposito was hired after the start of spring football last year after head coach Sherrone Moore was forced to make a late personnel change. “Espo” hit the ground running in building a relationship with his players, and added life perspective to their games.

“When Coach Lou first came around, like first thing he did was walk in and welcome everybody with his energy. he can flip it on real quick. He can pretty much get all of us hyped up for a football game really quickly with a motivational speech. He’ll be on point and everything like that. But he also when it’s time to go, he also challenged us to remember why we get up and do this every day. Who are we doing it for? And to like remember our why. Never forget that. That’s what I love about having Coach Lou.

Benny interjected: “Even with that, not just our why, we know all our teammates why, too. We know why everybody is pushing each other, so it just helps us. For example, one player’s is his mom, so you see him not fully there today. It will be like, ‘Hey man, come on, your mom needs this. So just us being able to do it for each other and not be so selfish. Everything we do is for each other.”