'Speed and talent everywhere': Michigan football defense has 'so many guys who can play'

Michigan Wolverines football held its last three opponents — Northwestern, Ohio State and Alabama — to a combined 29 points last season, and is looking to carry that momentum forward to the 2025 campaign. The Maize and Blue lost three top-100 NFL Draft picks along the defensive line but believe depth will help mitigate those departures.

Michigan added two defensive tackle transfers — graduates Tré Williams (Clemson) and Damon Payne Jr. (Alabama) — in December, and the pairing has brought a veteran presence to a group that lost two top-15 NFL Draft picks in Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant.

Williams, a 6-foot-2, 315-pounder, is coming into his sixth season in college, after spending five at Clemson, and is extremely optimistic about what he’s seen from coordinator Wink Martindale‘s defense so far.

“We got speed and talent everywhere — like everywhere,” Williams said on the ‘In The Trenches’ podcast with host Jon Jansen. “Safety, corner, linebacker, EDGE, D-tackle. And then we got so many guys who can play.”

Michigan has returning starters at EDGE (senior Derrick Moore), linebacker (seniors Jaishawn Barham and Ernest Hausmann) and in the secondary (senior Zeke Berry and junior Jyaire Hill). Graduate safety Rod Moore is slated to return, too, after missing the 2024 campaign with a torn ACL. There are a slew of breakout candidates, too, at all three levels of the defense.

It’s safe to say the depth has stood out to Williams — not just on the defensive line, either.

“Sometimes, I’ve been in situations where we didn’t have that many guys that we could rotate in, whether it was due to injuries or whatever the situation was,” the Michigan defensive tackle explained. “But here, we got like guys — real dudes that probably, if they weren’t at a school that was stacked up like here, would probably start other places.”

While Williams has been in college football for five seasons, he’s only appeared in 44 games and logged 720 defensive snaps, having dealt with multiple injuries along the way. This is his final year of eligibility, so he’s surely looking forward to playing a major role — and by all accounts, he’s projected to. But at the same time, he’s highly anticipating seeing his fellow Michigan defensive tackles succeed.

“This is something I’ve always prided myself on, because I feel like it’s all about bringing people along,” Williams said.

“For those of you that might not have played defensive tackle, a defensive tackle can’t play every snap. It’s not realistic. You’re gonna get beat that way. Everybody is here because we want to win another championship.”

The Wolverines are confident they can rotate through six big bodies at defensive tackle and see minimal drop-off. Williams, Payne, graduates Rayshaun Benny and Ike Iwunnah and juniors Enow Etta and Trey Pierce are all expected to see significant time.

A lot of communication will take place while Michigan’s offense is at work, helping the entire defense remain in-sync and adjust to what the opponent is throwing at them.

“That’s what we talk about between drives,” Williams said. “Whenever the offense is out there, now it’s kinda like the league, we got the iPads on the sideline, you can see [the plays on film]. After a drive, a coach comes down and is like, ‘Alright, what did you guys see? What is he doing? What is he giving you?’

“It’s just constant communication on the sideline. That’s where I think really the biggest advantage is, if you’re good with communicating with your teammates and coaches on the sideline about what you’re seeing on the field so they can help you and give you different tools to throw at it, that’s when you separate yourself, because it’s a game within a game, for real.”

Williams has made big plays in the past — including recording 2 sacks in a College Football Playoff game against Texas last season — but never been all-conference in his career. He’s hoping to change that in his one season at Michigan.

“I want to be All-Big Ten,” Williams remarked. “I want to be considered one of the best interior tackles in the country when it’s all said and done.”

How can he achieve that?

“Just keep working like I’ve been working,” he said. “I feel like there’s no secret formula. You just gotta work. It’s reps on reps on reps on reps on reps on reps on reps. That’s kinda what I’ve been doing all summer.”