Michigan football: Who will start at DT next to Rayshaun Benny?

Michigan Wolverines football has six defensive tackles who weigh 300-plus pounds that are expected to rotate to varying degrees during the 2025 season — graduates Rayshaun Benny (6-4, 305), Damon Payne (6-4, 311), Tré Williams (6-2, 320) and Ike Iwunnah (6-3, 316) and juniors Enow Etta (6-5, 320) and Trey Pierce (6-2, 310).

The most proven of the bunch is Benny, a Detroit native who’s entering his fifth season at Michigan and has played behind four NFL Draft picks, including three first-rounders. Benny has appeared in 41 games with three starts for the Wolverines and is looking to take his game to another level this fall.

But who will start next to him? Michigan has a bunch of options, and it’s still up in the air.

“It’s early, and right now, it’s day by day,” Michigan defensive line coach Lou Esposito said. “Whoever’s practicing better is gonna move into that spot.

“There have been days where Damon Payne has been good. There have been days where Tré Williams has been good. There have been days where Trey Pierce has been good, and Ike has been good and Enow has been good. And we move them throughout the periods, so we’re mixing and matching guys to get the best out of them.

“That’s the good thing when you have depth: If guys aren’t getting it or aren’t doing what you need them to do, you can move guys around. The other thing is you reward guys for what they’re doing. It’s been really, really exciting.

“We still got a long way to go to be where we want to be, but we’re excited about where we’re going.”

The Wolverines hold that excitement in part because they added multiple impact transfers. Williams (Clemson) and Payne (Alabama) were priorities back in December, and Michigan landed both.

Williams has been generating more buzz this offseason, with teammates frequently mentioning how well he’s played. Esposito believes it’s been a seamless transition integrating him into the program.

“The biggest thing is you watch him on film: He was extremely stout and explosive, and those are the guys that we want,” Esposito said of the evaluation process. “He’s not a gap and attack guy [who] just runs up the field and creates horizontal lanes. He fit what we wanted on the field.

“And after you sit down with him and meet him, his personality is electric. It was a win-win for us, and he’s a team guy. Whatever it takes for us to be successful, that’s what he wants to do, so he fit right into the culture.”

He’s competing with the rest of them, though, and nobody can get too comfortable or complacent as Michigan prepares for the 2025 season.

“The biggest thing with the depth is those guys have to continue to get better,” Esposito pointed out. “They can’t just assume that, hey, I’m gonna be the starter. There are guys in there that are very, very close, that all bring a unique aspect to what they do.

“There are gonna be games where you see a lot more of them, and there are gonna be games where we’re in a bunch of different packages and maybe not as much.

“I know the biggest thing with those guys is that they all have to be physical, they all have to play with knock-back and they all have to play with great effort. We gotta keep working at that in camp. We gotta keep bringing that in, bringing that in, bringing that in, so it just becomes second nature for those guys. But we’re excited about them.”

A heavy rotation means a backup could play more snaps in a given game than a starter. Esposito was asked if it even “matters” who starts. The Michigan players may care at some level, but the assistant coach doesn’t think it’s that big of a deal.

“At some point, I’m sure it matters for guys. But the reality is here it’s all about the team,” Esposito remarked. “So, if you have to take a rep after the first snap and then you’re gonna play more and it helps the team out, these guys here are all about it.

“So, I don’t know if it matters that much. They just want to do whatever it takes for the team to win, and I think that’s what’s super exciting about these guys. We got the right group of guys, because they’re all about that.”