Who graded out highest among Michigan D-linemen Saturday? A few surprises …

The Michigan defensive line was expected to be a strength of the team this year, and it was very good at times in Saturday’s 34-17 win over New Mexico. While almost everyone graded out well, line coach Lou Esposito said Wednesday, a few stood out. 

Head coach Sherrone Moore singled out Alabama transfer Damon Payne Monday as one who impressed him. That wasn’t a surprise to him, Esposito insisted.

“Guys perform at different levels,” he said. “In practice, you want to mimic the game as much as you can, and I think he’s done that the last week in practice. He was really on, played really well. 

“He’s done a great job getting himself in shape … [I saw] a couple clips on tape [from last year] and said, ‘man, you look a lot different!’ He said, ‘coach, we run a lot more here, work out different. I feel way better.’ I think that was a big part going into it.” He did a great job, worked his tail off to get where he is right now. We’ve got to keep raising the level, raising the level, raising the level, as we do with all our guys.”

Enow Etta was another who earned more time throughout the game. Even though he didn’t start, he deserved it given the way he was playing. Payne graded out the highest of the Michigan interior linemen, though, with junior Trey Pierce right behind him.

“Enow took the second most snaps of the interior guys. Just because you don’t take first snaps doesn’t mean you aren’t playing a lot,” Esposito continued. “We’ll continue to go with the guys who are hot, who are playing well … guys that we need in our scheme. 

“Damon Payne graded out really good. The other guy who graded out really well was Trey Pierce. The guys all graded out well, but those were the two highest grades in the room. They did a great job, and Trey is another who changed his body, has done a great job of understanding our scheme, is really starting to play free. Sometimes when guys are younger, they want to do everything the coach says and become very robotic. Trey is not robotic anymore. He’s out there making plays, becoming his own player, which is great to see.”

On the edge, Cam Brandt graded out highest among the Michigan defensive ends. 

“I think those guys did a great job. They played hard, were physical, set the edge, won a bunch of one-on-one pass rushes, hit the quarterback a bunch,” Esposito praised. “I think when the quarterback gets the ball out fast or they’re running screens, sometimes it’s hard to get to those guys. 

“We talk about affecting the quarterback. We hit the quarterback over 20 times. That’s what you want, that guy coming off the ground every play. Whether it’s a sack or a QB hit, I think that’s what those guys did a great job of the entire night.”

He’ll expect more against Oklahoma, he said, including from veteran Derrick Moore. He “can’t wait” to see what he brings against the Sooners, he noted … we’ll all see it soon enough.