Football Bits Accidentally Brings Back Guys

This was said in context of Bryce's interceptions early in camp, clearly, but they're also maybe not just saying things via Henscke():Practice observers have noticed that Jay Hill’s scheme lives up to what has been discussed since he was hired. The defense does a lot, throwing different looks at you, stunts, etc., and always seems to be mixing it up. The way it’s been described from both sides of the ball is watching Utah play BYU last year, and that’s exactly what you’re going to get from the offense (Utah) and the defense (BYU).Trevor McCue also had a note, regarding talk of the DL being their deepest position, that talked about Hill's philosophy():His scheme thrives on disruption — shifting fronts, varied pressure looks, and forcing quarterbacks into quick decisions. ... Hill’s system depends on confusion. Disguised coverages. Late rotations. Pressure from different angles. But those elements only matter if the front forces offenses to speed up.What it means: They're not going back to Cover 1 all day, though they're probably not going to go full Wink either. I expect they (and every other coach in football) desire to be as varied as the 2023 defense, and they'll have to scale that back a bunch because they're not all Mike Sainristils. I also suspect the new coaches are very pleased with the amount their defensive ends have practiced dropbacks from the old system.Defensive TackleWhat we want to hear: They've found a deep well of young, up-and-comer defensive tackles who pushed Biegel to offense and are going to marginalize Jonah Lea'ea to a rush role, unless Lea'ea has gained 45 pounds.What we're hearing: Whittingham thinks his DL is “maybe the deepest position group on the football team” with five DTs and five DEs that are going to be guys they can with, IE guys. Which guys? Pierce, Etta, and Lea'ea come up first and most but Deyvid Palepale has found his balance with size and strength after needing a year to reshape his body. I was told Palepale is halfway where he needs to be to be a starter, but should be fine as a rotational player. Another person said he thought Palepale looks another year away from really exploding because he's got some technique things they need to clean up but the general sentiment is you can't fake his size.That's four guys, though, and insiders do keep bringing up Vallejo and Davis—both fall enrollees—as potential contributors. Benny Patterson is at edge—he's backing up Cam Brandt while Daley/Nichols/Edokpayi are projected to the heavy side—so the fifth player must be either RS So Ted Hammond, RS Fr Bobby Kanka, or 5th year walk-on Chibi Anwunah.Perhaps Lea'ea has grown? He was asked.I’m still on my way up. Last year I played a little light. That wasn’t me. But, yeah, I’m still trying to gain more weight just so I can hold up better in the run.What it means: They're talking about the DL as a group, and that group has been having enough success at pass-rushing that the OL hype has come in under expectations. This tells me the smallish DTs are getting pressure in pass rush but not holding up to the run as well as we're used to. It's good to finally get something about Palepale and to hear Lea'ea admit what he was last year isn't going to be Guy-level here. If there's a fifth DT they like I would like them to name him. Right now I'm not buying the hype. Defensive EndWhat we want to hear: John Henry Daley is healthy/well ahead of schedule, and doing football stuff. Some of the kids are POPPING, and someone has recognized that Brandt's 2025 was pretty shit and he's worlds better.What we're hearing: Good news on the JHD front. Last year about this time we were promised a heartening video of Rod Moore finally running again. That video was heartening in the way you're heartened when your mom is walking on her own again after hip surgery. Very happy for my football son, not a great sign for my football secondary, sort of thing.This one is not that.https://t.co/A6BLwXkmxR pic.twitter.com/GJIBvkyYYI— Brice Marich (@BriceMarich) April 11, 2026Speaking as an internet doctor that looks like a guy running. Not a guy bending around a member of the Tennessee frontcourt to run down an agile quarterback, but guy running is what you want to see at this stage if you're going to see a defensive end in September.In his absence you expect to get a couple of guys coming forth. We've got two of the usual ones from Sprague...I’d say it’s just the twos who have been going with the ones right now, Dom and Cam. Dom has really taken the next step in his game. I think he can really do everything as a rusher. He can move well, bull rush, do everything. And then Cam, Cam’s really gotten a lot better too, just strong, super strong, fast, does everything the right way.And then two more.Benny Patterson, he’s been really surprising how good he’s doing. He’s one of the strongest guys on the team for sure. Lugard, yeah, Lugard’s been doing really good too.McCue is buying.Dominic Nichols continues to receive high praise publicly and privately. Michigan’s most experienced end, Cam Brandt, has taken strides. Lugard Edokpayi has gone from raw prospect to a player with length and tools. Nate Marshall is a former five-star ready for his sophomore leap. John Henry Daley could be the best defensive end on the team once healthy.Patterson and Edokpayi were the edges standing out to an observer I talked to, especially Lu who has learned enough to access his impossible body—sometimes he's unblockable. Henschke is also hearing great things about Edokpayi(). Patterson is Cam Brandt he said, and when I scoffed because of my charting of Cam Brandt I was castigated Brandt's a great player. I don't know why you guys hate him.ARRRGGGHHHHHH I don't hate him; he graded poorly.Dominic Nichols is the next guy getting talk, expectedly. Guarnera said Nichols has stood out among the players on defense, and is always working out. What it means: The piece I buy is Edokpayi, because the talk about him is specifically about the things he's good at. Ditto Patterson—he's strong. Contrast that with the general stuff about Nichols, and how excited they get about any JHD news and the picture I get is one of two upperclassmen in Brandt and Nichols who are guys, two young players in Patterson and Edokpayi who are starting to pay dividends but don't do all the little things the upperclassmen do, and one real difference-maker still coming back. LinebackerWhat we want to hear: The young LBs will be remembered as a great LB generation.What we're hearing: The young LBs are what they're stuck with. Whittingham named them...with difficulty.Yeah, Chase Taylor is doing a really nice job. Him, Troy Bowles is also, and he's an upperclassman, played a lot of special team snaps, not a lot of linebacker snaps. Nathaniel Owusu-Boateng, I think I'm pronouncing that correctly, is, has flashed as well. And so those would be the top three right now.The three have shown real progress and flashed, says Brice. Taylor tends to come up first; he's the LB that Sprague mentioned is doing a really good job. Bowles has gained weight; NOB needs time on task says Henschke. The linebacker room isn't there yet, says Whittingham.“We had very little experience returning at that spot,” he said. “And a bunch of new guys ... This is a work in progress.”My practice observer said it's not so bad as that; Bowles is FAST, Taylor is a playmaker, NOB was getting a lot of instruction but didn't make any glaring mistakes that he saw. He thinks they were probably putting a lot on the LBs earlier in camp and simplifying the LBs' responsibility has made them all more comfortable. Where's Staehling? Apparently all of us save Henschke missed he was injured.I would be pleasantly surprised if Nathaniel Staehling is a full participant during spring due to his offseason surgery and rehab. If that timeline doesn’t get accelerated over the next month, the expectation is that he won’t have restrictions by June. So fall camp is not a concern right now.Henschke notes Staehling was higher on the LB board than some more prominent LB candidates(). The last LB bit I thought was interesting is they seem to have a true 4-3 that can flex, via Mason Curtis.[Hill's defense] allows us to show a variety of skill sets. Linebackers being able to play out, be flexed out. Just play in space, be able to be run stoppers, and playing the pass.What it means: After claiming the positive talk on the defensive line is negative I'm going to turn around and pretend the negative talk about the linebackers is positive. I'm still learning the coachspeak of this staff, but I'm starting to get the sense they care a lot about depth, and their discomfort with only having three playable LBs—two of which are mistake-prone—is translating into high worry in translation.The bit about flexing out is of interest to me—Brian got concerned but I've noted my preference for dealing with 2TEs using hybrid LBs; previously Michigan was having their edges play in the slot and asking a DT to be a DE. Flex Bowles out all you want, man; the dude looks like a safety anyways.CornerbackWhat we want to hear: Jyaire Hill is the best CB in football, and Shamari Earls looks like a sophomore 5-star should.What we're hearing: Plenty of nice things about Sug (Hill). Kendrick Bell:Man, Suge. Suge, he’s taking it — he’s a whole nother level this year. Suge’s been doing really well.Mason Curtis also noted Hill's had a great spring, is locked in, elite, etc. Jyaire himself admitted his problem last year was catching the damn interceptions that fell in his lap, and to that end he's been taking time from the receivers on the jugs machine.My hands are different, better than Marsh’s hands right now.Right, Sug. Hill was also effusive in his praise of Zeke Berry.t’s good. I mean, they can’t throw to my side, they can’t throw this side. It’s gonna be crazy. I mean, well-needed. A good guy to play opposite from. The missing piece to our team was another cornerback, if he was to leave. He’s smart, knows how to catch and a good defensivee player. Great piece.Hill said he tried nickel and it's hard—he's staying at CB.Unfortunately Whittingham wasn't ready to declare any depth behind those two.(As for weaknesses so far,) depth in the secondary. We feel really good about the ones. We project to be the 1s, but we got to develop some more depth behind those guys. I forgot to ask about Earls when I had a chance, but insiders think he's the next CB and then there's a gap. Snowden seems to be the guy at nickel.What it means: I read the CB stuff in context of making things easier for the LBs, meaning they have to be making things harder on someone, and that's likely falling on the three corners (nickel is a cornerback position now). A lot of guys are trying out at nickel, which is nothing new, and nickel being hard is standard. If they've ratcheted up the complexity in the secondary—and like Minter (and Lloyd Carr), Jay Hill is a secondary coach by nature—it stands to reason the two seniors who've played a long time in the Minter-Wink regimes are adjusting the most quickly.SafetyWhat we want to hear: Rod Moore is finally healthy and ready to show the world he's a 1st round safety...again.What we're hearing: Rod Moore has not been doing a lot. Whittingham:but he's on the field doing some individual drills and moving around. He's got a ways to go, but think he's progression and trending in the right direction and hopeful to have him for the season opener on September 5th.With the NCAA apparently determined to ruin my plan of playing de facto safeties coach Rod Moore four games a year and redshirting him indefinitely, this is the last shot, and it doesn't seem to be happening if we're still at hopeful here.Spague had nice things to say for Jordan Young, and the rest of the observers are saying Chris Bracy (FS) and Mason Curtis (SS) have locked down the starting gigs. Bracy, who knew Yaxel Lendeborg when they were both at UAB, is another who was repping at nickel() said Sam, but was last spotted at deep safety the whole practice.What it means: It looks like they have three safeties and they'll hope to get Rod Moore back for their fourth. Not much lately out of Kainoa Winston and Jacob Oden, and the rest are freshmen or recent RB convert Taylor Tatum. Since there's no talk of the light going on there, I expect Tatum to move back to running back in fall, especially since they lost Ka'apana and are basically down to four bodies. Special TeamsWhat we want to hear: That they have plenty of crazy athletes who can return punts and Andrew Marsh can just focus on mind-melding with Bryce Underwood.What we're hearing: I have been working as a returner still. Punt and kick return. –Andrew Marsh.What it means: Nothing.BONUS SAVION HITER CONTENTI missed this earlier but Chris Low():His massive calves are reminiscent of what Saquon Barkley looked like when he arrived on campus at Penn State as a freshman.This fulfills the requirement that every article this spring mention how awesome Hiter is. Log in or register to post comments caup April 17th, 2026 at 4:47 PM ^ With all due respect to the young man, I will not believe that Cam Brandt is a DUDE until I see it on the football field. He was bright CYAN last year. Joined: 06/30/2008 MGoPoints: 6134 Lutha April 17th, 2026 at 4:58 PM ^ Would love to see Tatum as a 3rd/4th back behind Marshall and Hiter. Joined: 09/21/2009 MGoPoints: 9589 DonAZ April 17th, 2026 at 5:03 PM ^ Damn, I love football content. ;-) Joined: 12/05/2011 MGoPoints: 24950 spring football bits 2026 spring football 2026 spring practice lugard edokpayi