A Michigan defensive line that lost four of its most important players from 2018 (defensive ends Rashan Gary and Chase Winovich, and tackles Bryan Mone and Lawrence Marshall) will have a revamped look when it takes the field in 2019.
On top of that, former position coach Greg Mattison — who had been with head coach Jim Harbaugh his entire tenure in Ann Arbor — departed for Ohio State this past January, leading to the hiring of Arizona State's Shaun Nua.
With that in mind, we break down the Wolverines' entire defensive line unit as the club gets ready to kick off spring practices.
Projected Starters: DE Kwity Paye (junior), DT Michael Dwumfour (redshirt junior), DT Carlo Kemp (senior) and DE Aidan Hutchinson (sophomore)
Junior defensive end Kwity Paye filled in for Gary while he was hurt during the entire month of October last year, and played a total of 379 snaps while racking up 5.5 tackles for loss and two sacks.
As a result, Paye will be heavily expected to earn the starting defensive end job that Gary vacated.
The defensive tackle spots, meanwhile, will likely be manned by redshirt junior Michael Dwumfour and senior Carlo Kemp — the latter started 12 games in 2018, while the former only began two contests but played 353 snaps throughout the year.
Neither's stat lines were all that impressive (four TFLs and three sacks for Dwumfour, and 2.5 TFLs and 0.5 sack for Kemp), but they each performed admirably in their roles and were key cogs in U-M finishing with the No. 23 rush defense nationally (127.3 yards allowed per game).
The depth behind those two is incredibly thin, however, with the aforementioned Mone and Marshall gone to graduation and defensive tackle Aubrey Solomon transferring to Tennessee.
As for the defensive end spot opposite Paye, sophomore Aidan Hutchinson played a significant role last year as a freshman (saw 202 snaps in 2018) and should be viewed as the frontrunner to win the starting job.
Fifth-year senior Mike Danna, meanwhile, transferred in from Central Michigan after posting 15 tackles for loss last year with the Chippewas, and may push for a starting job as well.
Key Reserves: DE Mike Danna (fifth-year senior), DT Donovan Jeter (redshirt sophomore) and DE Luiji Vilain (redshirt sophomore)
Redshirt sophomore Luiji Vilain is the wild card of this entire group.
He has been injured throughout each of his first two years at Michigan, and as a result has yet to play a single snap.
A healthy Vilain would likely push — and perhaps even win — a starting spot, however. He is a player fans have been immensely excited about ever since he arrived on campus, mainly due to his No. 74 national ranking out of high school.
It is imperative he maintains his health and contributes at least sparingly at defensive end, due to how inexperienced the Wolverines are at the spot.
Another year without Vilain would likely force either (or perhaps both) redshirt freshman Taylor Upshaw or classmate Julius Welschof into action, or maybe one of the freshmen (Mike Morris, David Ojabo or Gabe Newburg, with Ojabo seemingly being the most likely since he's an early enrollee).
As for Danna, his impressive stat line last year at CMU — 15 TFLs and 9.5 sacks — was touched on above, but how well he transitions to Big Ten play remains to be seen.
"He's a really talented, hard-working and hard-playing individual," Harbaugh said in February after he transferred in.
"Danna is from De La Salle in Detroit, which is the home of [senior running back] Tru Wilson and a few of our other players.
"Pro Football Focus actually had him as a first-teamer last year. We lost a few starting defensive ends to the NFL draft, so it'll be great to have Michael — a 6-3, 250-pound pass rusher — on the team."
Redshirt sophomore Donovan Jeter missed his freshman year (2017) in Ann Arbor with injury, but contributed sparingly last season for the first time (77 total snaps) and will be expected to take on a significant role (as a likely backup) at defensive tackle in 2018.
A lack of bodies at the spot could also force freshmen Christopher Hinton (6-4, 285) and Mazi Smith (6-3, 303) into early action.
Two veterans in fifth-year senior defensive end Reuben Jones and redshirt junior Ron Johnson still reside on the roster as well, but neither has been able to see meaningful snaps throughout their respective careers.
Whether or not they're still on the roster in the fall remains to be seen — it should be noted that Jones has submitted his name into the NCAA transfer portal, but has not announced his official departure from the school.
Final Verdict
U-M's defensive line appears to be the weakest position group on the Wolverines' entire defense heading into spring practices.
It ended the 2018 regular-season on a poor note at Ohio State (no sacks and only four tackles for loss), failing to get any consistent pressure against a Buckeye offensive line that had underachieved all year.
The defensive line's lack of production against OSU had a domino effect on Michigan's entire defense, with the secondary having to cover for longer than periods of time than it was used to, and getting shredded as a result (OSU threw for 396 yards).
With key contributors in Gary, Winovich, Mone and Marshall all gone, it's imperative that some of the new faces step up under the tutelage of Nua.
It's hard to imagine U-M's 2019 defensive line playing at the same level the 2018 unit did for most of the year, but it still has a chance to be an above average group if players like Hutchinson, Dwumfour, Jeter, etc. respond to their expanded roles.
That, however, is a big if.
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