Michigan Wolverines Defensive Depth Chart Predictions: Stout defensive line expected to anchor ‘positionless’ secondary

Who are the projected starters for the Michigan Wolverines heading into the 2025 season?

AJ Schulte — College Football Trending News Writer
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The Michigan Wolverines are just days away from kicking off their season against the New Mexico Lobos. Michigan is hopeful they can carry their momentum from the end of last season into 2025, but some significant departures on both sides of the football bring some unanswered questions the team will have to answer-and quickly.

Michigan Wolverines defense 2025 depth chart predictions

EDGE
1st: Derrick Moore-TJ Guy
2nd: Cameron Brandt-Dominic Nichols
3rd: Devon Baxter-Lugard Edokpayi

Derrick Moore is the returning star of this room, while TJ Guy played well as the third man in the rotation last season behind Moore and Josaiah Stewart. The rest of this room has some intriguing upside players in Brandt, Nichols, and Edokpayi, but they are clearly behind the top duo here.

DT
1st: Rayshaun Benny-Tre Williams
2nd: Damon Payne-Trey Pierce
3rd: Enow Etta-Ike Iwunnah

Rayshaun Benny broke out in 2024 as a steady run defender while working behind Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant. He’ll be relied upon as the anchor of the entire defense in 2025.

The rest of this room is a giant shoulder shrug of guys all vying for the next job, but nobody has completely emerged from the competition quite yet. The staff has spoken the highest about Williams and his fit with the defense, so I imagine he’s the early favorite right now, but I’d expect a lot of rotation here early.

LB
1st: Ernest Hausmann-Jaishawn Barham
2nd: Jimmy Rolder-Cole Sullivan
3rd: Troy Bowles-Nathaniel Owusu-Boateng

Michigan is hoping for better performance out of this room than they got last season, as both Hausmann and Barham struggled throughout 2024. Hausmann is the best athlete in the room and the most reliable coverage guy, but made several mental mistakes that cost the team. Barham is a fantastic straight-line athlete, but got caught frequently in coverage. Michigan toyed with the idea of moving Barham down to EDGE, but it seems like he’ll primarily remain with the linebackers at the WILL spot.

This might explain why the staff has frequently mentioned the rest of this room throughout camp as players that could see more playing time this season, particularly Jimmy Rolder and Cole Sullivan. Keep an eye on Owusu-Boateng as the season continues, however.

CB
1st: Zeke Berry-Jyaire Hill
2nd: Jo’Ziah Edmond-Shamari Earls
3rd: Caleb Anderson-Tevis Metcalf

After moving around both inside and outside, it appears that Zeke Berry has locked down the starting outside cornerback spot opposite of Jyaire Hill. Michigan is counting on these two to step up and add the playmaking element that Will Johnson (briefly) brought to the team in 2024, and their returning experience should help hold the fort this season.

Joziah Edmond has been a tremendous playmaker throughout camp, and the staff has raved about elite freshman Shamari Earls. I’d expect both to see plenty of playing time this season rotating in.

Nickel
1st: TJ Metcalf
2nd: Mason Curtis

Throughout the spring game, Metcalf and Curtis frequently rotated into both the slot and deep at safety, and it’s safe to say that both are the primary players at each position. This could depend entirely on a matchup-by-matchup basis, but Metcalf is the primary nickel for now.

Secondary coach LaMar Morgan has emphasized that they should have a positionless secondary, and it seems like he is fully leaning into that.

FS
1st: Mason Curtis
2nd: TJ Metcalf

Throughout the spring game, Metcalf and Curtis frequently rotated into both the slot and deep at safety, and it’s safe to say that both are the primary players at each position. This could depend entirely on a matchup-by-matchup basis, but Curtis was the safety most often in when Metcalf dropped into the nickel.

Secondary coach LaMar Morgan has emphasized that they should have a positionless secondary, and it seems like he is fully leaning into that.

SS
1st: Brandyn Hillman
2nd: Jaden Mangham

Next to Curtis, Brandyn Hillman has been most often seen at safety. Hillman saw a good chunk of snaps last season as the Wolverines frequently rotated their safeties and was a solid playmaker, generating two PBUs on nine targets. Expect him to be a versatile chess piece Michigan moves around.

At some point, I’d expect Rod Moore to figure into the safety rotation and take someone’s starting spot, but his versatility could impact both spots. We’ll see when he returns to the lineup, as I’d expect him to push to play against Oklahoma in Week 2.

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