ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Though much of the offseason talk by the Michigan football coaching staff has centered on the defensive front, much of the chatter has been more about the interior than the edge rushers. However, the edge rusher room appears to have a bit more depth.
So much so that even with some players not as likely to play due to minor injuries, you could still see up to seven Wolverines take the field at the position come Saturday.
"Well, I think that's one of the deepest groups on the team as far as guys that we feel like can really contribute and help us," defensive coordinator Jay Hill said. "Depth is a little weird right now because there's been some injuries to that group through the last couple weeks. And they've been injuries that will
hold them out for a little bit, but they're not going to be long injuries.
"So we expect right now Dom Nichols and John Henry Daley to play a bunch with Cam Brandt. Those three guys probably taking the majority of the load as far as the starters go. And then that next tier group: Nate Marshall, Benny Patterson, have done a great job. I'm just trying to think. Tariq Boney, as a young freshman, has really done some great things. You very well could see six, seven defensive ends in there."
Nichols is one of the ends who has been working to overcome a minor injury, but he appears to be at least able to go on Saturday. He's earned praise from offensive teammates who have gone up against him in practice, who have asserted that he's the best pass rusher on the team.
Blake Frazier can attest that he's taken a massive step forward, noting that he will certainly make life hard on opposing offensive tackles.
"Dom's a psycho," Frazier said. "That dude's gonna terrorize people, and John Henry is about as polished as you can get at that position, and so I'm really excited to watch them play."
Hill put Nichols in the same category as five others who he said have taken the biggest steps forward this fall (LBs Chase Taylor, Troy Bowles, and Nathaniel Staehling; as well as CB Shamari Earls and edge rusher Nate Marshall). In fact, Hill thinks he has potential star power; it's just a matter of getting him in for starters' minutes after having not played much more than a reserve role.
"It's like, who's the guys who've really progressed to become great players? I think Dom has all the traits to be a phenomenal big-time guy," Hill said. "He's athletic. He's fluid. He's physical. He just needs to play football.
"And so that's going to be the thing I'm most excited about is watching some of these guys that maybe haven't played as much, how they handle playing 40, 50 reps. That's going to be the key with him."
Opposite him, as noted, will be Daley, the All-American Utah transfer. Coming off a ruptured Achilles injury, he's reportedly better than ever -- faster and stronger coming off rehabilitation than he was before.
Hill is coaching Daley for the second time, having had him at BYU before he transferred to Utah. And so far, he looks vintage, his coach says.
"He's stronger than he's been," Hill said. "He's still coming off an injury, so I think Coach Powell's done a great job of just monitoring that injury to where we've got to get him back. But we expect him to be full go. And I've seen John Henry in person, and then I've played against him or coached against him. So he's a really, really good player when he's fully healthy and going. And we expect him to be going."
Fans will get to see the edge rusher room in action on Saturday, when Michigan football hosts Western Michigan for the 2026 season opener at The Big House.
This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: Jay Hill reveals Michigan football's deep edge rusher rotation
