Work ethic is everything to the new defensive line coach.
The Michigan Wolverines have had a carousel of defensive line coaches to start 2024.
The Wolverines finished the 2023 season with Mike Elston as the defensive line coach and recruiting coordinator, but he departed for the Los Angeles Chargers in the NFL with Jim Harbaugh on February 6. To replace Elston, newly appointed head coach, Sherrone Moore, hired Greg Scruggs from the Wisconsin Badgers , but two weeks after accepting the position, Scruggs resigned due to being charged with an OWI.
To find a second replacement, Moore poached Western Michigan’s defensive coordinator and defensive line coach Lou Esposito , who was with the Broncos from 2017-23 and was hired by Memphis in January of this year. Esposito brings a plethora of experience, a large personality, and a recipe for success in getting guys to the NFL.
Esposito has been a long-time recruiter in the state of Michigan, working for Davenport, Ferris State and Western Michigan. He was responsible for recruiting and developing three defensive linemen who could be drafted next week in Braden Fiske, who transferred from Western Michigan to Florida State, Andre Carter, who transferred from the Broncos to the Indiana Hoosiers and Marshawn Kneeland who stayed at Western despite interest from Colorado and other Division I schools.
Many things made these players successful both at Western and in their other programs, but according to Esposito, there is one trait that stands out from the rest.
“I think the biggest thing is that I’ve had an opportunity to coach a lot of guys that have played in the NFL and guys that have played in the NFL all have one trait that is the same,” Esposito said. “They have different heights, different weights, but the trait that they all have is they want to work. They’re like sponges, you don’t have to stay on those guys because the one thing that doesn’t change with guys that play at that next level is their work ethic. And those guys all have that, so that’s the first thing. Guys are going to work and are self-starters. I think that’s a big thing.”
Esposito has both playing and coaching experience, most notably playing college football for the Memphis Tigers, where he was a four-year letterman from 1997 to 2000. Following his time with the Tigers, Esposito played two seasons with the Memphis Xplorers, a professional arena football team in the AF2 league.
While Esposito did not play in the NFL personally, he has had a lot of success in getting his players to the league. There are some things Esposito can teach: hand placement, feet quickness, knowledge of what the offense line may do and more, but in addition to work ethic, there are a few other traits that cannot be taught.
“There’s traits where you want ankle flexibility, the ability to bend, the ability to carry weight at a high velocity, disregarding your body. All those traits that those guys have that play at the next level, all those guys that we’ve developed, have had that. And I think the next thing is, do they fit in your puzzle? Everybody has a different puzzle, right? But can they fit in our system, and I felt like the guys that are gonna get their names called have all done that. I mean, Braden Fiske can fit anywhere. He was a kid from Northern Indiana who went to Florida State and became a captain. Marshawn Kneeland is an unbelievable athlete.
The other thing I’ll tell you about what those guys are, they were severely under-recruited. We were their only offers (at Western Michigan), and meeting the kid, working the kid out, meeting their family, seeing their work ethic, all those things happen. So the work ethic to me is the number one thing that you got to have. Because if they’re willing to do it, you can make them special.”
Coming to Michigan, Esposito notices an NFL player when he sees one. Currently, he has Mason Graham, Kenneth Grant, Josaiah Stewart and Derrick Moore in the room with players like TJ Guy and Cameron Brandt waiting in the wings. In his number of years of coaching experience, Esposito has found that every player learns differently; you cannot teach every guy the same way. Nonetheless, he can always be positive and keep his energy up to have his players feed off of him, and he completely buys into this philosophy.
“The biggest thing that I told them is we’re not trying to reinvent the wheel,” Esposito said. “I’m just trying to get you better. Anything that I can do to get guys better. It’s like anything else. When you see a movie and you watch the movie a couple of times, you see different things. So for me, just hearing sometimes the same message in a different way triggers something for the guys. So at the end of the day, if I can do that for them, which I think I’ve been doing, it’ll help their game out tremendously. And I think that’s what the good thing is about that room. We have guys that want to work, guys that are trying to do things the right way. They do exactly what the coach asked them to do. And it’s been a special group so far in the short time that I’ve been here.
…I think at the end of the day, it’s always feedback, right? And all I can be is who I am. I’m not anybody different. My father and my mom raised me to be who you are. And I do think different kids respond differently. It’s like being a teacher, you have to put your arm around some people, you can hoot and holler at some people, you got to show some people— you walk through, you put it on video, I just think for me, I’m always gonna be the first person they look at because I’m their position coach. So they’re going to feed off my energy and I’m a big believer that you put positive out, you get positive back, so I’m going to be positive.”
Esposito brings an extensive background of playing defensive line and coaching it to Ann Arbor. He adds charisma, positivity, an impressive resume and a personable presence to an already stacked position room. With so much turnover on the coaching staff (and on the defensive line specifically), having an engaging and supportive position coach may just be what the guys need to unlock their full potential.
“I am the luckiest person in the world,” Esposito said. “I got four great kids, I got a great wife, I’m coaching at the best school in America, I am the luckiest person in the world. So for me, I’m going to portray that to our players. So there will be a time when they get eight plays in a row and it’s fourth and one and they just converted, and now we gotta put it back against the wall a little bit. And when they see that positive attitude from me, now all of a sudden, I hope it makes it a little bit easier for them. So again, positive feeds positive. That’s what I try to do as much as I can.”