Entering the 2024 season, Michigan football’s defense will look quite different from last year’s. Here are three reasonable expectations for the Wolverines’ defensive unit:
Entering the 2024 season, the Michigan Wolverines have some unknowns surrounding its defense. After losing several key starters, and with a new defensive coordinator leading the unit, work needs to be done to produce another elite defense.
Here are a few reasonable expectations for what that will look like.
Michigan is well equipped with its linebackers
Two of the biggest losses for the Wolverines’ defense this offseason were linebackers Junior Colson and Michael Barrett. Michigan has some big shoes to fill, but despite those losses, the Wolverines are going to be well equipped to do exactly that.
With Ernest Hausmann, who was behind Colson and Barrett on the depth chart last season, and Maryland transfer Jaishawn Barham, it’s fair to expect Michigan to be well set at the position.
Hausmann played in 15 games last season and totaled 46 tackles, including two for a loss. That came with him buried in the depth chart, and now he’ll have a chance to unleash himself in a starting role. Meanwhile, Barham was a huge transfer pickup for the Wolverines and has impressed this offseason, showing he’s ready to step up.
These two will be a strong tandem in the Big Ten, and though replacing two NFL talents is challenging, they’re ready to hold the fort down in starting roles.
The defense can still be strong despite losing key pieces
Sure, Michigan lost several key defensive players from last season, but that doesn’t mean the Wolverines can’t excel this year. Michigan’s 2023 defense ranked first in total defense and was key to its National Championship, so it’s hard to say the Wolverines will replicate that this fall, but it can still be excellent, albeit slightly declined.
Wink Martindale will take over Michigan’s defense and can provide the right scheme to thrive, especially given the amount of talent he has to work with. Behind players like cornerback Will Johnson and defensive tackle Mason Graham, Michigan can exceed expectations and prove its defense is a system able to withstand departures.
Mason Graham will live up to the hype
Graham is coming off a strong season where he had 36 tackles, 7.5 of which were for loss. His strong play earned him first team All-Big Ten selection and second team All-American honors. Entering year three, he’s expected to be even better.
The hype for Graham has certainly built up. He was selected as an AP preseason All-American first team honoree, named to the Reese’s Senior Bowl watchlist for the 2025 NFL Draft , and is predicted by many to be a top-five pick in the draft.
The bar is quite high, and the production people are expecting out of him is a lot. Still, there’s a reason he’s amassing so much hype — it’s because he’s that good. In 2024, expect Graham to live up to the high expectations people are setting for him as he serves as an anchor of Michigan’s defense.