Posts under: Blog

2025 Season Countdown: #29 Cameron Brandt

Name: Cameron Brandt
Height: 6’4″
Weight: 270 lbs.
High school: Chatsworth (CA) Sierra Canyon
Position: Defensive end
Class: Junior
Jersey number: #91
Last year: I ranked Brandt #40 and said he would be a backup defensive end (LINK). He made 13 tackles, 4 tackles for loss, 3 sacks, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery, and 2 pass breakups.
TTB Rating: 82

Brandt had a bit of a coming out party in 2024, especially during the second half of the season. After a pretty boring freshman season (aside from, you know, winning a national championship), he ascended into the two-deep during his sophomore year and turned it on as the year went along, making his first career sack against Michigan State, snagging another one against Indiana, and finishing up with 3 tackles, 1 sack, and 1 forced fumble in the ReliaQuest Bowl against Alabama.

The only edge Michigan lost ahead of Brandt was Josaiah Stewart, so Brandt remains firmly entrenched on the second unit behind Derrick Moore and T.J. Guy. Despite the loss of Stewart, I expect Michigan’s edge rushers as a whole to be better in 2025. Michigan has three upperclassmen in Brandt, Guy, and Moore, and there are several talented young players, along with inside linebacker Jaishawn Barham, who will reportedly come off the edge a little bit more this season. Brandt is a good-sized body at 265 lbs. who’s not the biggest or the quickest, but his combination of athleticism and agility should make him tough to handle on a consistent basis. I think he’ll basically look like a third starter when he comes into the game.

Prediction: Backup defensive end

2025 Season Countdown: #30 Lawrence Hattar

NOTE: Transfer punter Luke Bauer was ranked #31 but is not on the fall roster, so I skipped that spot. It looks like Hudson Hollenbeck will be the most likely answer at punter.

Name: Lawrence Hattar
Height: 6’5”
Weight: 335 lbs.
High school: Livonia (MI) Churchill
Position: Offensive guard
Class: Fifth year senior
Jersey number: #78
Last year: Hattar played at Ferris State. He started eleven games and was a Division II All-American.
TTB Rating: N/A

Hattar came out of an in-state high school in 2021 and has spent the past four seasons playing at Ferris State. He started twenty games in that time and was part of a national championship team . . . three times. In fact, the only year he didn’t win one was when Michigan won theirs in 2023, so technically Hattar will have played for a program that has won a national title the past four years. Is that a modern-day football record?

Michigan recruited Hattar to potentially step in at offensive guard and help solidify an offensive line that wasn’t very good last year. Hattar was a Division II All-American, but playing at the FBS level is two steps up from there. Will he be able to immediately upgrade the offensive line? Will he be able to start in year one at a place like Michigan? The size is a good thing (6’5″, 335 lbs.), but the game in the Big Ten moves much faster and the defensive tackles are stronger and more athletic. Even Myles Hinton struggled some when he first came from Stanford and he was a 5-star recruit with excellent size, so there are bound to be some growing pains. I think Hattar will be a backup guard to start the season but could potentially challenge to start halfway through the year.

Prediction: Backup offensive guard

2025 Season Countdown: #32 Dominic Nichols

Name: Dominic Nichols
Height: 6’5”
Weight: 255 lbs.
High school: Frederick (MD) Oakdale
Position: Defensive end
Class: Redshirt freshman
Jersey number: #33
Last year: I ranked Nichols #71 and said he would be a backup defensive end (LINK). He played in five games and made 3 tackles with 1 forced fumble.
TTB Rating: 79

Nichols fell in the middle range of the countdown last season, lodged between “solid contributor” and “redshirt” status. He played in four regular season games, including a couple competitive ones, and the bowl game against Alabama; because bowl games don’t count against the redshirt limit, he was able to preserve an extra year of eligibility. He looked like he belonged on the field, and the coaching staff is very high on him going into the 2025 season.

I expected Nichols to be in the 260-270 range by the time fall rolled around, so I’m a little surprised he’s only up to 255 pounds this season after being 251 last year. But it appears he will be in the second group of edges, along with Cam Brandt. It should be a bit of a breakout year for Nichols, and I expect him to play well. Starters T.J. Guy and Derrick Moore will be gone in 2026, and Nichols has a chance to stake his claim for the mantle of pass rush extraordinaire going into his third season.

Prediction: Backup defensive end

2025 Season Countdown: #33 Jaden Mangham

Name: Jaden Mangham
Height: 6’2″
Weight: 195 lbs.
High school: Birmingham (MI) Groves
Position: Safety
Class: Redshirt junior
Jersey number: #3
Last year: I ranked Mangham #42 and said he would be a backup safety (LINK). He played in one game.
TTB Rating: N/A

Mangham was a starter at Michigan State, and I expected him to play a key backup role in 2024. Instead, he played in one game on special teams and then disappeared for the rest of the year. Michigan did have good options at safety and Mangham was able to preserve a redshirt, giving him two remaining years. He was reportedly injured, which explains his disappearance.

Now Mangham should be a key backup for real. Both Makari Paige and Quinten Johnson departed after last season, and while the coaching staff brought in defensive back transfers, they look more likely to contribute at nickel and corner. Mangham could even be a starter, depending on the uncertain health of Rod Moore. I have Moore and Brandyn Hillman penciled in as starters at safety, but if Moore does start, I think the coaches will limit the number of snaps he gets.

Prediction: Part-time starting safety

2025 Season Countdown: #34 Cole Sullivan

Name: Cole Sullivan
Height: 6’3″
Weight: 225 lbs.
High school: Pittsburgh (PA) Central Catholic
Position: Linebacker
Class: Sophomore
Jersey number: #23
Last year: I ranked Sullivan #85 and said he would redshirt (LINK). He played in twelve games on special teams and one on defense, making 4 tackles.
TTB Rating: 87

I thought the 6’3″, 215 lb. freshman linebacker would redshirt in 2024, but I was mistaken. He was named Special Teams Rookie of the Year at the end-of-year awards banquet and played in every game but one. That’s a good way to get one’s feet wet, but it also burned a potential extra year of eligibility for special teams use. Anyway, Sullivan performed his duties well while most freshman linebackers redshirt.

This season Sullivan is a bit of a wild card. While he’s unlikely to break into the starting lineup (barring injury to one of the starters), he’s probably in the second group and pushing Jimmy Rolder to be the next inside linebacker into the game. Sam Webb recently said Sullivan is pushing 240 lbs. (as opposed to his listed 225 on the spring roster) and he has the frame to carry it well. With the coaches talking about using Jaishawn Barham off the edge at times, could Sullivan potentially slide into Barham’s spot in those packages? He could be the third linebacker or he could be behind Rolder and Georgia transfer Troy Bowles.

Another option is for him to follow in Rolder’s path. Rolder took a redshirt in his second year to give him some more separation from the guys ahead of him. Sullivan could redshirt in 2025 and then have an open path to playing time in 2026 without Barham and Ernest Hausmann blocking the way.

Either way, Sullivan should be a key special teams player in 2025 and start to see more time on defense.

Prediction: Backup inside linebacker, special teamer