Name: Trey Pierce Height: 6’2″ Weight: 315 lbs. High school: Oak Lawn (IL) Brother Rice Position: Defensive tackle Class: Junior Jersey number: #95 Last year: I ranked Pierce #39 and said he would be a backup nose tackle (LINK). He started one game and made 7 tackles. TTB Rating: 79
Pierce once again spent a season mired in the shadow of Kenneth Grant and Mason Graham. He started one game, but for the most part, he was in a backup role. He played in all thirteen games and made 7 total tackles. Nothing really stood out about his play, but he wasn’t getting steamrolled, either.
This year with Grant and Graham gone, there’s more of an opportunity for Pierce. Michigan did bring in Damon Payne from Alabama and Tre Williams from Clemson, but they’re not on the same level as the departed players. Along with Rayshaun Benny, Enow Etta, and Ike Iwunnah, Michigan goes at least six-deep with playable tackles on the interior.
40. TE Hogan Hansen (So.): Hansen certainly outplayed his countdown ranking last season, playing in ten games and making 7 catches for 78 yards and 1 touchdown. Assuming the pecking order remains the same, that should move Hansen up one spot since Colston Loveland went to the Bears in the 1st round of the NFL draft. With Marlin Klein as the starter, Hansen should be in the mix pretty regularly, along with H-backs Max Bredeson and Jalen Hoffman. Last year’s rank: #110.
39. LB Jimmy Rolder (RS Jr.): Rolder is one of those guys whose career has kind of slipped past. Now he’s in his fourth year, and though he has played quite a bit (31 games, including 24 on defense), he has yet to really make his mark. Over the past couple seasons, Michigan has brought in Ernest Hausmann from Nebraska and Jaishawn Barham from Maryland to play inside linebacker, and Rolder has patiently waited for his opportunity. This off-season saw the addition of Troy Bowles from Georgia, too. The 6’2″, 240 lb. Rolder would probably be starting by now in another era (26 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss in 2024), but it looks like he’ll be in the second group of inside linebackers, along with Cole Sullivan. Last year’s rank: #33.
38. OT Brady Norton (RS So.): Norton transferred to Michigan this off-season after spending two seasons at Cal Poly where he started eleven games in 2024, earning Freshman All-America status for FCS. Though the spring roster still listed him at 6’3″, 275 lbs., he insists that was his playing weight as a freshman and that he’s more like 315 lbs. now. I tend to think he’s a year away from playing at the Big Ten level, and he will probably end up playing guard before all is said and done. For now I think he’ll be one of the top eight or nine linemen who could sub in if there’s an injury or get some developmental time. With Giovanni El-Hadi, Lawrence Hattar, and Greg Crippen all out of eligibility after 2025, there will be three spots open on the interior.
37. C Jake Guarnera (RS Fr.): Guarnera played in five games on special teams in 2024, preserving his redshirt since one of those games was the bowl game against Alabama. The 6’4″, 317 lb. second-year player has received some quiet praise from the coaches and looks like he might be the backup center for 2025 behind Greg Crippen. Crippen is a fifth year senior and should have a stranglehold on the position, but he did face stiff competition from a converted defensive tackle last year in Dominick Giudice, so there might be some shakiness that Guarnera could help to stabilize. Last year’s rank: #102.
36. OT Blake Frazier (RS Fr.): Frazier was a well regarded recruit in the 2024 class who needed to add weight and also dealt with some injuries over the past couple years. The son of former Michigan center Steve Frazier, Blake is someone who has received praise from the coaches and could very well slide in at tackle this season. Sam Webb has been projecting Frazier to start. I’m not quite there yet because the injury/inexperience combination scares me a little bit, so I’m leaning toward Evan Link starting at left tackle. Meanwhile, true freshman Andrew Babalola is also fighting to play, so it seems like a three-way battle. Last year’s rank: #91.
45. P Hudson Hollenbeck (RS Jr.): The 6’2″, 206-pounder filled in well for Tommy Doman last season after Doman decided to transfer. He punted 6 times for 277 yards (46.2 yards/punt), put two of those punts inside the 20-yard line, and also served as the holder for Dominic Zvada at times. I wouldn’t have been too surprised if Michigan went into 2025 with Hollenbeck as the punter, but they brought in Missouri starter Luke Bauer. I have to believe Bauer is the frontrunner for the job, but Hollenbeck is a good all-around backup who can punt, hold, and kick off. Last year’s rank: #44a.
44. TE Jalen Hoffman (RS Jr.): Hoffman played in all thirteen games last year, including two on offense. He was backing up Max Bredeson, so there’s a reason he didn’t play much. But Hoffman burst onto the scene this spring, catching an 88-yard touchdown from Bryce Underwood on his way to 7 catches for 148 yards overall. Maybe Hoffman is one of those guys who flashes in the spring game and doesn’t do much beyond that, but he looks like a legitimate receiving option out of the backfield. Last year’s rank: #72.
43. DT Enow Etta (RS So.): Etta spent the 2023 season playing edge before bulking up to play inside last year. The experiment didn’t go that well in 2024: he started one game but was largely ineffective and made just 4 tackles, 0.5 sacks, and 1 pass breakup overall across ten games. Word coming from the coaches suggests Etta has taken the next step in his development. It would be nice to get some pass rush from the interior, where Rayshaun Benny does well to get after the quarterback but not many other guys do. Etta should be a key backup and stays right here at #43, the same spot he was last season. Last year’s rank: #43.
42. CB Shamari Earls (Fr.): Earls (4-star, #13 CB, #88 overall) is the rare young cornerback who looks not only physically ready to play, but perhaps more developed than many veteran college corners. Listed at 6’2″ and 203 lbs., he appeared in the spring game and physically looked like Will Johnson. Earls’s recruiting rankings might be a little depressed because he missed his senior season due to injury, but he should step in and play pretty early. While he probably won’t begin the season as a starter, he may progress to that point throughout the year. Jyaire Hill and Zeke Berry should be the starting corners, but with Berry’s ability to play other positions, the coaching staff could do some position switching if Earls is ready.
41. WR Peyton O’Leary (RS Sr.): O’Leary has progressed throughout his career from walk-on to a six-game starter in 2024, when he was in his fourth year in the program. He caught 10 passes for 102 yards and notched his second career touchdown. At 6’3″ and 203 lbs., O’Leary provided/provides some of the size that was largely lacking at the receiver position, but Michigan address that issue with signing Indiana transfer Donaven McCulley this off-season. O’Leary’s upside is limited, but he should still be heavily in the rotation. Last year’s rank: #60.
50. DT Ike Iwunnah (RS Sr.): Iwunnah was a nice little success story in 2024. In a pretty rare career swing, he went from not playing at all in his first three years to being a pretty key rotation player in the defensive line as a redshirt junior. Michigan was very talented at defensive tackle last year but pretty thin outside of Mason Graham, Kenneth Grant, and Rayshaun Benny. The great defensive lines over the past few years have had to play about five guys on the interior pretty regularly, and Iwunnah broke into that rotation, making 8 tackles and 1 tackle for loss. This season should see more of the same with Benny and Trey Pierce back, along with transfers Damon Payne (Alabama) and Tre Williams (Clemson). Last year’s rank: #83.
49. WR Anthony Simpson (RS Sr.): Simpson transferred in from UMass after starting his career at Arizona, playing two seasons at each stop. Altogether, he has a respectable 68 receptions for 910 yards and 3 touchdowns in his college career, but most of that (57 catches, 792 yards, all 3 TDs) came in 2023 for the Minutement. The 5’11”, 184-pounder could be a bit of a gadget guy and might provide some run-after-catch abilities. I don’t expect him to start, but there’s a possibility that he could play a similar role to what we saw from Semaj Morgan during the 2023 national championship season.
48. S Jacob Oden (So.): Oden earned his way onto special teams late in the season, playing in four games and preserving his redshirt. The 6’1″, 196-pounder could be a bit of an insurance policy in 2025, depending on the health of former starter Rod Moore, who missed all of 2024 with an injury. Michigan lost starter Makari Paige and heavy contributor Quinten Johnson, bumping up Oden, Brandyn Hillman, and Jaden Mangham, the last of whom transferred from Michigan State prior to last season. Oden will probably start seeing some time on defense this fall. Last year’s rank: #87.
47. OT Andrew Babalola (Fr.): Aside from quarterback – where freshman Bryce Underwood seems likely to starter over Fresno State transfer Mikey Keene – the left tackle battle is probably the most interesting one on the team. Babalola (5-star, #3 OT, #16 overall) is listed at 6’6″ and 300 lbs. on Michigan’s roster and could potentially be the starting left tackle by season’s end. But he’s contending with redshirt sophomore Andrew Link, who started at right tackle last season, and redshirt freshman Blake Frazier. Link appears to be the nominal starter going into fall, and Sam Webb thinks Frazier will win the job. Regardless, Babalola should get some playing time this fall and will probably be the front-runner to start in 2026.
46. S Mason Curtis (So.): Curtis is one of the most interesting players on the roster when it comes to figuring out how to rank him and how much he will play. He looked like a possible edge player as a recruit, then a linebacker, and then settled in somewhat at safety last season, playing in five games at safety and making 8 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, and 1 interception. At 6’5″ and 200 lbs., he looks a little odd at safety but he could potentially be a “big nickel” this season if/when Michigan decides to deploy that look. Last year’s rank: #112.
55. TE Zack Marshall (RS So.): Marshall played in all thirteen games last season, mostly on special teams; he played in just four games on offense and didn’t record any stats other than 1 special teams tackle. I expect Michigan’s new offensive coordinator to incorporate a little bit more spread to the offense to give Bryce Underwood room to operate, so I think the tight end position will be de-emphasized some. Marshall will be backing up the likes of Marlin Klein and Max Bredeson, and it appears second-year player Hogan Hansen and former walk-on Jalen Hoffman have also passed him up. Last year’s rank: #47a.
54. LB Jaydon Hood (RS Sr.): To be perfectly honest, I was surprised when Jaydon Hood made it through the transfer portal window without trying to go somewhere else. That’s not an indictment of his talent, but a nod to the other talented linebackers Michigan has kept bringing in, including Ernest Hausmann and Jaishawn Barham as transfers, along with Cole Sullivan and Jimmy Rolder as recruits. Toss in Georgia transfer Troy Bowles and it seemed like Hood would have had good reason to play his final year elsewhere. But he played linebacker in eight games last year, making 9 tackles and 1 tackle for loss, so there’s still potential for him to play a meaningful backup role and on special teams. Last year’s rank: #41.
53. CB Jo’Ziah Edmond (So.): I had trouble finding where to rank Edmond, a 6’1″, 180 lb. second-year player whom the coaches were very high on when he arrived in 2024. He played in eight total games, including four at cornerback, and made 2 tackles on the year. On the one hand, burning a redshirt for a backup role usually indicates a significant role the next year. On the other hand, Michigan brought in the Metcalf brothers from Arkansas, moved Zeke Berry to cornerback full-time, and also landed an elite player in 2025 recruit Shamari Earls. Edmond could be anywhere from the third corner behind Berry and Jyaire Hill to the sixth corner behind those two and Earls, Jeremiah Lowe, and Tevis Metcalf. Last year’s rank: #78.
52. WR Kendrick Bell (RS So.): Bell was a high school quarterback who transitioned to wide receiver in 2023, and he did play more in 2024 than I expected, making 7 catches for 70 yards. The wide receiver spot is up in the air, but I didn’t see much last year that makes me excited for his role in 2025. I may be reading too much into this, but there was also a recent interview of Sherrone Moore where he was mentioning receivers and forgot to mention the 6’2″, 191 lb. Bell until asked specifically, so I think Bell’s role will be minor this year. Last year’s rank: #55.
51. WR C.J. Charleston (6th): Charleston played in ten games and started two last year for the Wolverines, making 1 catch for 22 yards. A leg injury late in the season ended his campaign, and he somewhat unexpectedly decided to return for 2025. I tend to think he returned with an eye on playing as much or more in 2025, but his role was largely as a blocker and a guy who could be put in motion. With transfers like Donaven McCulley and Anthony Simpson stepping in, I’m not sure there’s much opportunity for Charleston to take on a big role, but he’s experienced, the coaches seemed to like his toughness, and he can contribute on specials. Last year’s rank: #46.
