Tag: Cameron Brandt

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

Michigan 24, Michigan State 17

All hail Davis Warren! I’m not going to pretend that Davis Warren is on track to be J.J. McCarthy, but Warren played his best game of the year in going 13/19 for 123 yards, 1 touchdown, and 0 interceptions. He did not take any sacks and scrambled once for 7 yards. I mentioned on Twitter (before I knew Jack Tuttle would miss the game) that if I were Michigan’s coaching staff, I would start Warren and mix in Alex Orji on every third series. Warren got a bad rap early in the year when he made mistakes while other people (Donovan Edwards, Evan Link, Colston Loveland, etc.) were screwing up; Warren took the blame for the team being bad. Now that the offensive line has improved some and other players have adjusted, Warren looks okay. He’s not a world-beater, but the kid can play a little bit. I’m happy for him that he got a little bit of redemption. Nobody will ever be able to take away the fact that he quarterbacked Michigan to a rivalry victory over Michigan State.

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2024 Season Countdown: #40 Cameron Brandt

Name: Cameron Brandt
Height: 6’4″
Weight: 265 lbs.
High school: Chatsworth (CA) Sierra Canyon
Position: Defensive end
Class: Sophomore
Jersey number: #91
Last year: I ranked Brandt #94 and said he would be a backup defensive end (LINK). He played in fourteen games and made 4 tackles.
TTB Rating: 82

Brandt was committed to Stanford during the recruiting process, but he was good enough to contribute on a national championship-winning team as a freshman, so clearly he was going to be a big fish in a small (football) pond in Palo Alto. Instead of transferring to a place like Michigan in two or three years, he just skipped that step altogether. Michigan didn’t really need help at the edge positions in 2023 because they had Jaylen Harrell, Braiden McGregor, Derrick Moore, and Coastal Carolina transfer Josaiah Stewart, but mop-up duty was inevitable, and that’s the role that Brandt served. He played 60 snaps on the defensive line (plus another 84 on special teams). Pro Football Focus wasn’t high on his play as they gave him an overall grade of 47.3, but not much should be expected from a true freshman third-stringer.

Now Harrell and McGregor are gone. Moore and Stewart should slide into the starting roles, but the Wolverines need people to step up as backups. T.J. Guy has been getting a lot of buzz since the spring, but someone else needs to be that #4 guy. There has been talk that Michigan might use middle linebacker Jaishawn Barham to rush off the edge at times, but that’s probably not going to be a frequent strategy. Instead, it will probably be someone like Brandt – or Kechaun Bennett or Dominic Nichols – who takes most of those snaps. I expect Brandt to be the #4 edge overall and back up Moore.

Prediction: Backup defensive end

2023 Season Countdown: #94 Cameron Brandt

Name: Cameron Brandt
Height: 6’4″
Weight: 260 lbs.
High school: Chatsworth (CA) Sierra Canyon
Position: Defensive end
Class: Freshman
Jersey number: N/A
Last year: Brandt was a senior in high school (LINK).
TTB Rating: 82

Ranked as a 3-star and the #456 overall player in the country, Brandt was close to having Michigan fans’ undivided attention during the late signing period in February. Michigan wrapped up almost every spot in December, but Brandt – who was committed to Stanford for a while – was someone the Wolverines were working on for a long time. It seemed like a foregone conclusion that he would end up in Ann Arbor rather than in Palo Alto, where longtime coach David Shaw resigned, but he kept fans wondering until the last minute.

Brandt has the body to potentially contribute early at 6’4″ and 260 lbs., but the situation on the defensive line doesn’t really require much from young guys. Eyabi Okie (Charlotte), Taylor Upshaw (Arizona), and Mike Morris (Seattle Seahawks) all departed from the defensive front, but they should be replaced by Josaiah Stewart (Coastal Carolina) and an up-and-coming crew that includes Braiden McGregor and Derrick Moore, among others. Brandt could play some backup snaps, and he could watch the entire season from the sideline. Regardless, he’s a solid prospect who should have some solid seasons in the maize and blue if he waits his turn.

Prediction: Backup defensive end

Cameron Brandt, Wolverine

Chatsworth (CA) Sierra Canyon defensive end Cameron Brandt flipped from Stanford to Michigan on Wednesday afternoon. He picked the Wolverines over offers from Arizona, Cal, Oregon, UCLA, and USC, among others.

Brandt is listed at 6’4″ and 260 lbs. As a senior in 2022, he made 61 tackles, 4 sacks, and 2 forced fumbles.

RANKINGS
ESPN: 4-star, 80 grade, #25 DT
On3: 3-star, 88 grade, #66 DL
Rivals: 3-star, 5.7 grade, #31 DT
247 Sports: 4-star, 90 grade, #41 DL

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