Tag: Lugard Edokpayi

2026 Season Countdown: #36-40

#36. Jonah Lea’ea – DT – Las Vegas (NV) Bishop Gorman: Lea’ea is a 6’5″, 285 lb. fourth-year player who made 38 tackles and 1 sack while playing at Utah last season. He came along with head coach Kyle Whittingham from the Utes and has starting experience, so it’s easy to see why he might have a little leg up on the competition in Ann Arbor. However, he’s a little bit light to play defensive tackle in the Big Ten, and he got pushed around a little bit last season, too. The goal this off-season was to continue adding weight (he was listed at 230 lbs. coming out of high school), so perhaps if/when the fall roster is posted, he will be in the 290s or so. I expect him to be a backup to Enow Etta, but he should still play a good amount.

#37. Houston Ka’aha’aina-Torres – C – Honolulu (HI) St. Louis: Ka’aha’aina-Torres was a 3-star, the #45 interior offensive lineman, and #636 coming out of high school in 2025. He spent last season at Nebraska and played in two games before entering the transfer portal and landing at Michigan in the off-season. After coming out of high school at 265 lbs., he is now listed at 6’3″, 300 lbs. Michigan has Jake Guarnera entrenched at center, but Ka’aha’aina-Torres could be his primary backup or at least compete for the role. True freshman Ace Hamilton has also received solid reviews at center, and Michigan has a couple veterans who could potentially snap the ball. The backup center role could be a very important spot, but Ka’aha’aina-Torres’s lack of experience makes it questionable whether he will be the best option right now.

#38. Mason Curtis – S – Nashville (TN) Ensworth: Curtis made a good sized splash in 2025, starting three games as a sophomore and making 34 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 1 sack, and 1 interception. The 6’5″, 211-pounder is kind of a returning starter, so why is he ranked at #43? Well, first of all, it does not appear that Curtis will be starting in 2026. Captain Rod Moore is returning from injury (hopefully) and Michigan brought in Memphis transfer Chris Bracy, who seems to have earned the other starting safety role. Michigan also has some talented depth at safety that includes Jacob Oden and Jordan Young, among others. Curtis should get a fair amount of playing time in 2026 and play on special teams, but he probably won’t be starting again unless there are injury problems.

#39. Lugard Edokpayi – DE – Bowie (MD) Bishop McNamara: Edokpayi is a 6’7″, 250 lb. defensive end who played in eight games last season. Sporting the #88, he always looks like a backup tight end who is getting some two-way snaps off the edge, but no, he’s a full-time defensive player. Edokpayi regularly gets mentioned as a freak athlete who does impressive things in practice, but those things didn’t really show up on the field in 2025 when he didn’t record any statistics. Another year in the weight room has likely helped, and Edokpayi will probably be in the edge rusher rotation and play quite a bit this season. His long frame and athleticism should help, and hopefully his technique and attack plan will have improved this year after another season at the position.

#40. Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi – QB – Aledo (TX) Aledo: Fowler-Nicolosi might be highly underranked here at #40. The 6’3″, 212 lb. fifth year senior transferred in this summer after spending the past four years at Colorado State. He started 28 total games over that span, including one as a freshman in 2022. Colorado State hasn’t been very good, and Fowler-Nicolosi’s numbers also haven’t been stellar (38 touchdowns to 29 interceptions, 60.2% completions), but he’s experienced at the college level, which is something that can’t be said about the trio of Tommy Carr, Chase Herbstreit, and Brady Smigiel, who have a combined zero snaps of college playing time. Michigan is likely in a situation where if the starter (Bryce Underwood) goes down, the team’s chances of doing much of anything go with him. Fowler-Nicolosi’s lack of running ability means the offense’s identity would have to change, and perhaps that gives Carr the edge in the race to be the backup. The coaches said Carr would head into fall camp as the backup quarterback. I think they’ll try to get Fowler-Nicolosi up to speed as the solid veteran to fill in, but if Michigan gets to a point this season where they have to build for the future, they might just throw Carr in there and let him prepare to be The Guy down the road.

2025 Season Countdown: #76-80

80. DE Lugard Edokpayi (RS Fr.): The long, lanky Edokpayi was listed at 6’7″ and 232 lbs. on the spring roster, and looking at him on the field in the spring, that seems about right. There’s probably not going to be much opportunity for him to see the field in important moments until he adds some bulk, and he gets stalemated too easily by offensive tackles right now. We’re probably looking at another season of development for him. Last year’s rank: #93.

79. DT Deyvid Palepale (RS Fr.): We haven’t heard too much about Palepale since he arrived on campus, and that’s not too surprising. Listed at 6’2″, 335 lbs. this spring, he’s likely exclusively a nose tackle and Michigan has a few guys who can play the nose now that they brought in Tre Williams from Clemson and Damon Payne from Alabama. Palepale could be a plugger down the road, but 2025 probably won’t be a breakout for him. Last year’s rank: #62.

78. OT Ben Roebuck (RS Fr.): Roebuck is an interesting offensive line guy, someone who was gargantuan in high school and then leaned out, presumably in an attempt to rebuild his body. At 6’7″ he has a massive frame to work with, but there were times where I think he looked too heavy in high school. After dropping down into the high 200s, he’s now listed at 305 lbs. I don’t think Roebuck will break into the top eight or so linemen this fall, so he’s a deep bench option for now. Last year’s rank: #92.

77. TE Brady Prieskorn (RS Fr.): I thought Prieskorn would play quite a bit more last season, but he was behind fellow freshman Hogan Hansen and then suffered a leg injury during pre-game warmups. He ended up redshirting. Michigan lost starter Colston Loveland, but I think we’ll see a little less tight end usage under new offensive coordinator Chip Lindsay. Hansen, Marlin Klein, Max Bredeson, and Jalen Hoffman all seem like viable options to get a good chunk of snaps, and it becomes questionable after that. Last year’s rank: #47b.

76. WR I’Marion Stewart (RS Fr.): Stewart is still listed at 5’11”, 180 lbs. on the spring roster. He won Offensive Scout Team Player of the Week for preparing the defense for USC, presumably for playing the role of Zachariah Branch (or maybe Makai Lemon). There’s a possibility that he could factor in on kickoff or punt returns, but as for playing the receiver position, it seems like he will need some more time to break into the rotation. Last year’s rank:#90.

2025 Spring Football Preview: Defensive Line

RETURNING PLAYERS: Kechaun Bennett (RS Sr.), Rayshaun Benny (RS Sr.), T.J. Guy (RS Sr.), Ike Iwunnah (RS Sr.), Tyler McLaurin (RS Sr.), Derrick Moore (Sr.), Chibi Anwunah (RS Jr.), Joey Klunder (RS Jr.), Alessandro Lorenzetti (RS Jr.), Trey Pierce (Jr.), Enow Etta (RS So.), Aymeric Koumba (RS So.), Devon Baxter (RS Fr.), Edgard Lugopayi (RS Fr.), Dominic Nichols (RS Fr.)
NEWCOMERS: Damon Payne (RS Sr.), Tre Williams (RS Sr.), Julius Holly (Fr.), Travis Moten (Fr.)
DEPARTURES: Mason Graham (NFL Draft), Kenneth Grant (NFL Draft), Josaiah Stewart (NFL Draft)

OUTLOOK: Ahhhhh . . . defensive line. This is the place where Michigan fans can all take a deep breath of the happy, fresh air, where things are all fine and dandy. Michigan has had a long line of quality defensive linemen who have been fun to watch, going back years, including Chase Winovich, Maurice Hurst Jr., Ryan Glasgow, Kwity Paye, etc. More recently, we’ve seen Aidan Hutchinson, David Ojabo, Kenneth Grant, Josaiah Stewart, and Mason Graham star on the defensive line. Last year it was Graham and Grant – both of whom are projected to be 1st rounders – who really held down the middle of the line, stymying Ohio State’s rushing attack and helping Michigan preserve that sweet, sweet, 13-10 victory.

This year Michigan might have to hold its breath a little bit.

With Graham and Grant off to the NFL, Michigan has to hope someone will develop at defensive tackle who doesn’t have a great track record yet. Rayshaun Benny has already played great at times, and barring injury, he should once again be a force. Otherwise, it will be up to fifth year senior Ike Iwunnah (7 tackles, 1 tackle for loss in 2024), junior Trey Pierce (7 tackles), redshirt sophomore Enow Etta (4 tackles, 0.5 sacks), and a couple transfers to get it done inside. Luckily, the transfers were pretty good recruits. On the not-so-great side, they weren’t super productive at their previous stops. Alabama transfer Damon Payne (14 tackles, 0.5 sacks) and Clemson transfer Tre Williams (14 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, 2 sacks) are not stars like Graham and Grant, but they’re veteran additions.

The most impressive aspect and the biggest sign for hope is that this is a veteran-heavy position group. Altogether, the defensive line room boasts seven (7!!!) fifth-year seniors and four fourth-year players, the latter group including a couple former walk-ons in Joey Klunder and Chibi Anwunah. At a position in the trenches where physical maturity is at a premium, if you can’t win with pure talent, it’s at least good to have size, strength, and mental maturity.

On the edges, Michigan will miss Josaiah Stewart, an undersized player who won a ton of his matchups and played tougher than his 6’1″, 245 lb. frame would indicate. But rising senior Derrick Moore (23 tackles, 6 tackles for loss, 2 sacks) and fifth year senior T.J. Guy (32 tackles, 7 tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks) both played well in the bowl game against Alabama; Moore came on in that game after being pretty quiet throughout the regular season, but Guy was solid for most of the year. Those two players should lead the way, but Michigan did not land any reinforcements in the transfer portal and will need to count on some young players to rotate in and find some success.

Redshirt sophomore Aymeric Koumba looks the part, and Michigan brought in a really talented trio in 2024 with Lugard Edokpayi, Devon Baxter, and Dominic Nichols. Nichols looked like he belonged, making 3 tackles in five games (one was the bowl game, so he preserved his redshirt). But there’s plenty of opportunity here for help at the edge positions to step up in the spring and stake a claim for playing time this fall.

Overall, this is a veteran group that should be solid and deep. In fact, I can’t think of a Michigan team that has had this much experience. The real question is the top-end talent and whether someone who will step up who can make consistent big plays in crunch time, something guys like Mason Graham, Josaiah Stewart, Aidan Hutchinson, and others have been able to do.

2024 Season Countdown: #93 Lugard Edokpayi

Name: Lugard Edokpayi
Height: 6’6″
Weight: 225 lbs.
High school: Bowie (MD) Bishop McNamara
Position: Defensive end
Class: Freshman
Jersey number: N/A
Last year: Edokpayi was a senior in high school. He made 22 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, 5 sacks, and 5 pass breakups.
TTB Rating: 84

Maybe it’s just my perception, but Edokpayi is one of the most overlooked members of the 2024 class, especially because he’s #152 overall in the 247 Composite. Michigan got a highly ranked edge rusher, and nobody seems to talk about him. And that includes me, because I never wrote a commitment post for him.

Edokpayi is a 6’6″, 225 lb. athlete who made a somewhat obvious choice to pick Michigan; other suitors included Florida State, Minnesota, Rutgers, and Tennessee, so it wasn’t exactly a who’s-who of colleges, especially for a top-200 player. He only played in six games as a senior due to injury, so his numbers don’t exactly jump out, either. Bishop McNamara also used him as a wide receiver, and while he shows decent speed, there’s not a lot of smoothness to his ability to catch the football. I don’t think he’s in danger of being moved to tight end.

But Edokpayi does have a nice, natural stance and a good get-off. His first step is very good, and he shows some nice lateral quickness to keep offensive tackles guessing. 247 mentions him having an 84″ wingspan, and when you combine that with his ability to dip his inside shoulder and use his quickness, I think Michigan has a very good prospect here. It will take some time for his strength to catch up to the rest of his attributes, so we’re probably looking at a redshirt season. But if he’s added some strength, he could be a dark horse to be one of those freshmen who makes 1 or 2 sacks and shows a glimpse of what’s to come in the future.

Prediction: Redshirt

Class of 2024: Early Signing Day Primer

The “early” National Signing Day for the class of 2024 will be on Wednesday, December 20, 2023. This early signing day has really killed some of the excitement that used to exist, built during a slow off-season after the bowls. Now the early signing day is mixed in with the College Football Playoff discussion, upcoming bowls, transfer portal drama, and coaching changes . . . not to mention a little thing called Christmas about a week later.

Michigan is also offering 300+ players per cycle and decommitments happen left and right, depending on who’s offering the best NIL plan, so it’s harder and harder for the average fan to follow recruiting.

Instead of doing a player-by-player rundown of what remains of the 2024 class, I’ll try to address the most pressing issues. And if anything surprising happens, so be it.

WHAT HIGH SCHOOL RECRUITS ARE ON THE CLOCK?
More than 30 offered players remain uncommitted for 2024, but most are not considering Michigan. The most prominent target is District Heights (MD) Bishop McNamara DE Lugard Edokpayi (4-star, #25 EDGE, #305 overall). Edokpayi took an official visit to Michigan in the middle of last week, and he has now been crystal balled to the Wolverines by Brice Marich and has a FutureCast from Josh Henschke. Edokpayi is the lone uncommitted prospect who seems to be a strong possibility for the Wolverines, but sometimes there are surprises.

Hit the jump for more.