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.
