Name: Trey Pierce Height: 6’2″ Weight: 315 lbs. High school: Oak Lawn (IL) Brother Rice Position: Defensive tackle Class: Sophomore Jersey number: #95 Last year: I ranked Pierce #98 and said he would redshirt (LINK). He played in thirteen games and made 2 tackles. TTB Rating: 79
As a freshman in 2023, Pierce joined a team that didn’t really need a lot of help at nose tackle on paper. They had Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant on the roster, plus veteran UCF transfer Cam Goode and redshirt sophomore Ike Iwunnah. So the likelihood of needing a 290 pound true freshman seemed low. Instead, Pierce played in thirteen games. His play wasn’t necessarily stellar – he finished with a 50.5 grade from PFF – but he didn’t look out of place on the field.
This year Pierce’s contributions will be needed more after Goode’s departure. Michigan also lost defensive tackle Kris Jenkins, meaning Graham and Grant will be spread a little bit thinner eating up some of Jenkins’s snaps. Theoretically, Pierce might very well end up as the #2 nose tackle on the depth chart, but in actuality, he’ll probably be #3 behind Graham and Grant. With Pierce up to 315 pounds this season, he should be a little more viable as a nose tackle.
2023 Starters: OLB Jaylen Harrell, DT Mason Graham, DT Kris Jenkins, DE Braiden McGregor Losses: Reece Atteberry (transfer), Cam Goode (NFL), Harrell (NFL), McGregor (NFL) Returning players: Josaiah Stewart (Sr.), Kechaun Bennett (RS Jr.), Rayshaun Benny (RS Jr.), T.J. Guy (RS Jr.), Ike Iwunnah (RS Jr.), Tyler McLaurin (RS Jr.), Graham (Jr.), Grant (Jr.), Derrick Moore (Jr.), Alessandro Lorenzetti (RS So.), Breeon Ishmail (So.), Cameron Brandt (So.), Roderick Pierce (So.), Brooks Bahr (RS Fr.), Enow Etta (RS Fr.), Aymeric Koumba (RS Fr.) Newcomer: DE Dominic Nichols (Fr.) Projected starters: OLB Stewart, DT Graham, DT Grant, DE Moore
Michigan had an excellent defensive line in 2023, and it might have been the best position group on the national championship squad. The biggest differential in the national championship game against Washington was Michigan’s defensive line against the offensive line of the Huskies. Washington had a couple potential high draft picks in that group, and the Wolverines tossed them around like rag dolls.
Whereas Michigan had dynamic edge rushers in 2021 with David Ojabo and Aidan Hutchinson, the interior of the defensive line has been the strength the past two years. That should be the case once again in 2024, though I’m expecting a little more pass rush from the edge guys this season. Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant are entrenched as the starters at defensive tackle, and they should be the #1 defensive tackle combo in the nation. Grant is 6’3″ and 340 pounds but is fast enough to chase down Penn State running backs from behind. Graham is 6’4″, 310 and plays with both explosion and technique.
Michigan needs someone to emerge from the backup ranks, as starter Kris Jenkins, Jr. and frequently used backup Cam Goode have both moved on. Rayshaun Benny broke his foot late in the season, too, and will probably not be full strength until the fall. This spring look for Roderick Pierce to get some heavy rotation after playing a decent amount as the fourth nose tackle a year ago. Ike Iwunnah is a fourth-year player who has yet to see the field, so it’s tough to see him breaking out at this point, and Alessandro Lorenzetti is another player with decent size (6’5″, 301) who has yet to see the field. Michigan will either have to play one of those inexperienced older guys or give a shot to some young guys who really needed to bulk up from “strongside defensive end” vibes to playing tackle, such as Cameron Brandt or Brooks Bahr.
On the edges, Josaiah Stewart – who spent his first two seasons at Coastal Carolina – and Derrick Moore seem like very good bets to start. Stewart should step in capably for Harrell, and Moore should slide in smoothly for McGregor. They both rotated heavily last year and received a ton of playing time, and Stewart in particular showed a lot of growth throughout the year as he adjusted to playing in the Big Ten.
Once again, the big questions come from the backup ranks. Who will step up to rotate into the game frequently? And will anyone turn into an elite pass rusher? T.J. Guy is a fourth-year player with a good bit of experience, and he could be a solid backup option. He’s probably not a game-changer at this point, so the guys fans really want to see are the likes of Breeon Ishmail and Enow Etta. Both had excellent potential coming out of high school, and Etta was a highly valued recruit who was absolutely dominant in high school (20+ sacks in each of his final two seasons) but played against inferior competition.
Aymeric Koumba is a second-year Frenchman, and Dominic Nichols is an early enrollee freshman. Both have potential but it seems a little early for them to make much of an impact.
Roderick Pierce III (image via Dean Reid for Shaw Media)
Name: Roderick Pierce Height: 6’3″ Weight: 290 lbs. High school: Oak Lawn (IL) Brother Rice Position: Defensive tackle Class: Freshman Jersey number: N/A Last year: Pierce was a senior in high school (LINK). TTB Rating: 79
Pierce is a good prospect who happens to play a position that is very difficult to play as a true freshman. There are occasionally players like Mason Graham who fit in just fine as true freshmen, but more often, even upper tier prospects end up like Kenneth Grant. Grant was a 6’4″, 335 lb. monster coming out of high school and he played very little in 2022.
Pierce is starting off smaller – which should help with adjusting to the conditioning aspect of college football – but he will probably need to add weight and strength in order to get on the field. Michigan also has a solid group of returning players, including Graham, Grant, Kris Jenkins, and Rayshaun Benny, not to mention some unproven young guys Pierce will have to battle in order to even be third- or fourth-string.
Oak Lawn (IL) Brother Rice defensive tackle Roderick “Trey” Pierce committed to Michigan on Wednesday evening. The former Wisconsin commit picked the Wolverines over offers from Auburn, Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, and Texas, among others.
