Michigan football lost three of its big-time defensive tackles from last year, with Rayshaun Benny, Tré Williams, and Damon Payne all having graduated. So now, the Wolverines will be relying on some more unfamiliar faces on the interior of the defensive line, but also some who are relatively familiar.
Enow Etta was the hypebeast of spring ball in 2024 after having moved from edge rusher to defensive tackle, but on the field, he’s had a bit of a quieter performance. He hasn’t wowed, but he’s improved year-over-year. Now, with Kyle Whittingham leading the Wolverines, expectations are high for the defensive front, even with all the attrition. And Etta figures into the mix as one of the standouts up front.
So now that he’s expected to be a focal point of the defense, he’s embracing that. He shared more about his mentality with Jon Jansen on the In the Trenches podcast, noting that moments like these are why he came to Michigan in the first place.
“For me, the biggest thing is just living up to the expectation,” Etta said. “I mean, ever since I’ve been here, the D-tackles have been people to lean on. We had the natty year. We had six guys that Coach Minter was leaning on. The last two years, it’s been that same thing. And you come to Michigan — I came here because of the D-line, you know.
“So you hear the D-line. So it feels good to be honest. It feels good to have the trust of the coaches. And two, it feels good to finally step into that role of being someone to be leaning on, because I think that’s, you know, every D-lineman’s dream. When you come to a place like this, it’s the type of situation where, with great power comes great responsibility, so like, I know what I have to be for this team, and I’m working every day to get towards that. And I know that guys like me, Trey, Jonah, like what we do really gets the defense going. And I think that’s going to be probably the catalyst of our year.”
Though Etta has now had two years at tackle, it’s been an adjustment for him to think of himself that way. The former four-star from Texas came to Ann Arbor in the national championship year as an edge rusher, but was converted after Sherrone Moore took over the program.
That move created something of an identity crisis. After making the switch in spring in 2024, Etta had more of an ‘anything to help the team’ type of mantra, somewhat half-heartedly embracing the change. Now, on the other hand, he’s ready to go as one of the premier interior players, and while he’s still of the mentality that helping the team is paramount, he’s fully bought into his relatively newfound position.
“I think the biggest change has been, to be honest, it’s been more of a mental change,” Etta said. “I think we had a talk last year, and it was just about accepting coming out of high school, I was the edge. Michigan was one of the only schools, Coach Harbaugh told me, like, we want you as, like, a big end. Like, you remember Mike Morris. I was like, we want you as a bigger end, when most schools were like, OK, they just see a three-type, you know?
“And so, for me, it was really the mental battle of accepting, because I feel like once you buy in mentally, everything cut, because I was, for a long time, I was fighting. I was like, man, I’m going to just not eat. I’m going to skip breakfast so I can stay at 270 so I can stay at edge. And it’s just like, once I really bought in, everything just followed. Once I just bought in, like, this is what I’m going to do. This is what the team needs me to be, you know? For a long time, it was like, what I want to do.
“I want to be an edge, but it was like, if I can help this team as a D-tackle, and these last two years have been growing pains because it’s the first time I’ve been playing D-tackle, like, and I’m young to football. I started in high school. I’m not like a lot of guys where I’ve been playing my whole life. My first year was my freshman, sophomore year of high school, you know? So, the main thing was just adjusting, and so, I know Michigan has a history of guys switching positions. Like, we’ve all heard, like, Mike Sainristil — we see those guys, you know? As younger guys, we saw and looked up to those guys. So, the main thing was just accepting, like, this is where the team needs me to be, and I have to accept I’m going to be there. So, it was really a mental change, like, this is where the team needs me to be. I’m going to put my best foot forward to do that, and I think I’ve improved every year, and I think this is the year where I really got to take that next step because that’s where they need me to be, you know?”
Michigan is currently in summer conditioning with fall camp set for August 1 and the season opener on September 5.
This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: Enow Etta ready to anchor Michigan defensive line
Reporting by Isaiah Hole, Wolverines Wire / Wolverines Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Isaiah Hole, Wolverines Wire | USA TODAY Network
