ANN ARBOR, Mich. — When Michigan football head coach Sherrone Moore had his fall camp press conference, WolverinesWire asked him what players had surprised him halfway through. Now that it’s game week, and fall camp is over, we asked Moore again, and he had a few different answers.
And, in particular, one name stood out above the rest.
The Wolverines have a lot of depth on the defensive front seven, and really, also in the back-end. And though almost all of the defnesive tackle talk has centered on Rayshaun Benny and the two transfers (Tré Williams and Damon Payne), Moore says that junior Trey Pierce may have made the biggest jump in fall camp.
“Continually say Cole Sullivan. He’s a guy that just keeps standing out. I think the other guy up front is Trey Pierce,” Moore said. “Trey Pierce has taken steps to make himself as one of the top D-tackles and possibly an All-Big Ten D-tackle. I remember I was in a defensive line meeting, and they all had their goals written up, and he said that was one of his goals. He’s taken himself and put himself in that position to do that, to be in line to one of the better D-tackles in the conference. I’m really excited to watch Trey.
“I talked about the corners, the safeties. Brandyn Hillman has taken the next step. He’s a tone setter. He’s a tone setter all over the field, him and TJ Metcalf. But Mason Curtis is another guy. They’re all over the place. It’s hard to pin down one, like I said. But probably in my mind, the guy that jumps out the most is the guy that’s been here is Trey Pierce. Trey Pierce has really taken those leaps that we needed him to be a guy.”
Benny is a player who came on strong in his junior year as a reserve on the national championship team in 2023. From what he’s seen, Pierce has made a similar jump.
But where has he improved the most? Benny says it’s a bit of a holistic improvement, noting that his mentality is what’s really allowing Pierce to shine the past few weeks.
“Really just all around his game,” Benny said. “Not just focusing on one thing, the stuff that used to bother him in the past don’t bother him. He don’t really get his head hung up on plays. If it’s a good play, good. If it’s a bad play, let’s get the next play and make it good. So just being able to move on from the next play. And I talked to Trey pretty much saying my junior year was kind of my year where I felt like I came into my full self. And just letting them know that we got high expectations out of him.”
Senior center Greg Crippen is one of the players tasked with stopping or stalling Pierce in practice, so he has seen his growth and emergence. What does he think?
He delved a bit into Pierce’s game and what makes him so difficult to block.
“I think Trey Pierce does a really good job at, when you initially block him, he does a good job of countering and shedding the block,” Crippen said. “I think that’s been a really big area of his growth. And, obviously, our defense is really good, so they twist and move a lot, and I think he does a good job of staying in his gap and able to — once you stick on him, he does a good job of shedding off, going and making a play.”
Pierce started opposite Benny in the ReliaQuest Bowl, and though he may (or may not) be the starter again this season, he’ll see the field early and often. The 2025 season is set to begin on Saturday when the Wolverines host New Mexico at The Big House. Kickoff is set for 7:36 p.m. EDT and the game will be broadcast on NBC.
This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: Sherrone Moore touts Trey Pierce’s breakout as All-Big Ten D-tackle in 2025 fall camp
Reporting by Isaiah Hole, Wolverines Wire / Wolverines Wire
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