Larry Black, Wolverine

 

Larry Black (image via Vanderbilt Athletics)

Michigan has hired Vanderbilt's defensive line coach, Larry Black, to be the next defensive tackles coach for the Wolverines. The position was previously held by Lou Esposito, who departed recently for a job with the Baltimore Ravens, where former Michigan defensive coordinator Jesse Minter is now the head coach.

Black played defensive tackle at Indiana from 2009-2013 and is the older brother of former Michigan defensive tackle Jibreel Black, who made 72 tackles, 14 tackles for loss, 7 sacks, and 3 forced fumbles from 2010-2013. Larry himself got an undrafted free agent contract with the Bengals when he left the Hoosiers.

The elder Black has since coached at Notre Dame (graduate assistant), Toledo, and Vanderbilt. He was the defensive line coach for the Commodores from 2022-2024 but added "run game coordinator" to his title for 2025. Vanderbilt ranked last in the SEC in yards per carry allowed in 2022 and 2023, but they moved up to #14 (out of 16) in 2024 and then #7 in 2025. A similar path existed when it comes to sacks, where they went from last in 2022-2023 to #11 in 2024 and #7 in 2025.

Black has been rumored to be interested in the job the past couple times a defensive line coaching job has opened up at Michigan, but other people were hired. It's unclear what the connection was (if there was one) between Black and new head coach Kyle Whittingham, but Black will now pair with defensive ends coach Lewis Powell to tag team coaching duties on the defensive line.

Ex-Wolverine Coach Updates: February 16, 2026

 

Kevin Koger (image via Atlanta Falcons)

With the end of the NFL cycle taking place and Michigan's recent coaching transition, there have been a lot of changes for former Wolverine coaches and players in the coaching world:

Joe Bolden, Defensive Coordinator (Southern Mississippi): Bolden finished his first season at Southern Miss as the special teams coordinator and then was promoted to defensive coordinator in December.

Adam Braithwaite, Safeties Coach (Cincinnati): Braithwaite finished his first season as the safeties coach for the Cincinnati Bearcats.

Anthony Campanile, Defensive Coordinator (Jacksonville Jaguars): Campanile finished his first season as an NFL defensive coordinator. The Jaguars are 13-4 and in the playoffs, and they finished the regular season #11 in yards allowed per game (303.6).

Hit the jump for more.

Ndi Etta, Wolverine

 

Ndi Etta (image via X)

Argyle (TX) Liberty Christian linebacker Ndi Etta committed to Michigan on Sunday. He picked the Wolverines over offers from Austin Peay, Miami-OH, and UTEP.

Ndi Etta is listed at 6'1" or 6'2" and 215 lbs., and he played some defensive end and some linebacker in high school. He made 68 tackles, 17 tackles for loss, 10.5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, and 4 pass breakups as a senior in 2025.

RANKINGS
ESPN: N/A
Rivals: N/A
247 Sports: N/A

Hit the jump for more.

Chris Bracy, Wolverine

 

Chris Bracy (image via X)

Memphis transfer safety Chris Bracy is transferring to Michigan.

Bracy is a 6'1", 195 lb. safety who started eleven games in 2025 and played in thirteen altogether, making 81 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss, 1 interception, 1 forced fumble, and 9 pass breakups. His position coach for the Tigers was former Michigan linebacker Desmond Morgan. In the 2023 and 2024 seasons combined at UAB, he made 33 tackles, 0.5 tackles for loss, 1 interception (returned for 58 yards against Louisiana), and 2 pass breakups.

Coming out of Mobile (AL) St. Paul's Episcopal in 2023, Bracy was a 3-star, the #177 safety, and #2008 overall.

Bracy is not a physical wonder by any means, but you're unlikely to get freaks who were #2008 overall and just came from Memphis. What he has is three years of experience playing college football and playing pretty regularly, including ranking #3 on his team in tackles and #1 in pass breakups in 2025. Bracy should provide a veteran presence and a willingness to come up and tackle on the edge, whether it's in the run game or on short passes. His deep speed and ability to cover is going to be the big question mark, but experience and knowledge can help overcome that at the safety spot.

Bracy should come in and either start or be a regular rotation player in Michigan's secondary. With some young players rising and Rod Moore's questionable health as he returns for a sixth year, there are a lot of moving parts at the safety spot for the Wolverines.

Max Alford, Wolverine

 

Max Alford (image via X)

Michigan landed transfer linebacker Max Alford from BYU. Alford is the nephew of Michigan running backs coach Tony Alford.

Max is a 6'1", 230 lb. linebacker who played at Utah State from 2022-2024 before transferring to BYU for the 2025 season. He has played in 28 total games in his career, including five starts, and he played in ten games for BYU last season. While playing for the Cougars, he played 142 defensive snaps and 96 special teams snaps, totaling 21 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 1 sack, and 1 quarterback hurry.

Coming out of Park City (UT) Park City, he was a 3-star, the #145 running back, and #1979 overall in the class of 2022. Going back to film of his high school days, it was pretty clear that he was not going to stick at running back in college. He was kind of just an upright, straight-line runner, but he ran with a linebacker's mentality.

Michigan needed help out of the transfer portal in this class, and Alford is at least a body who can help with special teams play and in the linebacker room. He's coming from the same school as defensive coordinator Jay Hill, so he should have a leg up mentally and may be able to help the other linebackers transition to the new defensive scheme, too. Whether he plays a big role defensively or not depends on a lot of other unknowns, such as Michigan State transfer Aisea Moa and North Dakota State transfer Nate Staehling. The Wolverines lost their top four inside linebackers from a year ago, including Cole Sullivan (Oklahoma), Ernest Hausmann (graduation/retirement), Jimmy Rolder (NFL draft), and Jaishawn Barham (graduation/NFL draft).

John Henry Daley, Wolverine

 

John Henry Daley (image via Twitter)

Utah defensive end John Henry Daley is transferring to Michigan.

Coming out of Alpine (UT) Lone Peak, Daley was a 3-star, the #45 athlete, and #613 overall in the 247 Composite. He started his career at BYU in 2023, making 3 tackles in three games and redshirting. He then transferred to Utah, where he made 4 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, and 1 sack in seven games in 2024. He followed that up this past season with a Walter Camp First Team All-America performance, making 48 tackles, 17.5 tackles for loss, 11.5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, and 1 pass breakup while playing in eleven games.

At 6'4" and 255 pounds, Daley tied for #5 nationally in tackles for loss (everyone tied with or above him played 12+ games) and #7 in sacks (same story). In other words, he was #3 in TFLs per game and #2 in sacks per game.

Daley has a lot of football in his bloodlines, including a brother who's a captain at Rice (after starting his career at BYU, too), a dad who played at BYU, and several uncles who played at BYU, including Taysom Hill.

Watching some of Utah this season and some highlights of Daley, I'm definitely curious to see if his playmaking ability translates to the Big Ten. Most of the wins I saw were where he just came off the ball like a rocket, attacked half a man, and was able to beat the tackle around the edge. There's not much nuance to his game. There's definitely a path to success with that approach, but he will have to face better tackles in the Big Ten. Furthermore, he is overcoming a lower body injury (rumored to be an Achilles issue), so his contribution may just depend on how quickly he can get back to full speed. Luckily, he has two seasons of eligibility remaining, so Michigan fans could potentially see him at full strength in 2027, too.

If Daley gets back to form in 2026, he is pretty clearly Michigan's best edge defender. Mix in some Dominic Nichols, Nate Marshall, Cam Brandt, etc., and it's a decent group of players.

Way Too Early 2026 Depth Chart: January 21, 2026

 

Jyaire Hill (image via X)

The following depth chart is intended to show what players exist at what positions, which also shows the needs from the transfer portal and perhaps the February signing day for the 2026 class.

• QB Jadyn Davis (transfer to East Tennessee State)
• QB Jake Garcia (transfer portal)
• QB Mikey Keene (transfer to Arizona State)
• QB Davis Warren (transfer to Stanford)
• RB Justice Haynes (transfer to Georgia Tech)
• RB C.J. Hester (transfer portal)
• RB Jasper Parker (transfer to Arkansas)
• RB John Volker (graduation)
• WR C.J. Charleston (graduation)
• WR Donaven McCulley (graduation)
• WR Fredrick Moore (transfer to Michigan State)
• WR Semaj Morgan (transfer to UCLA)
• WR Peyton O'Leary (transfer portal)
• WR Anthony Simpson (transfer portal)
• TE Max Bredeson (graduation)
• TE Marlin Klein (NFL draft)
• TE Brady Prieskorn (transfer to Ole Miss)
• OL Greg Crippen (graduation)
• OL Giovanni El-Hadi (graduation)
• OL Ty Haywood (transfer to Alabama)
• OL Connor Jones (transfer to Georgia State)
• OL Ben Roebuck (transfer to Western Michigan)
• OL Kaden Strayhorn (transfer to Alabama)
• EDGE Devon Baxter (transfer to Virginia)
• EDGE T.J. Guy (graduation)
• EDGE Tyler McLaurin (graduation)
• EDGE Derrick Moore (graduation)
• DT Rayshaun Benny (graduation)
• DT Ike Iwunnah (graduation)
• DT Damon Payne (graduation)
• DT Tre Williams (graduation)
• LB Jaishawn Barham (graduation)
• LB Ernest Hausmann (graduation/medical retirement))
• LB Jaydon Hood (transfer to Georgia State)
• LB Jimmy Rolder (NFL draft)
• LB Cole Sullivan (transfer to Oklahoma)
• DB Caleb Anderson (graduation)
• DB Elijah Dotson (transfer to Missouri)
• DB Brandyn Hillman (transfer to Virginia)
• DB Jaden Mangham (transfer to Purdue)
• DB Tevis Metcalf (transfer to Tennessee)
• DB T.J. Metcalf (transfer to Tennessee)
• DB Jayden Sanders (transfer to Notre Dame)
• K Beckham Sunderland (transfer to Minnesota)
• K Dominic Zvada (graduation)
• LS Evan Boutorwick (transfer to Northwestern)

It assumes that every currently rostered player and every currently committed prospect will be here in the fall of 2026, which is obviously not true.

Hit the jump for the depth chart.