Name: Enow Etta
Height: 6'5"
Weight: 328 lbs.
High school: Keller (TX) Covenant Christian Academy
Position: Defensive tackle
Class: Redshirt junior
Jersey number: #17
Last year: I ranked Etta #43 and said he would be a backup defensive tackle (LINK). He made 15 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, 0.5 sacks, and 1 pass breakup.
TTB Rating: 87
Etta was a tweener defensive tackle/defensive end coming out of high school in 2023, so he spent some time insisting he was an edge player even when he was hovering close to 300 pounds. There were either going to have to be some major body composition changes or he was headed for defensive tackle, and the latter happened. He spent most of 2024 standing straight up and getting pushed around, so he was a work in progress. Last season the light started to come on a little bit, but the production wasn't there. For a top-100-ish recruit not to flash more when the other defensive tackles were so-so was a little disappointing. Overall, 15 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, and half a sack isn't awful for a backup defensive tackle, but I had hoped for more out of Etta by year three.
Now it's year four, and Michigan for sure needs more out of Etta. There's no more time to lurk behind Rayshaun Benny or anyone else. Etta has excellent size and athleticism, but things need to start coming together. There aren't many proven options on the defensive front, and defensive tackle might be the most concerning position on the team. I would like to rank Etta higher, but I haven't seen him produce enough on the field to determine whether he's head-and-shoulders above the other guys at the position. Etta almost left Michigan this off-season and supposedly could have got paid handsomely, but he was convinced to return to the Wolverines (likely with a healthy NIL offer) and now he has a chance to show he was worth the bidding war.
Prediction: Starting defensive tackle; 35 tackles, 6 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks
My biggest question mark for the new staff is their insistence that DL is the strength of the team
ReplyDeleteJHD is probably the best of that group, but not proven to be healthy
Pierce is okay, and hopefully above average B1G this year
Then what? Is Dom Nichols (or a youngster) ready to take Cam Brandt snaps? God, I hope so
This may seem harsh, but Etta sucked. And no DT is even in talks of passing him. The Ute transfer is LIGHT and not good; Palepale wasn’t ready last year and probably has a ceiling of “okay” this year. Who else?
I’ll take Etta at 1o because the position’s value, not his
We need our offense to score in bunches, because the Defense will get gashed against the top of our schedule
I had Etta higher because to me he's a make-or-break player for the team (like Donovan Jeter that one year). I'll explain why.
ReplyDeleteI have little to no faith in the other options at DT. If Leaea is your 3rd guy and you can rotate in some younger options as a 4th option I think you're in really good shape. I think Pierce is solid, Leaea will be solid as a 3rd wheel, and there's enough young depth to think someone will be functional as a 4th. So -- maybe this is a little hyperbolic but I'll say it anyway -- I think Etta makes or breaks the DL, and with it, the defense as a whole, and with the relative degree of confidence many of us have in the offense -- that means Etta makes or breaks the season.
Best case sceanrio -- Etta lives up to his talent makes a massive leap and forms up to be a not elite but consistently reliable duo with Pierece. This mitigates depth concerns and LB concerns if our DL can stiffen up to stop the run when it needs to.
Worst case scenario -- Etta remains not-quite-it and Michigan is rotating through a cast of not-quite-it options and thus can get run over by the likes of PSU and Iowa and Oklahoma.
This is why I put Etta at #5 on my countdown -- I think he can make-or-break us in the make-or-break games. He's not the 5th best player on team by a long shot -- but how he plays shapes the season IMO.