Former Michigan player thinks this current defensive lineman is capable of 'dominance'

Losing two first round draft picks in the same season is never an easy predicament for a team to find itself in. Yet, that's exactly what has happened with Michigan football as it prepares for the upcoming 2025 season without the talents of Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant, who left legendary careers as Wolverines behind them and are now in the NFL.

That means the Wolverines will need some interior linemen step up this season to fill those roles. Luckily for Michigan, defensive line coach Lou Esposito and defensive coordinator Wink Martindale have some tools at their disposal, with Ike Iwunnah and Trey Pierce getting some valuable playing time last year that should help prepare them for 2025, along with bringing in Tre Williams from Clemson to add to the Wolverines' experience and depth at the position.

However, it's fifth-year graduate student Rayshaun Benny who could be the standout amongst Michigan's defensive tackles and be the one to help elevate the Wolverines' defensive line to a dominant level once again. Although Benny appeared in 11 games last season, he has stated he really didn't feel fully healthy until the second part of the year after suffering a broken fibula in the 2024 Rose Bowl game against Alabama.

That injury took awhile to recover from, but Benny, when healthy, is capable of being a dominant force, and Michigan fans got a glimpse of that in last year's ReliaQuest Bowl against the Crimson Tide when Benny got the start and performed at a high level.

Michigan DT Rayshaun Benny: 87.5 Run Defense Grade Last Season

〽️ 1st Among Returning Big Ten Defensive Lineman pic.twitter.com/qvPtavbjzK
— PFF College (@PFF_College) June 21, 2025

On a recent episode of the In The Trenches podcast with former Michigan player and current radio announcer Jon Jansen, around the 20:30 mark of the episode, Jansen explained the type of impact Benny can have.

"One of the things I like, is—two years ago, he was having a really good year, got hurt at the end, but was a little bit overshadowed because of what Mason Graham was doing—Kenneth Grant was coming along," said Jansen. "Last year, felt like he was just always still recovering from that injury, and he even talked about it in that interview (a previous interview with Jansen) is that this is the first offseason he's had where he's just been able to watch film, go out and train, work on technique, full offseason in the weight room. It's about being able to be aggressive in the weight room and I think Rayshaun has all of the ability and the experience to go out there and be a dominant defensive tackle. I don't expect him to have a season like Mason had or Kenneth—he's not that type of player. But in his own right, I think there's going to be a form of dominance that he is able to exude on the field because he can take on double teams, he can split double teams from time to time."

In his four-year career at Michigan up to this point, Benny has recorded 72 total tackles, 10 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks in 41 games played.

Enjoy more Michigan Wolverines coverage on Michigan Wolverines On SI -

More Michigan News:

Ranking Michigan football's 2025 schedule from 12 to 1: No. 10 Purdue Boilermakers

Michigan basketball lands 7-foot-3 center in 2026 class

EA Sports College Football 26: Overall ratings for Michigan football defensive players

Every offensive Michigan football player’s rating in EA Sports College Football 26 -- including Bryce Underwood

The best of the best: Michigan football All Quarter Century Team