These 6 or 7 Michigan Football Edge Rushers Will Play Saturday vs. Western Michigan

Fans can expect several players provide production on Saturday night.

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The consistent theme for Michigan's defense has been that its biggest strength is along the defensive line. When the Wolverines take the field on Saturday, Michigan will be going up against a Western Michigan team that likes to pound the rock.

But for Michigan, the Wolverines are confident in what they have — especially at edge.

On Wednesday, defensive coordinator Jay Hill spoke with the media, and thankfully for Michigan, John Henry Daley is a full-go, and as for his starting mate, expect both Dom Nichols and Cameron Brandt to play starting reps.

But that's not all. Hill said you could expect to see six or seven edge rushers mix in during the game. He highlighted names like Nate Marshall, Benny Patterson, and Tariq Boney.

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"Well, I think that's one of the deepest groups on the team as far as guys that we feel like can really contribute and help us," said Hill. "Depth is a little weird right now because there's been some injuries to that group through the last couple of weeks.

"And they've been injuries that will hold them out for a little bit. But they're not going to be long injuries. So we expect right now Dom Nichols and John Henry Daely to play a bunch with Cam Brandt. Those three guys probably taking the majority of the load as far as the starters go.

"And then that next tier group, Nate Marshall, Benny Patterson have done a great job. I'm just trying to think. Tariq Boney, as a young freshman, has really done some great things. So you very well could see six, seven defensive ends in there."

Nichols and Marshall have been tabbed as the best pass rushers on the team

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John Henry Daley is a proven commodity. He's done it at a high level and was an All-American last season. But the Wolverines need more players to step up along with Daley, and both Dom Nichols and Nate Marshall have been tabbed as the best pass rushers on the team.

Both players and coaches have communicated that, regarding Nichols, and Hill said he's excited to see him take the field this weekend.

"Yeah, Dom is one of those guys that you asked about earlier. It's like, who's the guys who've really progressed to become great players,' Hill asked. "I think Dom has all the traits to be a phenomenal big time guy. He's athletic. He's fluid. He's physical. He just needs to play football. And so that's going to be the thing I'm most excited about is watching some of these guys that maybe haven't played as much, how they handle playing 40, 50 reps. That's going to be the key with him."

As for Marshall, the former five-star enters game week as a rotational piece, at least according to Hill, but he was recently called the best pure-pass rusher on the team by Kyle Whittingham. The Wolverines weren't happy with Marshall at first, but he fixed his wrongs and enters 2026 set for a bigger role.

"I think Coach Powell has done a phenomenal job of just holding all the players to a high standard and expectation. And I've seen that whole group just get better and better. And Nate's one of those guys that has got better and better as camp's gone on and living up to what we all want him to be," said Hill.

Fans can see Michigan's defense soon enough when the Wolverines take the field against Western Michigan.

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