Breaking News: Sherrone Moore brings a familiar name back to Michigan to lead an elite defensive line.
Michigan football has hired Lou Esposito as its defensive line coach, as Sherrone Moore brings a familiar name back to the Great Lakes State to lead one of the nation’s best position groups. Sources confirmed the news to The Michigan Insider and to 247Sports’ Matt Zenitz on Friday afternoon.
Esposito joins the Wolverines from Memphis, where he was hired as co-defensive coordinator and defensive line coach earlier this year. He previously held the defensive coordinator/defensive line coach role for seven years at Western Michigan, where he also w
As TMI’s Sam Webb reported on March 25, U-M coach Sherrone Moore tabbed Esposito as his top option after Greg Scruggs’ departure. Scruggs resigned from his position on March 21, less than a week after he was arrested for allegedly operating a vehicle while intoxicated.
orked from 2010-12. Esposito’s other stops include stints at Ferris State and at Davenport, both in the state of Michigan.
Michigan basketball signee Christian Anderson Jr. announced Friday afternoon that he is reopening his recruitment following the coaching change in Ann Arbor.
Esposito will lead a Michigan defensive line projected to be among the best in college football. The Wolverines boast a pair of tackles, Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant, who are each considered top-10 returning interior defensive linemen by Pro Football Focus and starred in the 2023 national championship run. Graham was one of only two interior defensive linemen in the country to finish with top-10 grades as both a pass rusher and run defender, per PFF, while Grant ranked as college football’s sixth-most valuable interior lineman in 2023.
“If you can start with stopping the run, which those two are very good at, and they do it different ways. It’s not just because they’re square and play with knockback. They both move well, and it’s gonna be exciting for us,” said Michigan defensive coordinator Wink Martindale.
Grant and Graham will be flanked by a pair of emerging edge rushers in Derrick Moore and Josaiah Stewart
“It’s is a great starting point. We just need to build some depth behind them. But I think both both D-Mo and Josaiah, they’re hidden gems,” Martindale said.
Esposito will arrive to a Michigan program that began spring practice earlier this month and has been “all hands on deck” to fill in for the coaching vacancy on the defensive line. But his track record suggests the Wolverines are in good hands, as evidenced by Esposito’s ability to identify and develop NFL talent while at Western Michigan.
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“Esposito has experience as a head coach, defensive coordinator, and is a really good defensive line coach,” 247Sports’ Allen Trieu said. “He was the first head coach at Davenport, which was a brand new program and helped lay the foundation for them now being a very competitive GLIAC program. He did that with recruiting.
“He’s known in local circles as a really strong recruiter with a big personality. The best résumé for him as a coach and recruiter is this year’s draft class. Western Michigan had Braden Fiske, Andre Carter and Marshawn Kneeland on the same defensive line. Fiske portaled to Florida State — and may have stayed at WMU had it been firm at the time that Esposito was staying. He is going to be an early round pick. Kneeland was a ‘find’ out of Grand Rapids who Colorado tried to portal, but he returned to WMU. He was not recruited heavily even by fellow MAC schools but will be drafted. Carter was a good win out of Cass Tech. He portaled to Indiana this past season after a good career at Western and is also going to get an NFL shot. Fairly unheard of for a MAC school to have three guys like that on the same defensive line.”
