Michigan’s linebacker room entered the season as the biggest question on the defense, and that made sense. The Wolverines had to replace their top three linebackers from last year - Ernest Hausmann, Jimmy Rolder and Cole Sullivan - so this was always going to be a spot worth watching.
Two games in, the group has held up. Troy Bowles leads Michigan with 21 tackles, and North Dakota State transfer Nathaniel Staehling is right behind him with 16.
The unit has already shown it can make plays, including against Oklahoma. The next jump, though, is the one that turns a solid group into a dangerous one.
That’s where Alex Whittingham sees the work still ahead. Michigan’s linebackers coach said the group needs to keep learning the scheme and get cleaner in the tackling department, especially with the defense shifting looks from week to week.
"Yeah, just continue to develop, continue to grow, continue to understand the scheme," Whittingham said of his unit. "We've changed up our scheme a few times this year. We were in a lot of four down, 4-2 front week one.
"We kind of mixed in some 3-3 last week, and who knows what we're going to do this week. But just continue to embrace their roles in the scheme. We got to clean up some missed tackles that we had last week."
Staehling, in particular, has emerged as a strong fit for what Michigan wanted. Fans may have hoped for Rasheem Biles or Cade Uluave from the portal, but Michigan landed Staehling instead, and Whittingham made it clear that was by design. He said he was evaluating Staehling within his first few days on the job and immediately saw a player who reminded him of former BYU linebacker Jack Kelly.
Whittingham drew a direct comparison to Kelly, who last season in 2025 posted 51 tackles, 10 sacks and 13.5 TFLs for BYU. Staehling hasn’t shown that kind of pass-rush production yet, but he has brought the kind of reliability Michigan wanted - the willingness to tackle and the ability to land in the right spot.
"Yeah, so that was my, shoot, second or third day on the job was evaluating him,'" revealed Whittingham. "And once he got into the portal, kind of picking out what we needed and what we wanted out of the portal. And he was a guy that definitely stood out.
"One thing that stood out to me was there was a lot of similarities between him and who Coach Hill had at BYU, Jack Kelly, a linebacker there. So they're about identical size-wise.
And just movement skills and all that, they were very similar. So I thought he'd be a great fit as far as the scheme goes."
Bowles and Staehling have clearly become Michigan’s top two linebackers, but they’re not carrying the whole load. Chase Taylor has logged plenty of snaps and flashed at times, while Aisea Moa and Nathaniel Owusu-Boateng have also been part of the rotation.
And there may be more coming. Whittingham said the Wolverines could eventually roll out six, seven or even eight linebackers as younger players continue to develop. That group includes freshmen Aden Reeder and Markel Dabney, plus transfer Max Alford, who is working his way back from an ACL injury.
"And so guys have kind of slotted into their roles," said Whittingham "But I think going forward, there's going to be even more, possibly six, seven, eight guys that we can rotate in as the young rookies come along. A den Reeder or Markel Dabney.Get them more into the system.
"Max Alford is a guy that's going to start showing up. He's coming off a ACL that he's been rehabbing.
But he's looking better and better every week. Had a great practice yesterday.
It's a great, I think, situation right now with the depth that we have."
Michigan gets UTEP this weekend, and with the Wolverines heavy favorites, it could be another chance to see the linebacker depth chart keep expanding. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. ET on Big Ten Network.
In Other News...
Michigan Finally Found Some Offense But A Bigger Worry Is Growing
Michigans 52-17 win over UTEP brought a much cleaner afternoon on offense, with Bryce Underwood looking more comfortable as a passer and the Wolverines finally stringing together the kind of production they had been searching for. True freshman Tommy Carr also got his first career touchdown pass, another small but notable development in a game that gave Michigan a chance to reset some of its offensive rhythm.
The bigger concern is what came out of the win, because the injury list is starting to grow in places Michigan can ill afford to thin out. Right tackle Andrew Sprague, running back Jordan Marshall and cornerback Zeke Berry all missed or were limited in the game, leaving the Wolverines to balance a much-needed offensive breakthrough against some troubling uncertainty as the schedule moves on. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan's Big Win Couldn't Hide One Worry Before Iowa
Michigan shook off an uneven start and rolled past UTEP 52-17, turning an early deficit into a runaway win with 38 straight points. Bryce Underwood threw two touchdown passes and Savion Hiter added two rushing scores as the Wolverines settled in on offense, but the victory was built only after they recovered from self-inflicted mistakes that handed UTEP an opening.
Jordan Marshalls leg injury was the part of the afternoon Michigan could not simply brush aside. The starting running back went out during the game, leaving the Wolverines with a question mark in the backfield heading into Iowa, while coach Kyle Whittingham also pointed to the teams fumble issues as another concern to clean up before the schedule gets tougher. [Read more 🡒]
Finebaum Turns Oklahomas Michigan Loss Into Fresh SEC Fuel
Paul Finebaum used his SEC Nation platform to revisit Oklahomas loss to Michigan, and he did not sound like someone eager to give the Big Ten any benefit of the doubt. The longtime SEC voice said he was frustrated by what he sees as a down year for the conference, and he pointed back to the praise he had offered before the season as something he now wishes he could take back.
Finebaum also put Oklahomas defeat in a broader rivalry context, saying the loss let fans down and handed fresh ammunition to those who still view the SEC as the tougher league. With the conference debate never far from the surface, Michigans win has quickly become more than just one result on the schedule, turning into the latest talking point in the ongoing SEC-Big Ten argument. [Read more 🡒]