The Michigan Wolverines are retooling their defense heading into the new season, and there’s plenty to be intrigued by - especially when you look at the pieces they’ve got to work with. Up front, they’ve got a premier edge presence in John Henry Daley.
On the back end, they return two seasoned veterans at corner and add a dynamic new presence in Smith Snowden. At safety, Rod Moore is back, and with a nearly brand-new coaching staff - save for Big Lou Esposito - there’s a real sense that this defense could be more than just solid.
It could be special.
But as with any offseason optimism, there are still some real questions to answer. Can the defensive tackles hold their ground and anchor the run defense?
How does this group replace the experience and production lost at linebacker? And who fills in the remaining spots in the secondary rotation?
The wild card in all of this might just be Mason Curtis - a player whose development could end up being the key that unlocks the entire defense.
At 6-foot-5 and 211 pounds, Curtis is entering his third year in Ann Arbor with flashes of promise and plenty of room to grow. A former four-star recruit out of Nashville, he was named Michigan’s Defensive Rookie of the Year back in 2024 and split time at safety last season.
That’s a solid start. But here’s the twist - Curtis may have been playing out of position for the past two years.
Coming out of high school, Curtis was projected as an edge defender, essentially an outside linebacker. But once he arrived in Ann Arbor, he was shifted to safety as a freshman and then into more of a hybrid safety/nickel role as a sophomore.
The move closer to the line of scrimmage made some sense, but the snap counts tell the story: 203 snaps at free safety last season, compared to just 71 at nickel. That’s a lot of time spent far from the action for a player who thrives when he’s in the thick of it.
Enter new defensive coordinator Jay Hill - and with him, a chance to hit the reset button on Curtis’ role.
One logical move would be to shift Curtis into a box safety role, where his size and physicality can be better utilized. He played 75 snaps in the box last year, and Hill has a track record of turning strong safeties into impact players.
Just last season at BYU, Hill helped mold Faletau Satuala - a similarly built 6-foot-4, 210-pound safety - into a second-team All-American and the team’s leading tackler. That blueprint could fit Curtis perfectly.
In this setup, Rod Moore would stay deep at free safety, Jyaire Hill would hold down the field-side corner, and Snowden and Zeke Berry could handle the boundary and nickel spots. It’s a balanced alignment that allows Michigan to play fast and physical.
But there’s another option - and it might be the one that unlocks even more potential.
Think Sonny Styles. In 2023, Styles was a safety at Ohio State who had a tough time in coverage, most notably on Blake Corum’s 22-yard touchdown run - the one that sparked the now-famous “6-5” celebration.
Fast forward two years, and Styles is a two-year starter at linebacker, a first-team All-American, and a projected first-round pick. The position change made all the difference.
Curtis isn’t quite as heavy as Styles was at the time - Styles played at 230 pounds - but with his frame, Curtis could easily add 20 pounds and slide into a linebacker role. That would not only address Michigan’s lack of experience at linebacker, but it would also free up a safety spot for either Jordan Young or Memphis transfer Chris Bracy. It’s a move that would maximize both talent and depth.
A shift to linebacker could also give the Wolverines more flexibility in their base defense. In an era where most teams are living in the 4-2-5, Indiana just won a national title running a 4-3 - proof that there’s still value in having three true linebackers on the field.
With some question marks on the interior defensive line, a 4-3 look with Curtis at WILL linebacker could help Michigan shore up its run defense and add another pass-rushing threat off the edge. It also opens up the playbook for more simulated pressures and creative blitz packages.
And if Hill wants to get really flexible, he could design a defense that shifts between 4-3 and 4-2-5 looks depending on the situation. In that case, Curtis becomes the pivot point - a player who can start at linebacker but slide back into a strong safety role if needed, while someone like Berry drops into the nickel.
A potential 4-3 alignment could feature Curtis alongside Nathaniel Staehling and Nathaniel Owusu-Boateng at linebacker. In the secondary, Jyaire Hill and Snowden would hold down the outside, with Berry and Moore at safety. And again, if the look isn’t right, Curtis could flex out to strong safety and let Berry take over in the slot.
The key here is Curtis’ development - and yes, his weight. How he progresses this spring and summer could determine how Michigan’s entire defense is built.
Hill has options, with returning veterans, promising transfers, and a few under-the-radar freshmen (keep an eye on Markel Dabney) all in the mix. But Curtis’ versatility might be the most valuable tool in the box.
He’s the kind of player who can be whatever this defense needs him to be - a box safety, a rangy linebacker, a blitzer, a coverage guy, or a hybrid of all of the above. In chess terms, he’s the queen on the board - capable of moving in multiple directions and flipping the game with a single move.
If Hill and the Wolverines can find the right role for Curtis, they won’t just be solving a position puzzle - they’ll be unlocking a defense that could be one of the best in the Big Ten, and maybe even one of the best in the country.