DETROIT >> For a defensive line coach who no longer has tackles Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant — both first-round NFL Draft picks — on the roster, Michigan’s Lou Esposito is exceedingly upbeat.

Esposito, entering his second season coaching the Wolverines’ defensive line, is showing no signs of distress despite those personnel losses, not to mention edge rusher Josaiah Stewart. That’s because he sees a wide swath of talent more reminiscent of Michigan’s 2023 defensive line that helped lead the Wolverines to a national championship.

While attending the recent National Showcase high school recruiting camp at Wayne State, Esposito, who also was there keeping an eye on his son, Louis, a junior offensive lineman from Saline, participating in the camp, shared why he feels so good about his group heading into the upcoming season.

“I feel like we’re deeper than what we were last year, which is big,” Esposito said. “We won’t have Mason and KG, and they were awesome players, but I feel like we’re deeper. We got a bunch of guys that are all really good, and it’ll be more like ‘23 in my room rotation-wise.”

Last season, Graham played 548 snaps, up from 442 the year before, and Grant had 547 snaps last season, an increase from 403 in 2023. Having a rotation with a deep, experienced group, allows the linemen to remain fresh late in a game.

The Wolverines added tackles Damon Payne, a former Belleville standout who transferred from Alabama, and Tre Williams from Clemson. The Wolverines also have Rayshaun Benny (Oak Park) and Trey Pierce. The edge rushers include veterans Derrick Moore and TJ Guy, Dom Nichols and Cam Brandt.

“A lot of more people will know Dom Nichols after the fall, and then inside we have six guys that are really, really good,” Esposito said. “You have Rayshaun Benny coming back and is one of the best tackles in the country, you have Trey Pierce, who’s really good, then Tre Williams, who had an unbelievable spring for us. Damon Payne also had an unbelievable spring for us. And then Ike (Iwunnah) and Enow (Etta) — he is going to be special.

“We got a big group of guys that are all good, and the biggest thing is, iron sharpens iron, so competing with each other is important to those guys, and it makes each other better. It’s like a pack, and the strength of the pack is going to be our strength.”

Esposito said the players are enthused about the rotation.

“Those guys want to work, and they want to work at a high level, so whether they’re in for 40 snaps, 30 snaps, 25 snaps, they want to work in a way where we’re going to win,” he said. “It’s the No. 1 goal, and they’re going to do whatever it takes to win.”

After Michigan’s spring game in April, Payne was asked about the appeal of being able to rotate so much and what that does for a defense.

“You think you have an advantage,” Payne said, referring to offenses believing they might get a break when the starters rotate out, “but the next person is just as strong as the first.”

Wink Martindale, who arrived at Michigan last year after spending the previous 20 seasons in the NFL, also is back for another season. Esposito said how Martindale had the defense playing in the bowl game against Alabama, with the defensive starters like Graham and Grant not participating, gave an idea how the group will look this fall.

Michigan’s defense was clearly the strength of the team last year and helped carry the team to three straight wins to finish the season, including at Ohio State and then Alabama in the bowl game.

“Every year is different, and every team is different,” Esposito said. “I think the biggest thing is putting the guys in position to be successful, and that’s where Wink is really, really good. I think if you look at the game plans from Ohio State to Alabama, both wins, both versus good teams, but totally different. Where Ohio State was, we’re going to line up, we’re going to play, Alabama was more like, yo, we’re going to get different personnel groups, so we’re going to put guys in different positions to be successful. I think that’s what we’ll be more of.”

Martindale has his plan, Esposito said.

“Wink Martindale has forgotten more football than we all know, and I think he’s unique in the fact that he understands he’s going to put guys in positions to do things that they do really well as many times as he can,” he said. “And that’s what makes him special. He just sees things differently. I’ve coached for a long time, and there have been multiple times since I’ve been at Michigan where Wink said, ‘Hey, how do you see this? Do you see it like this?’ And I’m like, ‘Dude, I’ve never seen it that way before.’ It’s awesome. That’s where the expertise comes in, and the games coached in and coaching at a high level, it’s been really great.”