Ranking the top five Michigan football edge rushers from the Jim Harbaugh era

Jim Harbaugh was a successful coach at Michigan from 2015-2023 before returning to the NFL. Although Harbaugh is now with the Los Angeles Chargers, Wolverine fans will always remember what Harbaugh did for Michigan and what he did to make the Wolverines a perennial power again.

I’ve gone through the entire offense under Jim Harbaugh – you can find each of those position rankings below – so now we’ll look at the defense. The Wolverines’ defense has been the heart and soul of the Michigan team since 2021. The Michigan edge rushers have been really good and a big reason Michigan has had such a good defense.

Career stats: 159 tackles. 27.5 TFLs, 18.5 sacks, 10 pass deflections, four forced fumbles and one fumble recovery

Hutchinson made an impression in his sophomore year at Michigan in 2019, but he took his skills to a whole new level in 2021. Hutch had a great senior year with 62 tackles, 16.5 TFLs and 14 sacks – he was named an All-American in 2021.

He was Michigan’s 2021 Athlete of the Year. Two-time All-Big Ten honoree, 2021 Rotary Lombardi Award winner, 2021 Ted Hendricks Award winner and 2021 Lott IMPACT Trophy winner. He left Michigan as the program record holder for 14 sacks in a single season.

Career stats: 184 tackles, 44.5 TFLs, 18 sacks, one pass deflection, three forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries

Winovich quickly became a fan favorite in Ann Arbor. The fiery edge rusher made a name for himself in the Michigan football program and was a major contributor in his final three years there. He was named an All-American in 2018 and twice earned All-Big Ten honors.

He started 26 games for Michigan and appeared in 45 career games. Winovich became known to some as Rashan Gary’s counterpart, but Winovich arguably had a better college career than the former No. 1 recruit.

Career stats: 136 tackles, 24.5 TFLs, 10.5 sacks and one forced fumble

Jim Harbaugh made a huge breakthrough when he landed top recruit Rashan Gary. He immediately became a household name around town. He played in all 13 games as a freshman, but became a full-time starter in his sophomore year. He was twice named All-Big Ten with the Wolverines.

Gary left the team after three seasons and his statistics made some people question whether he was really as good as they gave him credit for. But the fact is that Michigan didn’t ask Gary to take the quarterback like some of the pass rushers during the Harbaugh era. He was doubled quite often and that allowed others to weaken the team. Michigan’s defense would not have been what it was without Gary on the field.

Career stats: 94 tackles, 27.5 TFLs, 18.5 sacks, two pass deflections and one forced fumble

Taco was another one of those speedy edge rushers in the early Harbaugh days at Michigan. He played a lot of snaps from 2014-16 and was the Wolverines’ best edge rusher in 2016. His senior year, he was 14th in the country with 9.5 sacks.

Charlton was a first-team All-Big Ten selection in 2016 and has a sack in seven of his final 10 games at Michigan. Charlton recorded a career-high nine tackles against Ohio State in 2016.

Career stats: 56 tackles, 20.5 TFLs, 16.5 sacks, three pass deflections, three forced fumbles and one fumble recovery

Some consider Uche a linebacker, but Uche was the true definition of a Michigan edge rusher. He only started nine games for Michigan, but Uche was as good at coming off the edge as any Wolverine of his era. He was a two-time All-Big Ten member and led Michigan with 11.5 TFLs and 8.5 sacks in 2019.

Uche was primarily used to put pressure on the quarterback, and he really excelled in that area.

Honorable Mention: David Ojabo

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