​The 2026 college football season is less than two months away, and a new era is beginning for the Michigan Wolverines. Kyle Whittingham took over as head coach of the program, so we are going to see a lot of changes both on and off the field. Michigan has some important talent returning, but there is also a strong mix of young talent and transfers that will make an impact this season. Junior defensive tackle Deyvid Palepale has been with the Wolverines for his entire college career, and he is hoping to become a more well known name this season.Palepale was a three-star prospect in the 2024 recruiting class. He committed to the Wolverines in Dec. 2023, choosing Michigan over other programs like USC, Penn State, Ohio State and many more. Coming in as a three-star out of high school, it was pretty clear he wasn’t going to get a ton of playing time during his first year or two with the program. For most players, it takes a couple of seasons to adjust to the college game before they’re ready to play consistently in meaningful situations, and that has been the case for Palepale.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementSince coming to Michigan, Palepale has barely seen the field. He did not play at all during the 2024 season following a season-ending injury during his final high school campaign, and he only appeared in two games in 2025. Palepale made his college debut against Maryland in 2025, and he also g0t some playing time in the bowl game vs Texas in December. Palepale has not recorded a stat yet up to this point in his career.It’s hard to pinpoint what Palepale’s role on this team will look like because we have barely seen him play. Outside of the coaching staff, no one really knows where his game is at right now. He had a strong spring game, but you have to take those performances with a grain of salt. Another good sign from last season is he was named Scout Team Player of the Week twice. Some players can struggle to embrace the small role that comes with being on the scout team, but it seems like Palepale did a good job.It’s hard to imagine Palepale going from appearing in two games last year to becoming a key player on this defense, but you can expect to hear his name a little bit more this season. He likely has a bit to go before he enters the conversation for a starting role, but he should be at the point where he is appearing in most games this season, whether it’s on defense or special teams.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementWith Palepale seeing the field more this season, we will get a much better idea of how far away he is from earning a starting spot on this team. If he continues to take advantage of the opportunities in front of him like he did last year with the scout team and during this year’s spring game, than it will probably be sooner rather than later.