Q: Who were a couple players on both sides of the ball that didn’t play much last year that you think at the end of the day we’ll be talking?
Colson: Makari Paige on defense he’s he’s been phenomenal all camp and he just keeps bringing it so I think he’s going to be phenomenal. On offense Andrel Anthony he’s gonna eat…JJ, Donovan too, he’s been doing his thing. You’ve seen him.
Andrel Anthony
Q: How does this year different for you going into your second year having had that experience?
Colson: A lot more confident…a lot more poise and the defense and I think I’m just understanding it more instead of like memorizing, I’m understanding concepts like different coverages what what the o line is doing what the guys behind me are doing. So it’s making the defense lot easier, a lot more fun.
Q: You feel like that allows you to be able to play a lot faster this year than last year?
Colson: Yes, sir. It allows me to just be all over the field this year.
Q: Are you getting more opportunities to rush the quarterback this year, is that something you’d like to do? Is that part of your game?
Junior Colson drops the hammer (2021)
Colson: Yes, I’m getting more opportunities to rush the quarterback and that’s a big part of my game. I love rushing, I love getting back there so I just gotta keep bringing it now you see me this year.
Q: Pass rush by committee- do you feel like that that’s come together for you guys so far in camp?
Colson: Yes, sir. I think I mean, we had some great pass rushers so far in camp. I think it’s just gonna keep building, especially at the linebacker position where we’re gonna keep bringing it. We didn’t bring a lot last year so this year, you got to bring a lot of pressure.
Q: You mentioned Donovan, but what about Blake? He looks like he’s bulked up- how hard is he to handle?
Blake Corum
Colson: Blake’s phenomenal, you can tell the new weight he’s put on, he’s moving better, he’s moving faster. Everything he’s able to take on his people, you know? He’s been phenomenal so far.
Q: You played against JJ back in high school, how different or similar does he look compared to when you played against him?
J.J McCarthy
Colson: He’s still doing those Patrick Mahomes throws. So you know, it’s awesome to see. I think he’s having a lot of fun with it, so he’s being comfortable. He’s making a lot of smart reads right now so that’s the big thing, he’s able to take the check down…He’s got a lot of maturity right now.
He’s still doing those Patrick Mahomes throws…it’s awesome to see. I think he’s having a lot of fun with it, so he’s being comfortable. He’s making a lot of smart reads right now so that’s the big thing.
Junior Colson on QB JJ McCarthy
Q: You guys were able to create turnovers in some key spots last year but Coach Clinkscale said not really enough of them. Do you think that’s just luck, or being in the right position to create the turnover?
Colson: A little bit of both, we just got to be in the right position, we just got to attack the football more, you know, throughout camp and throughout the season. So that’s the big thing we had last year was always attack the football…So that’s what we’ve been trying to work on, you know, get everybody to the ball, back side, front side, get to the ball, first guy hold him up, second guy get the ball out.
Q: As far as yourself individually is there anything that you particularly are you trying to do to improve that part of your game?
Colson: You can always improve…I want to improve every part of my game in all aspects, I want to go from good to elite. I want to be the best.
Q: There were some times last year where some of the guys in the secondary said that David and Aiden were their best friends because it reduced the amount of time that they had to cover with those guys getting to the quarterback. If the pass rush takes a couple of weeks to settle in this season. How do you think the back seven would do if they have to cover for long periods of time?
Colson: Phenomenal, phenomenal, our back seven’s elite….especially both corners. They are dominant, DJ- dude is locked down and Gemon too…At safety RJ is just phenomenal and Makari, Rod all them of you know. So I think that’s one of the biggest things they worked on is being able to cover a dude and like when the quarterback starts scrambling keep on you man…I think it’s gonna be a big part of our game this year
Q: We haven’t heard much about Jaydon Hood this offseason, how do you feel like he’s doing?
Colson: He’s coming along, you know, just everything is just coming together for him. So everything’s coming together. So he just gotta keep bringing it…whenever he gets his opportunity he’s gotta take it.
Q: Kalel has been working a little bit with running backs. How weird is it to see him there? Is he a natural fit there?
Kalel Mullings Spring Game (2022)
Colson: Yeah, dude is a freak of an athlete. He’s really good. So you know, he’s able to play both sides. He’s super smart. He’s been very natural transitioning back and forth and has been doing a really good job at both spots right now.
Dude is a freak of an athlete. He’s really good…He’s been very natural transitioning back and forth and has been doing a really good job at both spots right now.
Junior Colson on Kalel Mullings switching between LB and RB
Q: You played running back in high school. I remember talking to you, when you were in high school saying that you were lobbying to also play running back? Do you still lobby for that at all? You get jealous watching Kalel doing that?
Colson: There’s no jealousy around here. But I do want to do want to play a little bit of running back every now and then…This year is a big year for me on defense. So hopefully next year, we’ll see you see how it all shakes out.
Q: I know you weren’t here two years ago, but Mike Barrett played a really prominent role in the last year with Don Brown and then last year, his snaps on defense were kind of minimized and he played mostly on special teams. You could have left after last year he decides to come back I guess what have you kind of observed from him as his career has kind of gone up and down with different roles.
Colson: He’s very mature….I think dude is a phenomenal player. You’re gonna see him a lot this year. He’s made big strides, made big steps, especially in a new defense, he’s understanding the concepts dude’s man-to-man coverage is elite. So yeah, watch out for him. You’re gonna see him first game.
Q: We don’t talk about special teams that much. What is the mentality, the approach to playing special teams? And why do some guys seem to love it more than others?
Colson: Special teams is the same thing as playing offense and defense, you know, it’s the same mentality when you go out there, you know, that’s one you need to win. If you win on special teams most times you’re gonna win the game. So everybody wants to play on special teams, you know, on all phases and Coach Jay makes it really fun to play on there. He just shows you a lot of things you do on special teams you’re gonna be able to do on offense and defense so it’s a lot of fun.
Q: We’ve heard some of the players say, both offense and defense, stuff about Mazi’s leadership then Luke Schoonmaker was talking about how when they line up against your defense everyone’s communicating, that everyone’s screaming at each other…What brought that about that seeing that entire group become more cohesive in that light?
Minter: I think, you know, we always have said a loud defense is a good defense.
One of our pillars of our defense is obnoxious communication…a lot of our calls, it might be rotation of coverage, it might be where’s the pressure coming from, it might even be just hey, they’re lined up like this, alert for this.
I think our group has just bought into that being a foundation of how we want to play defense…they started to do that but as they continue in the second year and have a lot of carryover, it allows them to do that with a lot of confidence. The more confidence you have, the louder you communicate. So when you look at the younger guys, sometimes it’s quieter, it’s not as goo and so the more that the more of those guys gain confidence…knowing what their assignment is, knowing what they’re doing, the louder it becomes.
The #1 "Freak" in college football, + 3 other Wolverines in the top 50
Q: Jim has called this defense and the no star defense how does that manifest in practice?
Minter: One of the things we’ve talked about is, you know, we’re not worried about replacing whoever, you know, there are certainly some really, really good players.
We want to have the best 11 players on the field for the given situation that’s occurring. When our guys buy into that, and they play really hard, they’re not worried about who makes the play. When somebody makes a play, we all make a play. You know, I’ve been very, very pleased and just the mentality in that regard. They also we’re going to move people around, we’re going to try to create matchups given the opponent.
And I look at it like this, whatever it looks like going into the year, I hope we have a bunch of stars at the end of the season.
Q: Sacks are not everything and a team effort to get a sack but at the end of the year, who are a few guys that you think will be at the top of the sack list?
Minter: I hope that that it’s multiple guys. I think we have some edge players, Mike Morris, Braiden McGregor, Taylor Upshaw, Jaylen Harrell, that have the capabilities of being good rushers, I think Chris Jenkins, Mazi Smith have the ability to push from inside, I think Mason Graham, Cam Goode, a new guy, has all these guys have capabilities of being good rushers. It’ll fall into situationally who we have out there.
They’re all capable of taking advantage of opportunities, I think it’s our job to just make sure we try to put each guy in the best position to have that success. And then the other thing is, because it might not be one guy, it’s, it’s given us the ability to maybe move people around more, maybe a guy that rushes a lot, one week drops the next week, and it sort of changes our tendencies. So I think the guys are really bought into that. We wantto have a high total at the end of the year but you know, we’d love for it to be a lot of different people with multiple sacks.
Q: Kind of on the flip side of that who was some of those edge guys that are doing pretty well in coverage and it that drop stuff in rushing the passer?
Minter: You know, I think all those guys as they’ve learned a second year, as we’ve progressed, they understand how to drop now. And you know, I think when you when you talk about edge position, it’s like, can you rush the passer? Can you set the edge? And then can he be in the right spot, we asked him to drop?
We don’t want to put them in bad situations where they could be in a bad matchup. But it’s like a lot of times, maybe a simulated pressure or something to where we’re asking him to cover a quick throw, really just be in the right spot. Don’t screw it up. Don’t overthink it. All those guys have done a really good job of going into second year of understanding where they need to be
Q: Jesse, obviously every every situation is different. How much of what you did last year at Vanderbilt carries over to what you doing here and how much of that was kind of specific to the team, personnel, and the league that you were in there?
Minter: Yeah, I think every every situation is its own. You know, the system we ran at Vanderbilt was built for Vanderbilt. You know, we had a defensive head coach, we put some stuff together but based off of both of our past histories. So honestly not not a lot of terminology carryover certainly like there’s there’s only so many structures of defense you can play. So there were some things we did that probably look the same but now it’s kind of back into the system we had built in Baltimore from a terminology standpoint.
There’s carryover and how you play defense and what’s important to play good defense. But, you know, definitely probably two different systems.
Q: Is there some comfort for you coming back into that system that you know, really well?
Minter: Absolutely. Coach Lee and I at Vandy had built it together, I said, hey, paint me a picture of what you want the defense to look like. So then we were able to put it together. Here, you know, it was same, same conversation- Coach Harbaugh, paint me a picture of what you want the defense to look like from your perspective as the head coach? Okay, now let’s get our paint brushes out so we can make it happen.
Q: Besides Junior Colson, what is your linebacker group? How has that kind of coalesced?
Minter: I think Junior’s having a really good camp so far growing understanding of what we expect. I think Nikhai is having a really good camp. I think Michael Barrett is having a really good camp. Kalel, as you guys have heard is splitting time. He’s doing well a linebacker, he’s a guy that can probably have roles on both sides…the two freshmen that neither one were early enrollees Jimmy Rolder and Deuce Spurlock, I think they have flashed, and you can tell why they were recruited here, they certainly have a lot on their plate of learning but I’m pretty pleased with that group right now.
Q: At Big 10 media days, DJ Turner almost was sort of laughing at how similar he thought you and Coach McDonald were. Do you agree with that assessment? And what are what are some similarities and differences between you guys?
Minter: You know, people said that about us, when we were in Baltimore that we were just similar. There was a time where he was in the DB room, and then he moved to the linebackers. And I moved into the DB room. I think I think we both look at the game similar.
We both have probably a fairly calm demeanor about us, that allows us to stay in the moment and not not kind of ride the wave of emotion.
But, you know, some, we’re different people, you know, and we look at the game different times, like he had moved to the linebackers, he might have looked at things a little more front to back, as a DB coach, my whole career pretty much kind of see things from the back to the front. And know, so there’s definitely similarities, you know, but I think we’re two different people as well.
Q: So obviously, there’s a quarterback competition and those two quarterbacks are pretty different. JJ with the legs, Cade more so in the pocket, how much does that help your defense to see both of those looks? And how might that prepare you for the season? Given that you’ll see two different kinds of quarterbacks each practice?
Minter: Yeah, I think they’re, you know, it’s not my job to evaluate them, but they’re both exceptional players.
I think one of the things about Cade is I think he’s actually more athletic than maybe people talk about he moves around really well in the pocket. JJ can certainly take off and, and make plays, but you know, they’re both really good. They both present different challenges.
We talk to our edge guys about which one is in there sort of how to rush different versus those types of quarterbacks. So it’s great work in that regard of having to recognize some teams might play two quarterbacks where you got to recognize how we rush one guy a certain way. One guy you might not mind if he gets out, one guy you definitely want to keep in the pocket.
So tremendous opportunity for us to go against not only those two, but our entire offense. Coach Weiss, Coach Moore, Coach Harbaugh- some tremendous talent over there, tremendous scheme that we get to go against. So it’s a blessing for us to try to get better every day.
Q: You already have this under your belt having called plays last year at Vanderbilt. How difficult is it going into a first season? Not having done that before and helped? How much more comfortable are you now calling plays?
Minter: I called plays for six years before I went to Baltimore as well. So I have a lot of confidence in myself in the regard of just staying in the moment, I think. I remember, as a first time play caller of 2011, I was young and you sort of ride the emotion of the game at times when you first start and I think it’s the ability to sort of take yourself out of the good and bad focus on the next play.
Just like you want the defensive players to have the next play mentality. I think as a play caller, the more you do it, the more you sort of understand like, you know, one play is not gonna make the difference. So it’s putting the guys in the best position every play and not being emotional. I think sometimes play callers can be emotional with a response and sometimes that’s not the best thing for that situation. So I’m confident my ability to do that.
Q: Have you ever been emotional in your response?
Minter: Absolutely. I think the more you do it, the more you sort of figure that out. My demeanor over the years has changed, probably to be calmer. So, you know, it’s definitely something that I focus on.
Q: Jesse, can you talk about Mazi Smith, your first impressions of him, how that assessment has evolved, now, since you’ve had a chance to work with him for a while?
Minter: He’s a freak, I think there’s a list that came out that, you know, he was number one in the whole country. The thing that I enjoy the most about Mazi is just how good he wants to be. He works really hard. He studies film. He’s very meticulous in his technique. He’s meticulous in how he trains, huge credit to our strength staff for not only with Mazi, but what they’ve done with our whole team.
How freaky is Michigan DT Mazi Smith?
This is the Wolverines' reactive plyo stairs test.
He’s just a humble, really hard worker knows he has some ability, but wants to be really, really good. He wants to expand on his role from a year ago, you know, that was like one of our first conversations was, hey, we’ve lost this stuff and he wants to be on the field more. He averaged 41 snaps a game last year. I don’t know what the number will be but any critical situation in the game, when we have Mazi out there, we’ll have a great opportunity.
Q: Last season Ojabo and Hutchinson had, like 73% of the sacks, how much [of replacing] that will be democratic? It sounds like from the players that essentially that they feel like it’s a an eleven man defense. How much do you think that’s going to be spread out, how much have you schemed that out going forward?
Minter: With the sort of the inexperience in game situations with our edge, guys, I think it’ll play itself out. Because, yeah, we’ll certainly scheme things up, move people around, pressure, different people try to get other guys involved in pressure.
But at the same time, you know, if one of those guys just emerges as a great one-on-one rusher, then it’s our job to continue to put him in the situations to be a one-on-one rusher. So, you know would I love for one guy to have 19 sacks at the end of the year? Absolutely. You know, but I just don’t know yet…A lot of these guys haven’t rushed the passer consistently in live situations. I think that’ll sort itself out, especially over the first couple games of the year.
Q: They also said that basically now it’s just kind of building on the concepts of last year, where do you see this defense maybe taking the next step?
Minter: It’s just a level of comfort that they have within what we’re trying to do. There’s things that we’ll do a little different, there’s things that we might do more of, there’s schematic things that we may have added. I’ll try to let the first few opponents figure that out.
Q: Kenneth Grant was also on that freaks list, where is his development and what what makes him such a freak?
Minter: He’s Mazi’s Jr. First and foremost, because of his attitude, very, very humble, very, very detailed. And his approach which is extremely unique. For a freshman that that wasn’t here in the spring. He’s taken to everything Coach Elston has tried to teach him and get him to do at a very impressive level for a young player. Same thing in the weight room.
Over the course of June and July, like you could sort of see him transform and take exactly what Coach Herb and the staff wanted him to do. And then on top of that, he’s extremely gifted he’s, he’s a 350 plus pound human being that moves really well, that is really, really strong, naturally.
And some of the things that we test those guys in I mean, it’s pretty freakish to watch him go off the plyo steps or move laterally move side-to-side. So blessed that we have him and I think he’s got a really, really high ceiling.
Q: You talked about being in the moment as a play caller. Do you spread that message to the players about being in the moment not during the game during practice and what kind of message and how does that process go?
Minter: Yeah, 100% I think I think great defenses [have a] next play mentality.
You can gain momentum as a defense and that’s good to use, you know, make a good play, everybody gets excited, you make another good play, you keep that energy up. The really, really good defenses that I’ve been around that I’ve watched that I’ve studied, it’s what happens when a bad play happens. How do they respond? I’ve been pleased with how we’ve responded at times in practice.
It’s just a mentality of, you know, it’s always the next play is the most important play. And the way I always looked at it, as, you know, when you go back and watch games, everybody’s always like, hey, there’s these five or six plays made the difference, good or bad. The thing is, you don’t know what five or six plays those are as the game is occurring. It’s important to just play the next play, lock in.
You know, especially as an old secondary coach, like, hey, guys gotta give up a catch. It’s how do you respond? How do you come back and play? How do you stay locked in every play?
So I think the guys have done a good job of sort of embracing that mentality. And hopefully we can carry it carried over…we will face adversity, you know, and so it’s how do you handle adversity? How do you handle it look at last year and study what happened and it’s the first drive of the season, they go down and score a touchdown. Well, they responded really well, you know, so at some point over the first month of the year, we’ll be in some adverse situations, and I’ll be anxious to see how we respond.
Q: What’s the difference for you this year, going into your third year compared to some of other years as far as your approach and knowing that you were vying for a starting spot?
Moten: I mean, really, I just got to attack each and every day like it’s the same, you know, I gotta take care of my body a lot better than what I did the past two years. I got to study the game a lot better than what I did, understand the defense, understand the offense we’re playing that week. I’m really just doing everything another notch higher than the year before.
Q: Obviously, the team had a lot of success last year, what will it take to take the next step?
Moten: Everybody’s just got to do their 1/11 whether it’s on special teams, whether it’s on offense, defense, we all just got to you know, know what we’re supposed to do like that one person, and then everything will click.
Q: We’ve heard a lot in the last couple of days from both coaches and other players, Luke Schoonmaker was talking about how when he lines up against you guys everyone’s screaming. And then the coach is talking about obnoxious communication. What does that look like to you? And how different is that or similar to what the past defenses you’ve been a part of?
Moten: Obnoxious communication just comes from everybody understanding, like I said what 1/11 is, and you’ll see us out there, we’re pre snap communication, we’ll see something that somebody’s doing and then we’re all saying oh, he’s about the motion. Alright, so what’s that check we’re going to in…it just shows we’re all on the same page, we all understand what’s about to happen and what we’re supposed to do.
If we have obnoxious communication, I think we can be the best defense in the nation.
Q: Do you feel like you has that in some of you other years?
Moten: Freshman year- not really, last year a little bit but this year since it’s our second year in the defense everybody’s comfortable and it definitely has stepped it up.
Q: Coach Harbaugh has mentioned that there are some pieces of the defense that are further along now than they were at this time last year it’s outside of the obnoxious communication what pieces are those?
Moten: I really don’t know, I feel like every everything’s just the way it’s supposed to be you know we understand the defense, our tackling has gotten better, coverage obviously has gotten better. We’re able to put like little little things in, I really think we know the whole defense is just like what it’s supposed to be right now.
Q: Going against your two quarterbacks how much does that help prepare you for the season? And how much of a challenge do you think it’ll be for other teams to cope with both of those guys?
Moten: I mean, they’re two different quarterbacks so you know, you got one that you know JJ who likes to rollout and run so we obviously you got to know that when he does that, we got to plaster, find our man. I think that you know, game planning for both of them will be obviously hard, because they both have a different style of play. So one can do one thing and one can do the other. But I think game planning for them will be a lot harder this year for sure.
Q: Ronnie Bell was elected captain last year then he has the injury and how hard was that for y’all to see that and do you admire how he was able to maintain his leadership role?
Moten: Oh, yeah. 100% you know, going into last year, everybody knew Ronnie was gonna have a big year. You know, that was one thing that he made known. But seeing him go down that first game really hit home, and, you know, just seeing that he never hung his head made us never hang our heads. He’s just been putting in the work getting rehab done. And I think this year will his year.
Q: I know he’s playing in front of you. But how much have you seen Junior Colson evolve from when he first arrived last year to where he’s at right now?
Moten: 100%…evolved he understands the game a lot more. He’s vocal a lot more, you know, you see him covering now on running backs, tight ends and he’s just all around the ball like anywhere the ball is. The ball could be here on one play and the next play, he’s gonna be here. So he’s, he’s doing a good job.
Q: Is there anything that he can do that maybe we haven’t seen yet in games that we don’t know about?
Moten: Jr. can do it all? Do it all. I promise you that.
Q: You mentioned, finding ways to take care of your body better, prepare better than you have in the past? I was wondering is that was that the decision to embrace those things was that linked at all to last year with you and Rod battling for playing time and maybe realizing that every little thing adds to where your standing might be on the depth chart? Or was it not connected to that?
Moten: Oh, yeah, every little thing matters. Like, no matter, like everything I do, whether it’s in the game or not, whether it’s how I sleep, everything matters like if you want that starting job or not…
Q: What goes in to taking better care of your body?
Moten: Getting in the ice tub every day, you know, actually getting into the treatment room and even if something feels sore to telling them like, hey, this is sore and not pushing it aside…
Q: Coach Clinkscale mentioned that there’s an emphasis on creating more takeaways, why don’t you think you guys were able to do that this year? And what are you doing to improve that number this year. Why do we think it didn’t happen last year? And what are you doing to improve this year?
Moten: That’s a hard question. Really, what we’re doing is every time that you know, the ball is thrown or ran, we’re just taking shots at the ball, you know, you’ll see us a practice, punch out the ball, you know, to create that habit in my mind every time you know, if you’re the second guy in punch at the ball, punch at the ball…I mean, we did it last year, too. So I mean, I don’t know how to answer that part of the question like, how that could have been different. But yeah you’ll see as we’re doing a lot more ball drills…and that’s really just punching at it and trying to strip it out.
Q: Do you think it’s also has to do with positioning, I guess maybe just being in a spot? I mean, as a safety or, or whatever. I mean, it is that something that maybe can be improved just by the fact that you guys are in the second year of this system?
Moten: Do I think it’s harder?
Q: Yeah. I mean, like the position that, you know, being in a position, the right position to make the play…being in the second year of the system?
Moten: Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah, definitely being able to understand, you know, defense a lot better I can get ahead of the play. If that’s what you’re asking. Yeah, for sure.
Q: Do you think it’s fair to describe this defense as a no star defense?
Moten: We’re all stars. Swear, everybody, every person that will play this year is a star. I don’t care what the critics say, I don’t care what anybody else says, we will be the best defense in the nation.
Q: What makes you so confident?
Moten: We all know what we’re doing and we’re a lot hungrier, you know and everybody you know, is chasing that same goal. Like I said, that obnoxious communication comes along with it. We all understand what we’re doing. We all understand, you know, our parts and we’re just, we’re just ready. Yeah.
Q: How similar is the defense despite being a different defensive coordinator?
Moten: It’s the same thing, just a couple of tweaks, some different terminology.
Q: We asked Ronnie this but when you’re looking at such a packed receiver room, is there someone who may surprise us this year?
Moten: Our receiver room is deep. I think every every receiver in that room has has an opportunity to you know make a couple plays this year. I don’t really like to single out just one person. I think I’ve seen a lot from all of them and I’ve gone against all of them almost. But I think obviously room- they’re all like they all are playmakers.
Q: Who has made the most impressive play so far?
Moten: Impressive play, probably Ronnie. I don’t know if y’all saw the pictures the other day, but right I think Gemon tipped the ball like, Ronnie made a one handed catch like, barely in the endzone but yeah, I think that was the most impressive play this year.
Q: You guys obviously lost the playmakers last year Aiden, David, and Dax, but when you hear your coach come out and say that this defense could be better than last year, what does that mean, you guys in just in terms of confidence?
Moten: Let me figure out how to say is- we all we all are confident, you know, I’m saying most of us played in a couple games last year, we got a couple new guys getting ready to play this year. But I think that with the leadership that the guys that have been in the fire before, I think that we’ll be able to all compact as a defense and you know, be better and see bigger than last year.
Q: Maybe one of the only knocks on last year’s defense was some of the struggles with tempo were lining up, you know, in avoiding some of the too many men on the field penalties. With the defense being the same how does Coach Minter attack some of those things so that it doesn’t repeat itself this year?
Moten: We’ll do those scenarios and practice so it’d be like two minute, and then we’ll know like now okay, we can’t sub in two minutes or like certain situations we can’t sub, we can sub or like certain situations he knows he’s got to get the call out faster. So we’ll, we’ll do all those scenarios in practice.
Q: How are feeling being back, do you feel like you’re back to full go like you were a year ago?
Bell: I would say yes, I do, I feel blessed man. I’m beyond excited about every single day and I feel really good. My body feels great. Making plays, and it’s fun, man, it’s a lot of fun.
Q: How difficult is it to kind of get back into the swing in the sense of, you know, you’ve been laid up for a while? How difficult is it to just trust that you’re healed or you’re testing certain parts out?
Ronnie Bell post injury 2021
Bell: Oh, it definitely was like that the first couple of days was like that. It was very rusty. You know, I mean, like having people around you as you’re running around. I’ve been running routes for months, but I didn’t run routes with people around me. So kicking off the rust of being comfortable with people around you and then I don’t know what day but I finally jumped up and made a play on the ball, like one of the early days in camp and it was like, once that happened, it was like the biggest weight lifted off my shoulder that I think I’ve ever had. So since then I feel like I’ve been back and rolling.
Q: Sherrone mentioned that you’d even set some personal records in some physical stats. Do you feel like you’re even stronger in some aspects than you were before the injury?
Bell: Yes, I do. Um, and yeah, I even honestly shocked myself because I had a PR that I had set a couple of years ago that I couldn’t break. And I ended up beating that and I was super excited about that. Just rehabbing everyday focusing on yourself for nine straight months. Like I told myself whenever it all happened if I didn’t come out on the other end stronger, I was doing something wrong. So that was the goal for sure and I’m glad that that’s kind of how it went.
Q: What was that PR?
Bell: The L cone?
Q: Does it feel like it maybe helps your game a bit this year to having spent the last year essentially being a player coach, you know, working kind of more on the coaching side helping players along understanding the game. Do you feel like that aids you this year?
Bell: Yeah, for a couple of things like one definitely, you know, just the constant film, you know, that I’m getting in with, like being with the coaches and watching the film. And, you know, hearing their ideas and hearing what they’re looking at, what they’re seeing, and just different little details from that standpoint. I think that helped me a lot. And then also just like, on how to how to lead, you know, I mean, or communicate with guys because like, last year, I felt like I was in a funny situation, because I wasn’t necessarily playing. I was trying to help guys out and like, tell them where and what to do and stuff. I always kind of felt kind of funny, because I couldn’t go out there and show you what to do. But so like me being able to handle that last year and being able to do that while not playing it’s helped me now because now I can you know, like, you got to run it like this and then I’ll go out there and I can run it like that and be able to help guys out at times.
Ronnie Bell 2021
Q: Are there any DBs that you when you’re going up against them one on one you feel like it’s gonna be a bit of a challenge?
Bell: Yeah, all the DBs man, they all of them so far I’ve been really really well with their technique. DJ Turner, Gemon both of them have been like I think have been playing really, really well these first few days of camp like in one-on-ones or in a one-on-one situation. Like they just you can tell how comfortable they are and like they do a good job.
Q: Do you want to return again?
Bell: I do.
Q: Have you been working?
Bell: Yes, I have to go earn the spot.
Q: Why do you I mean, you know a lot of people say well, that’s where you got injured. I mean, why would you want to get back in?
Bell: I’ve always been a punt returner, I feel like I’m comfortable being a punt returner so that’s something I want to do.
Q: Did you volunteer to do that?
Bell: Yeah, I mean, I just went back there again.
Q: How did your chemistry feel with Cade when you guys were able to get back out there again this fall- did it take a couple days to get back into it because you had a couple of years of banked reps?
Bell: I mean it was with all the quarterbacks really just to know like I said I was rusty the first day or two of camp and it’s been a lot better since though. So yeah, just took reps, just needed live reps. We have some bullets flying so once we got a couple of those that are about I think all of us are feeling really good.
Q: Which wide receiver is going to surprise people this year?
Bell: I wouldn’t be surprised if the receiver that surprises people this year is Peyton O’Leary.
Q: Why is that?
Bell: Because he has had one hell of a camp.
Q: You were voted a captain last season and then you talked about being a leader learning to be a leader differently, not being on the field. How much did that help you in terms of this year becoming a leader? Continuing as a leader?
Darrius Clemons
Bell: So yeah, that’s kind of what I was saying, like for me to figure out last year kind of how to communicate with guys and get through to guys without being able to necessarily show them physically, like, what I’m trying to, you know, trying to get accomplished. Like, I feel like that was, I feel like that was kind of what made last year that kind of awkward for me as I was leaving. And so like this year now, like, it’s just a lot more, I guess it just flows a lot smoother, you know, I mean, because it’s like, like, yeah, Ronnie saying that. Okay, but then Ronnie is also doing it. So like, you know, I mean, like, I feel like guys are able to, you know, stay with it.
Q: With the room that that has maybe 7, 8, 9 guys that would be capable of contributing this year, what do you think is the key to keeping everybody happy as games go and snap counts vary week to week?
Bell: I mean, it just comes down to making plays and just what you put on film. We’ve got the whole room capable of that so that’s really what it comes down to. I feel like it’s a great position to be in you know when you got that many guys that you feel that comfortable with, so no complaining now.
Q: How much do you think the offense changed after you got hurt in that first game? And what do you what was it like watching the offense kind of evolve last season?
Ronnie Bell 2021
Bell: It just change…my favorite part about last year was watching the receivers grow every week. Like, you know, the game right after was Washington. And I mean, I don’t think we threw the ball in the second half and then the next week, and then by the time we got to Wisconsin, you know, you see CJ play the way he did and Roman the way he did, like, watching the receiving room just evolve throughout….I mean everybody stepped up and started making plays. So that was my favorite part about last year. So like the offense maybe hit like a speed bump, you know, I mean, but they just got rolling, and just started dominating. My favorite part about it definitely was the way the receiver room stepped up.
Excited is an understatement…I’ve been thinking about playing the game for a year now…I’m like beyond excited, man, I’m ready to go.
Ronnie Bell
Q: And what was it like walking back in I guess, you know, with the kind of team leadership dynamics changing with your absence, some guys emerged, obviously, over the course of the year, I mean, what was that like to kind of walk back into the situation where you are, again, integrated into the mix again?
Bell: Man….excited is an understatement, I was so ready to go…we had mentioned how like, games are probably like, three weeks out, or whatever it is and I’m like, man, I’ve been thinking about playing the game for a year now. Like, I’m like beyond excited, man, I’m ready to go.
Q: What do you think distinguishes Cornelius’ game?
Bell: Definitely, just how explosive he is. And you know, he used his body really well, when he’s getting open, and kind of awkward situations, but a DB. And those are like, two of the things I feel like separate him. I mean, he’s very explosive, though.
Q: How have the young receivers done so far?
Bell: They’ve done great. There’s Clemens, Amorion Walker, and Tyler Morris, all three of them. They got here in the spring, or January, I mean, so they were here for spring ball. You know, spring ball was a little rough. You know, you’re trying to learn the playbook and also you think about all your high school friends you know, everything switches around real quick. And so far throughout this camp, though, all of them have made plays and like it’s been pretty cool to see how much more comfortable they are especially Amorion he’s like, night and day from like, a standpoint of just like getting lined up, you know, like something like a small is that…they all have taken big, big steps, but him especially he’s come a long way.
Q: Are you surprised with how quickly Mike Saintristil made the transition to defense?
Bell: No, I’m not and I think I talked about this when he first switched over because for last few years he’s always like, just randomly back in spring ball randomly or fall camp but he was playing defensive one day. Mike has always flirted with playing on the defensive side of the ball and he’s always been good at it. So, but he’s also really good at receiver, like, you know, pick and choose and so no, I didn’t shock me in the slightest to see how comfortable he was playing on that side of the ball.
Q: How comfortable are you now? I mean, not to help. I got probably a whole time working with Ron Bellamy as a designated position coach?
Bell: Yeah, he’s done a good job…it’s really cool having like our guy that, you know, played receiver, especially here. So it’s like pretty cool, and he’s done a good job with the whole receiving group and bringing us all in and you know, coaching us up.
Q: Coach Harbaugh has mentioned a couple of times that the defense is ahead of where it was at this point last year. Do you agree with that? In what ways do you think it might be?
Clinkscale: I agree with it. In the perspective that, you know, a lot of these guys have been in the system already, you know, it wasn’t something that was kind of new to him starting off the summer, last year, even though it had a little bit of a spring previous to last fall’s camp, and we still put in a lot of stuff in the summertime. So most of the menu that we have, a lot of our players have already experienced it, it’s a lot easier for the coaches as well, to communicate it, and understand all the nuances and all the know what’s what’s going to happen and try to predict or anticipate the issues, if you can coach like that, and your players can think like that, and then it helps them stay further ahead with communication with effort with, you know, knowing their responsibility. So, I would agree with that, you know, especially, you know, just for our understanding of the game a lot better.
Q: You already had three of your freshmen on campus from the secondary. For the spring, you added Zeke and Damani. What have you seen from all of them now that you’re in a fall camp? Where are they in development?
Clinkscale: I think the young men that were here in the spring have an advantage to understanding system. The two other gentlemen who just got here this summer they, you know, they’re in academics, in class, so, adding that to their plate, with playing football and still in school right now, it’s a little challenging for them. They’re performing you know, Zeke especially he’s performing to a level that you can see his instincts, you can see why we recruited him and why he’s gonna be able to do but for Will, Myles, and Kody, you definitely see that they’re a little bit further ahead than the freshmen were last year that we were able to get except for Rod Moore, he was he was different last year, but those guys are all developing where we need them to, we’re going to ask all of them to help us at some point. The capacity is going to be really up to them what they know and what they understand and how they can execute.
Q: What about Keon?
Clinkscale: He has done a great job. You know, he’s got probably the hardest job with a bunch of those four, because he has to know both safeties. He knows what he’s doing it’s now just taking that step forward on the field and applying it and in being able to let loose and make some plays. Yesterday, we thought he had a pretty good practice, and he’s keep getting better every week and every day. Out of all of them, he really has the biggest load playing corner. The biggest possibility is not getting beat on nickel you know, you got to understand the nuances but safety, he has to know what everybody’s doing, make all the checks and for him being a freshman, I think he’s doing a great job.
Q: You have a lot of experience back in the secondary this year. What is that next step for them as a group?
Clinkscale: The biggest thing is always the communication piece we’re always talking about since I started coaching, to me, that’s like, the number one thing. If you can’t get lined, you can’t make the checks, you can’t execute your assignment. The coach has something in his mind what he wants, and the players have to understand what we’re communicating to then to go out and do their job. The other thing I’ve seen a little bit more in the secondary, is just that personality, they’re kind of vibing off of me. I tell people all the time, by nature where I’m from you have to have aggressiveness you got to have a mentality that you know, you’re going to take it to him and not get hit in the mouth. They’re doing that they’re playing, they’re covering a lot better. And they’re being a lot more aggressive. They understand what they’re doing. You hear me say that word all the time understanding, understanding. To me, that’s a big piece of coaching and teaching. But I see those guys, definitely a lot better as a unit now than they were last year.
Q: Did it take some time to get the vibe?
Clinkscale: Yeah, I think the previous defense was a really good scheme and everything, but we added so much more and we’ve done things a little different, giving them a little bit more responsibility. I think once they were able to get a year under their belt, you know, they understood the expectations and to have the season we had last year, they know in order to win all our games to do the things we want to do our groups got to play better. We’ve got to create more takeaways, we got to eliminate big plays and eliminate confusion
Q: We hear so much about Mikey at Nickel what is he doing and then who are some of the guys pushing him?
Clinkscale: Mikey is still playing both sides. He’s doing a great job of understanding and embodying what we want on defense and to be honest with you, man, he’s so natural. Sometimes I when watch film, I’m like, wow, he’s only been over here with us for a few months, just to see his personality and see him just take heed to the leadership, we asked him to be a leader on the team in a lot of different ways- offense, defense, special teams with the young guys just to see him grow. It’s been awesome. He’s really been a good leader in that room with the nickels. DJ Turner has given us some nickel reps, Will Johnson, Kody, and of course, Rod Moore, you know, then well, everybody knows it. You know, it’s to be honest with you, you know, both the Green brothers, all the safeties, they all know nickel, we’ve done a good job of just teaching everybody the position. Now who’s ever going to play it will be game-to-game and definitely their ability in camp and what they’re doing. Mike has done a great job and we’ve seen so many guys do some good things in there we’ll keep breeding that position.
The way I look it corners need to know how to play nickel, safeties to know how to play dime, if safeties can play dime then when we go against teams that have really good tight ends, then we don’t have to create defenses to match up. And if the corners can play nickel that gives us gives us more guys out there that can be versatile, it also expands the knowledge of the unit.
Q: When you’re talking about them that they’re vibing off of you, you’re obviously not mixing it up with them is it something you’re saying to them, the way you carry yourself? How do you think they’re picking up on it?
Clinkscale: I think personalities are contagious. I think if you if you’re just kind of a boring person, the people around you’re gonna be bored. I’m not a boring person whatsoever and, you know, I have a standard of respect in our room but we also have a standard of understanding, you can talk to us about anything. We will stop meetings and we’ll talk about how you should sit in class, sit in the front, sit up, act interested, lean forward, nod your head, track the professor, to that professor, maybe teaching Swahili for example that’s the most important thing in their life. You know, same thing as a coach, like give them that respect that they feel like you’re not interested, they don’t want to be there. We teach them life lessons. You know, here at Michigan, we also just teach them the opportunity that you can relate to me you can talk to me, I can be that father figure, brother, uncle, but when you’re on the field, that’s our world. We’re all together and embody the aggressiveness that I bring to the table or, you know, just being able to relate and have that communication and relationship, I think is huge. Whenever you feel like you can relate to somebody you work with, for, or their leading you, I think you always give more.
Q: How’s the battle for starting safeties playing out especially considering Moten having been out and Makari having had that whole spring?
Clinkscale: Makari has definitely continued to grow so far. That was always our question- how will he continue to grow in the fall? So so far, he has not taken a step back. Same thing with RJ Moten. He’s also done a great job of continuing to take steps forward. Rod as well- you can see the first couple of days Rod getting the dust off, a little bit, and now he’s starting to get back in the groove of things. His knowledge of the game, he’s a coach out there, all three of them to be honest with you but his instincts on the field I think will continue to push all of them together and to have him at nickel helps us to get our best players on the field.
You saw in the spring game, Makari went out and played corner because we were down some guys can we split the team. We’re gonna teach everybody in that room to know every position now what skill level give them the ability to play it all game? Maybe, maybe not but can I put Makari at a corner? Yes, and then put Rod at safety? Correct. So we want to continue to make them versatile.
The fight there is going to continue all season long like it’s going to be who’s up, who had a better game we’ll just keep rotating those guys. It’s a long season. We want to be national champs, we got a lot of games to play…we need to be need to be our best in November and December and January.
Q: Seems like DJ’s established himself as kind of a number one cornerback, is it competitive at the other spots and who are some guys you’ve seen flashes at cornerback?
Clinkscale: Oh, yes. Very, very competitive. Gemon Green I felt had a better spring than DJ and we challenged DJ for the spring. He got better at the end of spring and this summer. Just getting back with him you can see that the challenge between him in German and possibly having a young guy like Will and definitely Mikey. Mikey, he plays corner as well. Those guys have really really pushed each other. So no one feels like that they’re just the guy even though though he’s a freak – and number 31 freak in the country? You know, I think they all are freaks, they all have great ability to push one another and the camaraderie is awesome. So I think Gemon has definitely shown that he’s where we always want him to be and he’s continuing to grow. DJ will continue to push but DJ to be in camp so far has really really really been impressive to me in certain situations. So I want to see him continue to grow as well.
Q: Coach Minter was talking about just being in the moment is play caller. How does that translate to the players as well in the field- how mentally advanced is this team- how much of an advantage is that?
Clinkscale: I think this has been the best program I’ve been around from teaching that to the entire team, you know that the entire team knows how I teach block destruction. They know how I teach man coverage, we know how the o-line teaches pulling, or how we’re going to defend the puller. So I think our knowledge of the game is what makes us hungry team to always want to learn more about the defense, well, why are we doing this? And where’s my help? And who am I helping? So I think if we continue to do as a defense as a team, we’ll continue to exceed expectations. So I think that starts with Coach Harbaugh. And it’s been, it’s been an excellent experience.
Q: You talked about relating to players, but how do you think the dynamics of recruiting have changed in the last year with the introduction of NIL?
Clinkscale: I think we’ll find out during a signing period, of course, I think the first year was you still have the relationships with everyone because of COVID still weren’t able to do all the trips as much. I think this summer, everybody is able to get out and those relationships actually are helping, you know, for us especially. We’re not making NIL the only thing, the only factor. So I think it’s way more than that. I think with anybody its about development, for your son when he comes to play for us. How’s he going to leave here? Okay, maybe he’ll leave with a couple more commas in his bank account. I’m not sure if. however, he’ll definitely leave here better man, educated man, better football player. And so I think those relationships have continued to help. I think relationships always help.
Q: Is Ja’Den back to 100%
Clinkscale: Not 100%, but he’s back with us. Ja’Den is like Junior Clink- he’s coaching out there. I love Ja’Den- he’s really grown up a lot for us. He’ll stand on one sideline while I’m on the other sideline, and he’ll help the young guys and make sure they line-up correctly, that they know their assignment and they’re communicating. He has worked out a little bit like with the training staff, not with us. And I think he’s right there where he needs to be. And we look forward to get him back when he’s able to be back with us.
Q: Do you think it’ll be this year, at some point?
Clinkscale: I think medically speaking he has a chance. I’m not exactly sure. But when he is if he’s available and able to go out there and you know, do his job, he’ll definitely have a part in the secondary.
Q: What did he show you before he got hurt?
Clinkscale: He showed me that he’s physical, he’s super quick and fast. Now he’s showing me that he understands the game more in the defense. So that’s going to gain more trust. With freshmen the biggest thing is not always their skill set. It’s about do they know what they’re doing out there? And there’s a lot of factors too. There’s a lot of moving parts. And I know that he knows what he’s doing. I felt that way a little bit last year. I’m very reassured now that he does. So he’s when 100% I think he’ll definitely contribute and be a big asset for us.
Q: I think you heard Jesse say that when there’s more competence, the defense gets louder. I was just wondering, Mike Morris was talking about that the other day. What are you seeing from the guys up front? I mean, are they sort of leading the way, how loud is it?
Clinkscale: Well, really, Mike is very loud. He’s definitely a leader. Mazi is not that vocal all the time but when when Mazi speaks, everybody listens. He pulls guys in and he has his way of things. But I think sometimes loud on a field demonstrates confidence and that we know what we’re doing. But Mazi is one of those guys, when you sit there, listen to him talk he knows what we’re doing in the backend sometimes, too. So it’s not always about being loud. He’s confident. So like Jesse said, just to piggyback off of that, I think the more they’re confident upfront with what we’re saying in the back end, and we’re more confident with them up front, you know, blending together and doing the things right and communicating. That’s where you see the communication. When are ones are out there, the communication is obnoxious, it’s unbelievable. The twos are getting there, you know, that ones have set the bar, and we’ll continue to bring everybody closer we get everybody there you only as good as your backup. So the closer we get all ones, twos and threes on the same level communication wise and confidence, then we’ll continue to be a dominant defense.
Q: Obnoxious is good?
Clinkscale: Obnoxious is good on the football field. It’s gotta be crazy. You know, it’s like a fire drill. You know, like when that siren goes off and, and it’s great communication everybody knows where they’re supposed to go what they’re supposed to do so that we’re safe.
