New Michigan defensive coordinator Wink Martindale is transitioning from the NFL back to college in a place he calls a "dream job". The fit makes all the sense in the world, with Michigan running the scheme he helped create while with the Baltimore Ravens.

But it goes beyond that for Martindale. The players in Ann Arbor don't just fit the system but they are coached and developed beyond what Martindale is used to seeing with college players.

"The thing you see, and this is through the draft process when you're evaluating college guys coming out, is the lack of technique that a lot of them play with," Martindale said on a recent appearance of In The Trenches with Jon Jansen.

When looking at Michigan's defensive tackles, Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant, Martindale says Michigan has two playmakers.

"These guys are square football players who play with knockback and they can make plays. It warms my heart to see that. Where some will say that they don't have enough of this, or they don't have — it's complete hogwash because if you can start with stopping run, which those two are very good at, and they do it different ways."

The defensive front is elite across the board, with Josaiah Stewart and Derrick Moore joining Graham and Grant. While Michigan knows who will be the starters on the EDGE, a goal of the offseason is finding the next guys up to feature in rotations.

"I think it's a great starting point, we just need to build some depth behind them. I think both D-Mo and Josaiah, like you said, they're hidden gems. Just look at the final play against Alabama with Josaiah doing that to that tackle, that's what made the play which a lot of people don't realize, it is. That type of mentality up front, across the board, is going to win you a lot of football games."

When it comes to the Amoeba defense, it starts up front and it starts with stopping the run. New DC Wink Martindale believes Michigan has the players it needs, and unlike his last stint with the New York Giants, he can run this scheme the way he wants from day 1.

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