On what brought him back to Michigan

Even when I left, I told the guys I felt like the 2020 season was an incomplete part of my coaching career just because of COVID and the way things went. Even though leaving and going to another program, still felt a little bit of an attachment to the University of Michigan and was an admirer from afar. Watching the success that they had, there was not a happier person than myself and my family. When the opportunity came up when Coach Moore called me, felt like it was too good of an opportunity to pass up just because, like I said, there's a lot of attachment, a lot of good things that happened here even though the year didn't go as we wanted in 2020. Felt like it was where I needed to be.

On his early impressions of the linebackers

It's been good. The challenge before we started practice was we lost two big-time linebackers, two of the better linebackers to come out of Michigan in the last two decades in Michael Barrett and Junior Colson. Two guys when I said was an admirer from afar, I watched closely because having a personal relationship with both. I thought they played as high of a level as linebackers as any group in the country. We know the bar was set high and that was the challenge coming in. I feel like the guys are trying to get to that level. Obviously, we're not there yet. The main guy has been Ernest Hausmann who has kind of taken over that leadership role. The one thing that I was always appreciative of watching as a linebacker coach, their ability to make adjustments and coming here and watching their actual games, the way that they played the game. Obviously, very, very physical and productive, but their ability to adjust to things don't he fly was as good as any group I've ever seen both coaching and evaluating as a coach. I think that's the challenge that these guys have. Like I said, Ernest Hausmann has been great so far and we gotta get a couple of other guys in the room to reach that level.

On how he thinks he's expanded his connections while at Tennessee on the recruiting trail

I think Michigan is a program that sells itself. Obviously, coming off a national championship, you're at the top of the mountain. The hard work is just starting in recruiting. Kids nowadays, I always say they have a 24 hour window where things kind of stick with them. When they wake up the next day, they don't know what they remember from the day before. Recruiting is an every day event. You've gotta constantly put things in their eyes and keep things fresh. I think where the program is, that's why I started off as saying it kind of sells itself. We just have to do a great job of targeting the right kind of kids. Obviously, we're a national brand where we can go to all four corners of the United States and feel like we have a chance to recruit at a high level. That's what we're going to continue to do, try to get the best players in here that are really good people and fit the culture that I think that has been built here, which I think is the best in college football.

On how having DC experience help take things to another level

We'll start with Coach Wink, I think he's the best coordinator in football. I'll put that on the NFL and college. You look at his resume and the people that he's coached and the success that's had, obviously, he's got a wealth of knowledge and we're all learning. I think the best thing that happens when you've coordinated and have had so many guys who have done it on defense is that you're able to put the scheme together probably a little faster because you've done it before and have had to coordinate out all 11 guys you need to fit in the picture. I think, obviously, when we're trying to gameplan and put things together, it's going to make more sense to all the other coaches in the room because we've had to do it and I think that helps Coach Wink where he doesn't have to actually explain everything from A to Z because you have so many guys who have had the opportunity to do it before.

On what was the pull to bring him back to Ann Arbor

I'll say this, there's no bigger fan than Coach Moore than myself. I've known him for years and was so happy when he got this opportunity. Was cheering him on and we would always still communicate even when I wasn't here. I think he's a dynamite not just coach but a dynamite person. He's got a chance to be a great football coach Even in the time when we were apart, when I left and went to the other place, we kept in touch and I knew what kind of future he had. I knew he was gonna be a head coach and I always said anything I can do to support him, whether it was on the same staff or I was somewhere else, he will always be a guy I wanted to make sure I stayed close to because, like I said, I admire him and think he's made of the right stuff to be a very, very successful head coach. Besides Michigan being the program that it was, it was the opportunity to get back. Love the community. Both of my daughters are going to come back with us and my wife. We had a small sample size and everything that this community, being in this state, had to represent was always a pull also. It wasn't as tough of a sell as maybe you would think.

On how the program has changed from his first stop to now

I will start with the culture like we talked about. It's one of those things when the players come in, you talk about a successful program and a new coach or new players come in, it's the culture that's there that they have to adjust to learn that culture or do they come in and put a new spin on the culture to try to change it for the better. I think Michigan is at a place right now with the culture and the way these kids are wired, these new kids and new coaches, we have to learn the Michigan way. No matter where you've come from or what kind of success that you've had because it's proven. Love the fact that the players kind of know when they enter the building what the expectations are. They're all striving for the same goals and, like I said, they reached the mountaintop but you can still see the hunger that they have to keep up the success that they have. I think the culture here, and I'll say it, I think it's the best in college football. Not being, obviously, at every program. Like I said, I'm a college football junkie when I'm not worrying about the teams that I've had the opportunity to coach on, I watch college football. Obviously, in recruiting, you hear things about different places and I think the Michigan brand and the Michigan culture is the best in college football.

On how much spring is players evaluating the team vs. the team evaluating the players

I think it works hand-in-hand. I think the biggest thing for players nowadays, I think they all want to know where they stand. Before those (transfer portal) windows open, the same that they have in the fall, just like in the spring, I think players want a clear understanding of where they stand and where do we see their future. Those are the honest conversations that you have to have and I feel like that's one thing when you talk about the culture, we want to make sure everybody understands where we seem them currently and where we see them in the future. Does that mean it's going to be 100% retention? I can't say that but I do know there shouldn't be a question mark for any of the players as they finish spring ball on where we see them. If they don't like it, there's obviously going to be some discussions but also see if they stay the course there's a chance to be a champion here and a chance to have a great career and have an opportunity to go to the NFL. I don't know where else you would go to have a better opportunity.

On whether it's a high priority to connect with players right away as a new coach

I do think that but I think it's two-fold. I think a relationship is always two ways, if it's just one side always trying to reach out and trying to know the other person, I think there's an imbalance there. The same way I want to make sure I know the players, they have to take a couple steps to try and get to know me. Now, it's real. Sometimes if you push too hard it could feel like it's not a real relationship. Since I've been here I think every player has come up to my office, we've had some one-on-one conversations. We're getting to know each other. So far, it feels like everything is going as planned and I feel like I'm a unique coach and I feel like I've got some unique individuals and they have to get the opportunity to know me but I think we're working toward that right now and with the whole defensive staff, I think that's going well right now.

On Jaishawn Barham

Jaishawn is a super-talented young man. He's got some Big Ten experience from playing at Maryland. The biggest thing that kind of goes back to the culture piece that we talked about, he fits us as a young man and the way he goes about his day-to-day as a professional. The big thing is him trying to learn the defense. We've thrown him in and we didn't throw him in the shallow end, we threw him into the deep end. He's been running with the first team and he has a standard he knows he has to live up to. He's done a good job, we'd love him to be more vocal as a linebacker because that's the standard that's been set here. He's working toward it, he's not the most outgoing kid, which there is nothing wrong with that, for us to reach the levels we need to reach, we need him to be able to communicate more and be more open that way. Watching him run around these first couple practices, I think he's got a chance to be a really good football player here.

On Michigan being a place for NFL talent

The big thing, and I think I heard someone say it at Pro Day, I think it was Cam Goode. I think every young man's goal is trying to make it to the NFL when you're recruiting high school athletes, especially high-end high school athletes. I think their goal is to make it to the NFL and I think Michigan is the cloest program that is run like a pro organization that's in college. I say that while also knowing the academics that are here and the type of degree that you can get from the University of Michigan. It's always important because of the high-level of academics that you can have here. As far as preparing yourself, playing in a pro-style offense, pro-style defense, the exposure that you can get here. Like I said, when you enter the building, you want to act like a pro. What does that mean? It means how you take care of your body, the mentality that you have when you practice, the way you watch the tape, all those things to help me get to the highest level but I have to play on Saturdays that way to get to the highest level. Sometimes there's a disconnect at other places where guys say they wanna be pros but they won't prepare themselves that way. I think that's one of the great things about this place, these guys prepare like pros so when that opportunity comes, obviously, I think they're a little more ready than other places.

On the depth at linebacker

That's the key, I think that was one of the big keys for the run that they had last year. You had quality depth. Everybody in college football needs depth but the higher-quality depth that you have, the better chance that you have to win on Saturdays. We're building toward it. I think our frontline, especially the defensive line, is as good as I've ever been around. They play that way. We're building a lot of depth behind them. I know you're gonna interview Coach Esposito at some point. Just watching from afar, the linebackers job is a lot easier with some of those guys that we have upfront. I know guys that stood out so far in the front have been Enow Etta, has done a really, really good job. TJ Guy has stepped up and done a really good job. Those are just two guys, like I said, I don't want to steal the thunder from the D-line coach. As a linebacker coach and sitting back and listening to Coach Wink in the room, those are two guys who seem to be having a really, really good spring.

On the depth at LB contd.

You meant the linebackers? I apologize, I thought you said the front. You can delete that part. As far as the linebackers and depth goes, I want to make sure I point out everybody because I think it's a buy-in from the whole room, it's not just the guys that are playing now. You have to get the guys that are in the future that we see that are going to be players, we want them to start picking up what it's going to take to start to play at a high level and what the expectations are here. I think they've done that. Some of the guys that I think are playing well are Jayden Hood. He's been here for a while, very, very talented guy that says he's been waiting for his opportunity. I think he's taken advantage of it right now. Micah Pollard I think fits in that category, too. An older guy, a talented guy who hasn't played as much as he'd like to but is doing a solid job for us. You got Christian Boivin who has been a great special teams player, he's doing an excellent job for us there as one of the older guys. Some of the younger guys I feel like have an opportunity and we want to see more from and I think they're gonna have a chance will be Jason Hewlett, Semaj Bridgeman and Hayden Moore have done a good job for us but, obviously, this back half of spring as far as depth chart goes, we're going to have to see which one of those guys are going to separate themselves. Obviously, the young kids, Cole Sullivan and Jeremiah Beasley, guys that should be in high school and they're getting quality reps at spring practice, very, very excited about those two guys. I think they're going to be two high-end guys that are going to continue the tradition that we've had here of solid linebackers that a very, very productive. Been very, very happy with those guys.

On how to teach a defense against an offense finding its way

We never look at it that way. It's still blocking and tackling. They have great coaches on that side of the football and they're going to figure it out. We still have to do a great job of being able to get off blocks and go make tackles. They are trying to kind of find their way but there is a lot of good that they're doing and things that they can learn from. They have some younger guys and obviously, we're a little bit more of a veteran group on that side of the ball. We never look at it as even if we're having success that we're not getting the most out of it. D-line still has to be able to pass rush, the linebackers still have to be able to blitz and tackle and the secondary still has to cover. As we watch tape, we always gonna go to the things that we can improve on no matter how much success or not having success the offense has against us. There's still a lot of tings that we can improve on that we get a chance to coach off. That's never gonna change.

On what he's seen from the running backs

I was here when Kalel when he was a linebacker. I joke with him that he made the right career move going to running back. I think they're a veteran group. I think they're very, very talented. Obviously, losing someone like Blake is always going to be a little bit of — I don't wanna say, I'm trying to say it politically correct but obviously losing someone of his stature is always gonna affect the room. I think with Donovan and Kalel and some of the young guys that they have, the one thing that we pride ourselves on here is being able to play a tough level of football and a three-yard gain here is not bad football and I think that's going to continue. The toughness part of it, the running through the defensive line and linebackers and getting those tough yards, that's the impressive part with that group. That's kind of how they're trained and what their mentality is. I've been thrilled. As a linebacker coach, they run the ball very, very tough and they run it physical, you wouldn't want it any other way as a linebacker coach because it's going to be the challenge you have to meet every day, tackling those guys.

On Wink Martindale and his blitzes

The big thing, the number one thing as a defense because it works hand-in-hand with the team, what's going to give us the best opportunity to win? Obviously, we're very, very multiple in what we do. Obviously with Coach Wink and his history with Coach Macdonald and Coach Minter, there's a connection there so everything that they've done in the past he's very aware of. He wants to put his own identity on it. The playbook that they had, obviously, he had, maybe they had an expanded version of it so we're going to try to get as many pressures we can to get on tape because there's a lot of things since they left him with his time with the Giants that I think they've expanded on and he feels like is going to be able to help us in college football. I know there's some similarities but he's going to put his own spin on it and put us in the best position to go play high-level defense.

On how much it helps for Martindale to be a linebacker coach

Big time. I tell anybody that asks, I'm learning every day. I think Wink is — he says he's the OG of the defense, I think he's the OG of linebacker coaches, too. I've been doing it for a long time and there's slight nuances that he sees that I don't see. It's been a great learning experience for me. I'm like the players, man. I'm eager and hungry every day walking into the building seeing what I can do just from being with him that's going to help elevate myself as a coach and help elevate the play of the linebackers.

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