On C.J. Stokes

He’s just practiced really well. He’s the guy who showed up from the beginning and was just playing at a really high speed. And a lot of times with young players, when young players are learning, mentally, they’re not quite sure what to do some guys slow down to try to figure it out. He’s one of those guys that plays at full speed, even if he has some uncertainty of what’s going on, which is a great quality to have.

On whether Eyabi Anoma is playing special teams

He’s definitely involved. He’s had an awesome attitude. And he’s kind of getting integrated into our system and the different techniques and rolls and stuff like that. So he’s a guy who we will look forward to contributing and hopefully in this game.

On what he's hoping to learn coming out of week one

I mean, you’re excited to see like what certain young guys do, that’s a big thing. Also, some of the guys that are back, you want to see growth in their game. So it’s kind of everything you’re looking to see. OK, this new call or new technique, we want to see how that looks. You want to see young guys, hey, how do they look when it’s live-action? Some of these older guys have gotten bigger, faster, and stronger, how do they look? So it’s probably tough to like nail one thing down. We’re salivating just for all of it because this is what we love to do.

On coaching with Matt Weiss in Baltimore

He was much further along than I was. We were together for three seasons. And he’s the same now as he was then. Obviously, he’s even better now. But super smart, tons of solutions to problems, can see around the corners, and anticipate things that are going to come up as issues. So he was kind of the same in that regard. And a great, great mentor to me as a young person when I was there. Very appreciative of him.

On how Matt Weiss mentored him

Because he’s done so much and he’s had experience on all sides of the ball in his football career. He is involved in game management, he’s involved with challenges he’s involved with, with the two-minute, four-minute. He’s had experience in every regard, super, super smart. But can then take things and make them simple. So he’s just a guy that you could go to and get insight on, ‘How should I handle this? What should I do? What would you call it here?’ He’s really just a great resource. So I recall him being all those things and then on top of that, just being really generous with his time and his information back then being willing to help young guys. And now fast forward, that’s what he’s doing here with our guys. He’s a great, great teacher.

On how the offense changed after Ronnie Bell's injury

I’m not sure how much of that had to do with Ronnie or not. We have good receivers. Aside from him, it would probably lend itself to running more, but I wouldn’t say that was the catalyst for us running the ball more, but certainly, it doesn’t help when one of your best players and best leaders isn’t on the field. So it’s kind of unknowable.

On how Bell's injury changed special teams

That was major for us. He’s so good at catching punts, super reliable, very comfortable back there and has some experience doing it. Great decision maker, and very savvy. And we kind of had a little bit of a hole in the roster where we have talented guys, but they didn’t have game experience. So when he went down last year, we ended up with, in that same game, it was Andrel, I think, Caden, and then and then A.J., I think, two games after that. Because we just needed reps, you need reps to get good at fielding balls in games and making decisions and all that stuff. So that had a big, very big impact on us as well.

On his willingness to change positions as a staff

You know, us as a staff, I think we try to do whatever it is we ask the players to do and try to walk the walk of, hey, you do whatever is good for the team. And, if it’s changing positions, because that’s going to make sense for everybody, then that’s great. I know we have a head coach who has a great vision for, you know, every aspect of the program. And if he believes in something, then we’re all 100% behind it. So it’s been really great. Being on defense, we have a tremendous D-coordinator, who has a history on the back-end coach in the secondary, which is great. And then Coach Clink is I’ve never seen a better DB coach, he’s tremendous. And so being around those guys, while being new to defense has been really nice. Because they can make everything simple. Very, very, very good teachers, super detailed. They really give the players a lot of answers, rather than just telling them, ‘Hey, you gotta cover better, or that kind of thing.’ So they’re tremendous to be around. I’m very thankful for him.

On how he prepares for coaching a new position

You really treated like a player, I mean, you just study the stuff. And, I think in a building like this, we have a lot of really knowledgeable people. You just go to someone that’s an expert on the topic, and you can learn from them. Like I mentioned before, Coach Minter, Coach Clink are tremendous at what they do. Coach Mallory, who’s an analyst for us, is always working behind the scenes and stuff. And he’s got an unbelievable, just wealth of knowledge on playing defense, different coverages, and DB play. So, you study the stuff, you’ve got those guys and ask questions, learn from them, and you just kind of go from there.

On how changing positions have shaped him

It’s been tremendous to change positions. Football is such a great game, it’s so simple, so complex. And when you change positions, you get a great vantage point of like, ‘Man, I never realized that this was exactly like that.’ And you learn so much. And I think the more you coach, the more you realize how much there is to learn. So it’s been a great experience. If the opportunity arises and it makes sense, I would love to be a head coach someday, but I’m not very worried about that kind of stuff right now. Just worried about trying to be a really good coach for Michigan.

On Makari Paige earning more playing time

Just practiced well in spring, fall camp, just practiced well, was always available. Even when his body maybe didn’t feel 100% that’s been great. He’s made a lot of plays on the ball interception-wise, and strips or fumble recoveries, that kind of thing. So he’s shown up in that regard, just producing. He’s very, very smart, excellent in meetings, and super-attentive. And, his voice has grown to as a leader just guiding the younger guys and helping teach them, you hear him a little bit more. So like you said, he’s really put himself in a position to be a very good player for us.

On Keon Sabb and Zeke Berry's development

Those guys are coming along. It’s a lot as a freshman, it’s just so much new stuff, new techniques, new calls, the pace of everything, the expectation of what a practice rep should look like, all that stuff. So it’s hard, but both of those guys are doing really well. And, = once they learn and they know what to do, they flash and you say, ‘Oh, wow, OK, this guy is going to be good.’ Whether it be a great break on a ball and take a great angle and have a great tackle or that kind of thing. Both those guys are going to be very good. And they’re right on track.

On Quinten Johnson

He’s right there in that in that top group. Probably the fourth or fifth safety. He’s a guy who we would trust to go in the game and execute. He has good guys ahead of him. He’s probably a top-three special teams player for us. And he’s really proven himself over the years. He plays on pretty much everything. And he’s had great game experience and really shown that he’s a trustworthy guy. So he’s a very important player for us and we’re excited for him to have a great year.

On the coolest nicknames on the team

Coolest nicknames. ‘The sheriff’ for sure. Carter Selzer, hat’s a great one. ‘Cader tot,’ Cade McNamara, that’s a pretty good one. I don’t know if he’s got any NIL yet or anything but great potential there. I don’t know who else. There are some good ones, they kind of have to happen organically. I’m sure Kris probably gave you more good ones. But we do have some gems.

On whether he has thought about coaching anywhere else

I used to probably think about that stuff a little bit more. And I’ve just kind of learned just not to, because just worry about being a great teammate, a great coach, and take care of your role and be the best that you can and then good things will come to you. So that’d be something I could talk about after the season. But right now, I just really want to try to have a great season here at Michigan.

On why the special teams unit has been good

We try to be a really, really self-critical unit and team in general. We want to be a team that loves just the brutal facts, looking in the mirror after every single day and just confronting, ‘OK that this is exactly what we need to do better. This is what we’re not doing well enough.’ I think those really great players and great teams are like that they they crave that brutal honesty. And, we had some success last year, but we didn’t play nearly well enough in some of the bigger games. And then also, there’s there’s just a lot of opportunities that we had for big plays that we left out on the field. So we’ve been very hard on ourselves this whole offseason. And we want to take what we did last year, and make it even better. And then this opponent is a very good challenge for that abd they’re very, very well-coached. And they’ll throw a lot of stuff out there. They do a lot scheme-wise, that head coach and the coordinator both run. Pump fakes and field goal fakes in their past and their swinging gate and all kinds of stuff. So there’s a lot to prepare for and it’s just an awesome challenge because they’re well coached, they have good players, and it’s gonna demand right out of the gate that we’re at our best. So we’re pumped up about it.

On Roman Wilson separating himself as a kick returner

it is crowded, that’s a good way of putting it. We have several guys that we would feel totally comfortable being in there. Roman, he’s just tremendous. His focus in this camp is been on another level. He was a good player for us last year, a guy who we really loved and he’s managed to even take it up a notch. Very bought into what we’re doing, learning the schemes, being very critical of himself, perfecting all the little, little things, technique-wise, the detail-wise in that role. And then, behind him, guys like A.J. Henning, Isaiah Gash, Eamonn. I mean, we have a bunch of guys where we feel like this guy is a legitimate threat back there that we trust to have the ball in their hands. So, fortunate for that and excited to see those guys get out and get some work. Hopefully not too many opportunities, but we’re excited to watch it.

On whether having veteran kickers and punters make his life easier

Yeah, absolutely. I mean, they’re super mature, with tons of experience. They’re both guys who will play professional football and deservedly so. They’re a. very good, but b. just gave a great self-awareness of who they are, what they need, what their rhythm is. And they kind of self-regulate throughout the week, and they do a great job. Because we trust them so much, they’ll come and say, ‘Hey, can we not do this? Or can we do this or a little more of this, less of that?’ That’s the kind of thing when you get a really experienced player, you understand that if they’re coming to you with something that’s well-thought-out, and it’s probably the right thing. So yeah, it’s very nice for us and just try to keep them you know, feeling really good and playing confident. Absolutely, yeah, they’ve been tremendous. Looking forward to both of them having monster years again.

On Tommy Doman's progression

He’s had an awesome camp. He’s a guy who really gradually has gotten better and better as he’s been here. He’s physically matured a lot, he’s gotten really strong. He’s put on a lot of weight, and he’s gonna be a specimen, even a year from now. He just keeps getting bigger and stronger. And his attitude’s phenomenal, I think he has an even better relationship with, you know, the occasional bad play, of being able to move on from that. So he’s a guy who I’m excited, hopefully, to see him at some point this season, be able to just get him some game reps. Hats off to him, he’s had an awesome, awesome, spring, summer, and fall, which isn’t like the easiest thing ever, when you’re behind the guy who’s very, very good. And it’s not like a foregone conclusion that you’re gonna ever play. That takes some real professionalism to be able to come in day in and day out, and work and get better. Assuming that, hey, you never know when your number is gonna be called. So kudos to him for that.

On balancing being Jim Harbaugh's son and a position coach

it’s kind of a tough thing. I just view myself as part of the staff. Yeah, there’s, there are times where the relationship kind of flips the switch. And it’s more of a family type of relationship. But when we’re here, we all just are focused on the football team getting better and playing really well. And, I’m super blessed to be in a position where I get to observe him and learn from him every day. I’ll be grateful for that for the rest of my life. My opportunity to hear and be able to learn from the best coach in the world, in my opinion. So I don’t know if it’s separate. Or maybe it’s just all of it the same. And that’s just the dynamic of the relationship here is that I’m a part of the staff and one of the coaches. It’s tough. I’m not really sure how to answer it. But I am very grateful to be in this position. I know there’s a lot of people that would love to be able to spend that kind of time with a father or mother that don’t always get that chance. So it’s been very, very special for me, and I’m thankful for it.

On what Caden Kolesar brings to the team

So much. He’s just the consummate professional. Sits front row, pen in hand, he’s showered, and his hair’s done. He’s got a notebook. Every day appears to be the most important day of his career to him, which is—that all great players are high achievers. So I would say the day in and day out the consistency and the high level of high standard of habits he has for himself is big. He’s not afraid to use his voice, and hold other guys accountable. He’s always bringing young guys along and teaching them. And that’s not really much different from special teams to defense. He does it in both and he really walks the walk. And he’s a great Michigan man. And we’re super thankful to have him, he’s gonna have a monster year.