Everything Jesse Minter told the media during Michigan's spring practice

On year two with the defense

Just a whole other level of familiarity with the guys, kind of how we operate here. How coach runs spring. Just tremendous cohesiveness. Everybody understands each other's expectations, they understand my expectations, I understand Coach Harbaugh's expectations. I understand the players' expectations. Just a really good level of that.

On whether the defense looks different

I definitely think so, particularly with—I think we have more experience coming back than at this time last year. Whereas we were replacing some big spots, not that—we have some key losses certainly but feel good about where the guys are at and just knowledge, understanding, attacking the first day, picking up where we left off. Also, a whole host of guys that are in that first, second year, that haven't played a lot and the spring has been really good for them to see how the older guys do it and, also, try to find their way on to—the group that we can count on. Trying to build that number up.

On the defensive line

I've seen tremendous growth, tremendous improvement. I think we certainly have a bunch of capable guys. I think Coach Elston, Dylan Roney, those guys have put in a tremendous amount of work in that aspect. We want to certainly get sacks and pressure and be able to do it at times without committing extra guys. That's been a huge emphasis for us. While we ended up having a good number last year, there were times where we probably had to send more than we wanted to. Huge emphasis. Also, huge excitement for what I've seen through the first part of spring and where we're at now and the improvement in that area. Expect that to be a big weapon for us in the fall.

On Josaiah Stewart

Josaiah is a tremendous addition. First of all, just from his personality, him fitting into the culture. The way he works, the way he attacks things, it's like he's been here. When that happened, you pick up a guy who, one, practices really hard, he's got a really unique skillset, he's different from some of our edge rushers with his measurables. Just really excited about him. He's had a productive spring. I think if you talk to some of our guys they would say he's stood out at times. Looking forward to seeing that on Saturday in more of a game environment and, also, seeing that in the fall as well.

On who his top pick was in the spring game draft

Not going to disclose that information. That's a great question but the teams have been selected. It was a fun process to go through. You learn a lot about what people think about different positions. It's probably not truly like this is the top player because some guys are playing a certain amount of time. I think more so guys who play the whole game dictate that. I think it's really exciting, I think it's pretty evenly matched. To me, it's exciting to see, everybody is at a different point in their career here. For Mikey or for Kris Jenkins, I've seen them play on big stages, I know how they're gonna operate in front of 100,000 people. I know how they're going to operate in big games. It's really, really cool to see guys that haven't played yet. This is the first time they might have played in that environment. Even though it's not all the way, it's the closest thing we can simulate to a game between now and September. I get most excited in these situations to see guys, number one, compete, have fun, compete with each other and also find out who those guys are that rise to the occasion so to speak.

On the flag displayed from the Ohio State game

I think it's really cool. That's what makes college football special. Rivalries and the ability to enjoy those moments and enjoy the significance of those wins. I really think about the defense being together going into the fourth quarter and watching a player-led defense take charge of that game and make the plays we needed to win the game. Super great memories. Trying to work every day so we can have a bunch of those again this year.

On what he liked most about the defense in year one and what he would like to see in year two

I think the guys started to understand sort of our expectations for just how we want to play. Not even really schematically but we talk about four pillars being really important in effort, block destruction, ball disruption and communication. I think we made strides in those areas but I honestly think that there are leaps and bounds more for us in all four of those areas. I look forward to these guys continuing to chase those. We made it a huge emphasis for us in the spring and just can't wait to see that continue to progress in the third year in the system.

On speaking with the Eagles for their DC vacancy

You sit at home watching the Super Bowl and three days later the team that was in the Super Bowl calls you, it's humbling just to get a call. It was a great experience to go through. I think any time you're called or wanted from a different deal, it's an honor. It was a good experience, certainly something I wanted to look into but couldn't be happier being back here at Michigan. Coach Harbaugh, the players, they all know how I feel about this place. Super excited to be back.

On Nikhai Hill-Green and Ja'den McBurrows

Both guys are excited to get back into the fold. Ja'den is a guy competing. There's some playing time available in the secondary so he's a candidate for that and he's had a good, productive spring. He can play multiple positions. He can play inside, he can play outside, he can play in the slot. Excited to see him progress. Heard a lot about him his freshman year. Hey, this guy has a knack and he's a ballplayer. Everything I've heard from an instinctive player has show up. I think any time you're coming off an injury, it's still about regaining 100% confidence in your body and your ability to do all the things that you've been able to do. Certainly our training staff and strength staff do an unbelievable job getting those guys back. Excited to see where he's at. Really, the same with Nikhai. A guy that is obviously, really frustrating for him with what he dealt with but excited that he's back iut there. He brings great value to our defense. Great leader, great communicator. Honestly, he was a big part of our success in the fall even though he wasn't playing. He did a good job taking on a leadership role, almost a coaching-type of role. Certainly excited to have him back out there in the mix.

On the lessons learned from the TCU game

You either win or learn. It's been a great opportunity to study. I always look inward first. Things in preparation, things in game plan. There's a lot of things that, after the fact, or sometimes simple to say like, yeah, maybe we should've done this, done more of this or done less of that. Ultimately, it comes down to doing all the little things right in those moments. Learned a lot about that. The goal now is to get back to that situation. Talk is cheap so we've got to get back to that situation and prove that we did learn from it. Excited to try and do that.

On the interior defensive line increasing sack production was player-driven or coach driven

I would say it's a combination of the two. I think all d-linemen would love to have a bunch of sacks. They certainly want those opportunities, want the ability to be on the field in those situations. One of the biggest things for us, some things to improve on is, number one, find more ways to create negative plays on non-traditional passing downs. When we dial up a pressure or dial up something on third down, we're pretty good. We had very, very few disruptive plays on normal downs, what I would say. That's a huge emphasis for us when a lot of those big guys are out there. Coach Elston has done a tremendous job with those guys sort of teaching them some things. Block destruction is a huge piece of how we play in stopping the run but it's also the ability to convert to become a pass rusher on those same downs. Big emphasis for us. The cool part is that they've taken a tremendous amount of ownership in trying to improve that area. They're working their butts off and excited to see that show up in the fall.

On Ernest Hausmann and Braiden McGregor

Ernest is a tremendous asset, tremendous pickup. Tremendous position where, I think, one of the stalwarts of our defense last year is that we played a lot of people, especially up front. At linebacker, at the two inside backer spots, it was an area where we did not rotate as much. Part of that was just depth, we had some injuries, had some guys that were in and out. Some younger players. It's a tremendous position of need to create depth. Number one, he's made plays in our stadium in big moments so we know it's not going to be too big for him. I think he's just physically, mentally a tremendous asset to that room. He'll challenge those guys. We have two incumbent players. My challenge to Ernest is to go take that spot, my challenge to those guys is to hold on to your spot because he's coming. Very excited about the addition of him. Braiden McGregor, there's a guy when you talk about the process of development, everybody is sometimes on a different trajectory there. Sometimes injury-related, confidence-related. People in front of you related. He's had a career here where he's dealt with injuries, deal with the number two pick in the draft being in front of him, other guys. I think he's trusted the process here and he's continued to develop at a really fast, high rate. Especially coming off what he's dealt with prior. I'm really, really excited about Braiden. I think he has a chance to be a dominant player. I think the challenge for him is he does it in spurts and he knows this. It's to take over a game. I'm excited to see that happen.

On blitzing during the TCU game

The gameplan, we certainly had a lot in the gameplan. Some pressure, some coverages, different things. Probably felt a little reactionary at times to being down or trying to force a play, which is what it is. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. I think the ability for us to effect the quarterback as much as possible at times without sending extra guys is a huge area of emphasis for us. Not necessarily reactionary to that game but even just how we played a lot of the year. The best learning things are through adversity. Tremendous opportunities for us to see what went well, see what went wrong. Certainly, you're only as good as your last time out. The good thing is that there's still an enormous chip on our shoulder to right that moment. Knowing that it hopefully comes up again down the road.

On how much the defense was structured around keeping teams behind the chains last season

I don't necessarily look at it like that. Mazi was a great player, we played him on most downs. He certainly gave us the ability to stop the run with his capabilities. I think we have some other guys that are going to be very similar to that, that are going to be playing for us. It's really more so, when you go, for example, you go first and ten, two-yard gain, second and eight, two-yard gain and it's third and six. Now you're in more of a pressure down versus first and 10, minus two or a sack on seven or eight and now its third and 13, now you're able to do some different things on third down and get off the field. It may not result in sacks but maybe less risk involved. It's about us setting up really, really advantageous third-down situations to where we can really dictate the terms of how we want to play. To do that, it's just about becoming even more disruptive at times and better on those normal downs.

On Chris Partridge

Chris is a tremendous addition. He dove right in. He's a guy that, one, he understands this place, understands what works here, he understands the culture here. He has a tremendous, versatile, background from positions and special teams, being a defensive coordinator. I think he's an unbelievably high-value member of our staff. Coaching the linebackers, a position that requires a tremendous amount of detail, tremendous amount of attention that he has done a great job of providing. I really couldn't be happier with CP. Didn't know him. Obviously heard from people within the building as that process started to unfold, Just really, really excited to have him on our staff.

On how often players who transition from offense to defense works

It works if you have the right skillset and the right mindset. If you have a head coach that;s actually willing to try that because—most kids you recruit, they say, oh yeah, so and so says I can play both ways at his school and nobody plays both ways, so it's all a lie. Jim Harbaugh actually plays guys both ways ad gives guys the opportunity to figure out what the best position is. Recruit guys to be a really good player. Is he a skill player? Is he a receiver? Is he a DB? He's a skill player, he can play possibly either side of the ball. During the fall, we did some stuff with Amorion during practice to sort of see what it would look like. We liked what we saw. Certainly had some older guys that were playing above him at the time. I think it comes down to a guy with the right skillset, the right mindset that requires patience as a coach because maybe they haven't been playing that their whole life. I'm pleased with where he's at from a development standpoint. It's a credit to Coach Harbaugh and his insight to give guys the ability to do that.

On what stands out about Amorion Walker's skillset and what his ceiling is

Skillset is tremendous. You're talking about a guy who is 6'3—most times, even in the NFL, you see 6'3 corner and it's like, OK, what trait is lacking? He might be he is not as quick as the smaller guys, might be he's not as speedy but he is really, really fast. He has really good feet. He's a little unique in that sense. Not to put a crazy, crazy expectation on him but he has the skillset to play the position. He has the traits to play the position. I think Coach Clink is doing a tremendous job with him this spring trying to further his development. It's going to come down to a guy that is going to play early in the season, just like Will last season, he's going to have some ups and downs and he's going to be our ability to have him playing at his best when the best is needed towards the middle-end of the season, all those things. Just excited about him and the opportunity he's given himself, number one, just to get on the field here. He's one of the team's best athletes so he needs to play somewhere. We're fortunate that, right now, it's at the corner position.

On who is competing with Walker at the corner position

A lot of guys. We have a lot of young guys at corner. Ja'den McBurrows, Myles Pollard, Jyaire Hill, Cam Calhoun, Kechaun Harris, all those guys have had really bright moments. We've moved Mikey around a lot so we're trying to do different things with him. It's a really good group. A lot of inexperience but talented players. I look at DJ Turner, DJ didn't play a meaningful snap here for two years. Mike Morris didn't play a meaningful snap here for two years, Mazi Smith didn't play a meaningful snap here for two years. It's these guys' turn to go into that second year, third year and put themselves in a position to make plays. Excited about the group overall.

On Will Johnson and Junior Colson's injury status

I'm not going to speak on injuries. I expect them both to be out there for the first game in September.

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