On Blake Corum:

"Blake's awesome, man. He's such a great young man. And on the football field, he can do anything & everything -- just ecstatic to look at him and see the success that he's having -- and our entire offense -- in terms of running the football."

On Michael Barrett's two interceptions at Rutgers:

"Man, it was awesome. You know, that's your joy as a football coach, to see your players have success, how hard they work, you know, throughout practice preparation, just in terms of how they prepare. And Mike's been a guy that, last year, you guys all know, he had limited reps. He only played 186 snaps. Most of which was at the nickel position. And he took on a big role for us this year, playing WILL linebacker, and has done a tremendous job. In both of those plays, he was just executing his assignment. Two really big plays that Michael will remember forever, and can't tell you how happy I am for him and just look forward to him finishing the season strong."

On Barrett taking over for the injured Nikhai Hill-Green, and when the staff knew Barrett would be the one to replace him:

"You go into fall camp with open positions and everybody competing. Your job security for this year has nothing to do with last year. Mike had an opportunity, went & competed, and won the job, and he's just taking it and really running with it. He's doing a really good job. He understands the defense and how we play up front just in terms of striking blocks, staying square, setting edges, and building the wall. He knows what to do, how to do it, why it's important to do it that way, and really just proud of Mike."

On Jimmy Rolder:

"We really just felt good about Jimmy and so happy that he's on the team. Jimmy's also a guy that had a great game. He had five tackles -- I think he played 17 or 18 snaps on defense. He's gonna continue to get better and is just a great young man."

On Rolder's comprehension of the defense:

"He's doing a great job. He's playing the MIKE linebacker position. And as you guys know, they tie in the fronts & the coverages. We ask those guys to do a lot. He's responded, and just his overall attitude and how he trains, how he prepares, he seems way more mature."

On the other freshmen linebackers:

"Doing great. Micah Pollard starts on the kickoff team. He's made several plays and then played seven snaps at the end of the game. Had a good stop on the short yardage. Micah: happy with the progressions that he's made, and you know, he continues to develop and understand what's going on around him. And then Deuce Spurlock played early on in the season, and what a great young man he is. And he's doing a tremendous job as well."

On Barrett sticking it out at Michigan through multiple coordinators & playing multiple positions before settling in at LB as a senior:

"Just really speaks to who Mike Barrett is as a person. I mean, he came in in a different system. He played a different position. He played several positions for us last year and this year. He played the Mike Backer position in Dime. He played the Will linebacker position last year in nickel, and as we were talking about earlier, in nickel, we played the Buffalo. So he can play all three spots, and he knows what he's doing and he's taken on the role and the responsibility. He continues to get better each and every week. Very proud of Mike."

On getting freshmen linebackers who join the program during fall camp "up to speed":

"7-step teaching progressions are really good for young players and veteran players. That's just being able to see it on paper, seeing it on film, and then doing pre-practice walkthroughs. An individual you've gotta cover and go over that exact play or scheme that you're installing that day to make sure that their eyes, their assignment, their alignment, their technique is sound.

And then throughout practice, whether it's a seven-on-seven period installing a coverage or if it's a blitz period, installing a pressure, you go over that. I think the biggest thing for freshmen that you see is re-watching the film and having those meetings in that time that time that you get in fall camp.

I don't think in high school, those guys find the time to do that. So you can show 'em, 'hey, this is a play of you either doing a great job executing the assignment or here are things that we need to improve on that play.' And that's a big thing that in college and obviously in pro ball, you have time to do that."

On Junior Colson:

Junior's done a great job this year. You know, really, a third of the season, the second half of games versus Colorado State, Hawaii, and UConn, he didn't even play in the second half. So you know all the stats, and people look at the tackles to see who's doing what. So a third of the season, second-half games, you didn't even see him. And he's very, very supportive of all of his teammates and wants them to do a good job. Wants them to get in the game. Junior's doing a tremendous job. He has a great understanding of the defense and what's going on around him. He's playing good. Really happy with him and his progress this year."

Why has Michigan played so well in the second half?

"Well, we've got really, really good leadership with Coach Harbaugh as our head coach, and the way that he structures practice and the motivational speeches throughout the week that he gives to our guys is fuel and really gives them good energy to go out and to finish and to play 60 minutes and four quarters of football.

They know what's on the line, and it's about stacking plays and having great attention to detail and execution on each play, and playing for four quarters. I think it speaks to our guys too. Every game's not gonna be perfect. Things aren't always gonna go your way, but it's how you respond to what happens. Think that they've shown that in a couple of games."

On a defense's mentality on the goal line:

"What we tell our guys is it's all about getting off & striking blocks & staying square & setting edges & building a wall & getting good knockback, running to the ball, & playing with intensity each & every snap. So that's something that we do on defense and challenging each week to do.

Do you anticipate a recruiting surge like last year?

"That's a question for Coach (Harbaugh). I'll let him speak on that. The staff works really hard in all areas."

On working under Nick Saban, Jimbo Fisher, and Kirby Smart:

A lot of the structure under Nick Saban, Jimbo Fisher, and Kirby Smart and the way that they did stuff defensively. Great learning tools for me as a young coach, and I was really thankful to be under some of those guys who a lot of people view as very well-regarded, well-respected coaches. I'm thankful for the things that I've learned under them."

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