On the message to the young receivers

Keep playing hard. Keep showing off everything you do, whether its the run game or the pass game. The bottom line for us is we want to contribute as much as possible to help the team win and we're doing it thus far.

On from what he's seen from the young receivers

They're awesome. Just from a developmental standpoint. I know, myself, playing for the program and playing in a similar pro-style offense, when you learn it, you just see the guys growing each and every day. Each and every practice. Even if they're on scout team giving a look for our defense, they're doing great things.

On Tre Mosley

Tre is Steady Eddie, that's been his MO since high school. He's a guy that runs great routes, has very deceptive speed, catches the ball well. Tre is a fantastic football player, I'm proud of him.

On Andrel Anthony's role

His role is the same. As a receiver, there are games where some guys, the ball finds them. That's just one of those things where we tell Andrel to keep playing hard. He's playing well. He's moving around, playing multiple positions. He's doing great things for our football team. Couldn't be more proud of him.

On Makari Paige's adjustment

He got off to a great start his freshman year because we ran the same defense, he ran the same defense in high school. Coming in with a new defense, it was new for everyone and it was foreign for him. More than other kids because he didn't get a chance to run much of it. Now, he has a great grasp of it. You could see it toward the latter part of last season where he started picking it up. You just Makari's game flourish. He's playing at a high level.

On balancing receivers who want the ball vs. a team who primarily runs the ball

We're winning. The ultimate goal for every football player here at the University of Michigan is to contribute. To help the team win football games. When you're winning, it doesn't become a problem. Obviously, guys are competitors and they want opportunities. They know the opportunities will come. The message is stay ready so you don't have to get ready.

On MSU's secondary

You want me to give the game plan (laughs)? We want to be balanced. We want to be able to run the football, we want to be able to pass the football. We feel like we have playmakers that can do both. Our game plan, our goal is to play at a high level with whatever play Coach Moore, Coach Weiss, calls. Make sure we're executing it.

On the effect games rivalry games have on recruiting

Everyone wants to see the rivalry games. You want to see what you're doing, who has bragging rights in the state. For us, this particular week, they want to see how you respond to that. Kids are definitely tuned in. I know we have some big-time kids coming to town for this match-up all over the country. It definitely shows the importance of this rivalry that we take very seriously.

On his receivers blocking

Take care of your brothers. Whoever has the ball, whether it's Blake or Dono, or J.J., C.J., whoever is carrying the football, even the receiver, we want to make sure we're executing our assignment and we're doing it to the best of our ability. Most importantly for us, the mentality is to take care of your brother.

On how he's felt they've done blocking

They're pretty, been pretty good. Always striving to get better each and every game. There's always things that we fine-tune and say, hey, we could be better in this area. Guys agree to that and they want to get better. That's an easy sell.

On Amorion Walker

He does both. He's a talented kid. He did both in high school and he's a kid that has that rare talent to be able to do that at such a young age, that's pretty impressive to see.

On coordinating with the deep ball

That's something we constantly work on. Want to make sure the receiver-quarterback timing is good. J.J. knows where our receivers are going to be and our receivers know the type of ball he likes, the type of ball he's going to throw. It's just a repetition thing. The more comfortable he gets with the receiver and, obviously, having different types of receivers out there matters as well, just kind of get a gauge of how everyone is going to be and where you're going to be at. It's been working well for us.

On Donovan Edwards

I think the biggest thing, for me coaching defense last year, it's not high school. You're not going to outrun everyone. Now, just trusting the blocking upfront and that's the biggest area that he's grown. Just understanding—Coach Hart does a phenomenal job, he's an excellent coach. He does a great job with Dono. Having a big brother like Blake in there for him, that's help for Dono because he sees the game differently now. Obviously, in the pass game, he's a weapon for us. Something he continues to grow and be great at.

On taking credit for Edwards being good in the pass game

He's great. He's always been great in high school, he did work with us a lot at the receiver position in high school. Definitely, a lot of that shows up, he's just a special talent.

On the perimeter blocking

It's culture. It's the culture of the program. Coach Harbaugh does a phenomenal job of talking about that all the time, taking care of each other and making sure everybody is doing our 1/11th. You do your job and if 11 guys do their job on every single play, on any given play, chances that you have success will be very high.

On the message to the players about tempering down the talk

For us, the game we play at the stadium at 7:30 on Saturday night. We respect the rivalry, we respect them. There's no need for that. We get nothing out of it, I'm sure they get nothing out of it. We're laser-focused Saturday night to play our game, to play at the best of our ability. We'll leave that for the fanbases.

On whether he would like to incorporate Donovan Edwards as a true wide receiver at times

We do. He's part of the pass game. We love our room. We love the guys in our room and we love the things that they can do. The role that he's serving, he's doing great. I wouldn't necessarily want to move him to slot.

On whether the culture now is similar to when he played at Michigan

Very similar. You play for Michigan. As soon as you step in the doors, you understand the history of Michigan football, the importance of Michigan football and the brotherhood that it brings with it. You understand doing things the right way, playing for one another. That's culture. When you get all those things intertwined together, that's Coach Harbaugh's message and it was Coach Carr's message when I played. It's very similar. That's why we're having some of the same successes we've had. That's why Michigan has been able to sustain that success over years and years and years.

On Roman Wilson

He's explosive. You saw it early in the year, anytime Roman gets an opportunity to get his hands on the ball it could be a touchdown. He runs exceptional routes, he catches the ball exceptionally well and he's a student of the game. You're hopeful Roman gets a couple of opportunities, he's going to make some big plays. I'm excited for him.

On who studies the most film

Honestly, they all do. I can't put a finger on who does it the most. They all come in, meet separately, come in as a group. Depending on class schedule but Ronnie does a good job of rallying the guys together. They'll watch film together and afterwards they may have a bowling night, a movie night. He does a good job of making sure that the group is tight-knit as far when they're out of Schembechler.

On whether he's been to bowling night

We had one in the summer. I won. I did. I had a 170. I play a little bit. I am a straight bowler. I like to get the light ball, straight bowler. I watch those guys and they try to spin it and they're not consistent with spinning it. They have these 14-pound balls they're using. I watch those guys and it doesn't work so I try not to use that model.

On whether it was a coincidence he had his best game against MSU

We're talking about earlier with the younger receivers. I think, typically, not just young receivers but young players, primarily freshmen, probably during the halfway point of the season is when they understand offense, defense a little better. They gain the coach's trust, they gain their teammates' trust. They're not afraid to put those guys in critical situations. Last year, it just so happened to be the timing for Andrel and he got that opportunity and he made the most of it.

On whether self-inflicted plays sting more

It's one of those things where you watch the game to understand the mistakes that you made. You try not to repeat the same mistakes. They had a tremendous back last year and they have tremendous backs this year. Obviously, I don't know much about their offense more their defense but, last year, they had the Doak Walker Award winner and he carried their team last year. The focal point, speaking about defense, you watch the mistakes and you try to learn from it and get better at it, and find things that you can be successful on.

On whether Ronnie Bell makes the offense better

He's a coach on the field. He's sharp. He's smart, he's been in the system longer than anyone else for the most part. One of the things that he brings is that he understands not only the pass game but the run game. How guys should be lined up. He's able to talk the guys through it. Having him is a valuable asset to our football team. Primarily on offense just because of his knowledge of the system.