Michigan Wolverines football second-year freshman defensive tackle Kris Jenkins received just three snaps in 2020. Admittedly, it took some time for him to get comfortable with playing at the college level, but he's made major strides over the last year.

"Last year I wasn’t really used to how things roll, because I was very nervous — I didn’t really know what I was doing at first," Jenkins admitted. "Now, the coaches have helped me, the nutritionists, strength staff, to the point that I’m playing at a higher level, I’m playing at a stronger level, at a faster level and I’m playing to have fun with my boys, just playing ball."

He gained roughly 15 pounds and is up to 265, which has helped him stay stout at the line of scrimmage.

"They were looking for me to get a little bit thicker so I could be able to handle double teams better than I have in the past," Jenkins explained. "I think it has definitely helped me improve this year."

Jenkins, who's totaled 36 snaps (fourth-most among all interior defensive linemen) through two games, made the first start of his career in the opener against Western Michigan, before accumulating five tackles and grading on PFF out as Michigan's fifth-best defender in the team's 31-10 win over Washington last weekend.

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He has moved around from the 6-technique to the 5-technique to the 3-technique, and said he's happy as long as he's on the field, noting there are fun aspects to each shade along the defensive line.

Jenkins' father, who goes by the same name, played 10 years in the NFL and was a four-time All-Pro standout with the Carolina Panthers and New York Jets. He introduced his son to the game, and a lot of the reasons why the latter "fell in love with" football are playing out for him this fall.

"Just the amount of hard work you put into something, and to be able to go out and have all of that hard work play out in a positive way is just amazing," Jenkins said. "And being a part of a group of people that you can not only call teammates, but brothers, it’s just really important to me personally. Even though I have a lot of siblings of my own, having a family like this, I love it."

Michigan allowed 429 yards per game last season, but has cut that number down to 330 yards per contest in the first two weeks of the 2021 campaign. A lot of the credit goes to first-year coordinator Mike Macdonald and the three other new assistant coaches on that side of the ball.

Jenkins loves what Macdonald has brought to the table.

"He’s always talking, always communicating, always trying to find out what’s going on," Jenkins said. "And it’s great, because if he sees something, he’s going to say something, he’s going to ask questions. He always asks questions.

"If he sees something in practice, the first thing he does is ask questions — ’What do you see? What’s going on? How can we fix this? And then move forward. It’s great because it really shows you more, and we really appreciate that as a defense."

A great share of the defense's improvement also goes to the players, of course, who took it upon themselves in the offseason to turn things around.

"We’re playing at a higher level of being competitive," Jenkins said. "I would say we’re playing at a higher level of intensity. You can tell when we go out, we’re ready to make a play, we’re ready start fast off the ball, we’re ready to make that first play and take their heart from there, just let them know that we’re playing like this all game."

And Jenkins is a big part of that now, having surged into the two-deep during fall camp. Now that he's there, he's trying not to let the opportunity slip away by sticking to his roots.

"My dad has encouraged me to always be humble," Jenkins said. "One of our family mottos is, ‘Always be hungry, never be satisfied,’ and I think that even if we have a good game, we’re not going to focus on it too long.

"We’re ready to build for the next game; we’re ready to build off our mistakes. And I think that’s really helped me get to where I’m at today."

• Michigan's offensive line has impressed early on in the season as well, and Jenkins says it's been a good challenge for the defensive front to face the O-line every day in practice.

"It’s honestly great. It’s a lot of great guys, have a lot of experience, so when you go to practice, you win some, you lose some, but you know you’re going to get good work, you know you’re going to get better," he said. "Seeing that play out on Saturdays when you’re like, ‘Wow, this feels so much different.’ You feel like you’re playing at a higher level — you’ve just got to thank the O-line because you know they’re getting you better every day."

• Junior defensive end Aidan Hutchinson is one of two captains on defense, and the unit feeds off the intensity he brings on game day.

"He definitely gets up hyped," Jenkins said. "He gets the team hyped. Everybody loves his energy; his energy is infectious. When we go to play defense, it really gets us in the mode where we’re ready to make that first play, make the big play. Having a guy like Aidan really bring that out of us is awesome."

• The Wolverines have substituted quite a bit along the defensive line, which has allowed for the group to not tire out during the course of a game.

"A lot fresher, and it’s definitely a good feeling when, if you’re going to come out of the game, you already know the next guy is ready to go — he knows what he has to do, he knows what they’re going to do," Jenkins said when asked about the rotation. "It’s a good feeling because we’re all fresh."

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