Key Spring Quotes From Michigan Players On Mike Macdonald, Defensive Staff

Michigan Wolverines football head coach Jim Harbaugh made drastic changes to his coaching staff this offseason, many on the defensive side of the ball.

After dismissing coordinator Don Brown after five seasons, Harbaugh tapped Mike Macdonald, who was previously the linebackers coach for the Baltimore Ravens, to lead the defense. Defensive line coach Shaun Nua is the only returning defensive assistant coach, with Steve Clinkscale (defensive passing game coordinator and defensive backs coach), George Helow (linebackers coach) and Ron Bellamy (safeties coach) all entering their first season on the staff.

Below, we examine key spring quotes from Michigan players about the Michigan staff's new look on defense, the energy they've brought and more.

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• Junior defensive end Aidan Hutchinson: "I’m fired up. We’ve got a young staff. I really love all the coaches that Coach Harbaugh brought in. It’s kind of a different energy around Schembechler these days — everyone’s excited, everyone’s just really fired up to just keep working on this defense and get out there and practice it.

"Coach Mac has brought in a bunch of different schemes, so I’m going to be doing everything this year — standing up, hand in the dirt, everything.

"Coach Mac came in here with a lot of energy, and it’s a different type of focus. You can tell he’s been in the league for the past eight years — he’s kinda got that way about him. I like what we’re doing with the defense. I like the culture that he’s instilling in us. I think he’s doing a really good job, and I’m just really fired up to have him as my coach.

"He’s a really focused guy, and he’s all about, ‘Whatever happens, happens. And we’re going to fight adversity, whether that’s penalties or whether we’re down in the game.’ It’s really just, we don’t care what happened to us, we don’t care if there’s a DPI on a third-and-10 and it’s another first down — we just gotta keep attacking, attacking and attacking. I think that’s what Coach Mac is all about."

• Fifth-year senior safety Brad Hawkins: "Mike Macdonald is a great coach, great guy, great person. His personality is outstanding — he’s very energetic. He’s a great coach, and I’m happy that he’s here. I can’t wait to continue to learn from him.

• Sophomore safety Daxton Hill: "He’s a laidback guy, a funny guy. He definitely knows his stuff. He loves coaching, you can tell. He loves his craft.

"The way he goes about his business, he’s very professional. He makes sure we’re all having a good grasp of the defense, learning new stuff every day. He’s making sure to take it slow but still trying to put in as much defense as he can this spring. It’s been good."

• Redshirt junior defensive tackle Donovan Jeter: "I love the new defense. I love Coach Mac, man. I think he was a great addition. Just ready to get to work.

"In terms of the defense, nothing’s really changed. Still getting vertical, still attacking. It’s not like you’re reading much. Still attacking. I think that fits right in my alley."

• Redshirt junior linebacker Josh Ross: "We watch a lot of the Ravens’ tape. It has been helpful and I’m privileged to have a coach like Mike Macdonald here — he brings a lot of energy and is easy to talk to."

• Redshirt sophomore defensive end Taylor Upshaw: "I think this defense is going to give us a chance to eat. I think it’s going to give us a chance to show our true ability. And when you see us on Saturdays, we’re going to be reapers. We’re going to be wreaking havoc."

• Brad Hawkins: "He’s a great coach, a guy that we all can relate to — he played here, young coach. He just got the safeties job, so he’s also learning as well. He’s a great coach, teaching me a lot of great things. Great person.

"He was [redshirt freshman safety Makari [Paige's] high school coach, so they have a great relationship, but we’re all building that relationship.

• Daxton Hill: "Coach Ron Bellamy is a good coach. His experience of being a head coach [at West Bloomfield (Mich.) High] and coming over here has been huge for the defensive backs. The safeties room and the corners room, he’s been helpful throughout the whole secondary. That has translated to the field during practice. High-intensity. The energy has been on a whole different level. Having him and the other new coaches has been good for us."

• Redshirt sophomore cornerback Gemon Green: “Since I’d been here, we never turned on music in practice. The music now brings out the dogs and that aggressiveness and energy. The energy has been a big difference than in recent years.

“There’s been a lot of smack talk. We talk smack every day when someone gets punched in the mouth — we bring the dog out in each other.”

• Josh Ross: "The most noticeable difference for me is how fun practice is and the energy everyone is bringing in. Practicing, meeting and learning every day has been so much fun."

• Aidan Hutchinson: "Everyone in this building, every single coach is kind of ecstatic, and you can kind of feel that high energy in practice. In practice, I’ve seen some energy, some things I’ve never seen these past three years being on this team. Just those little things that you can tell that guys just want to play ball and guys are just fired up, whether that be the new coaches, whether that be they just love football. But you can tell in practice that there’s a different type of energy around Schembechler."

• Brad Hawkins: "[They're] definitely more relatable. Every single day you come out to practice, it’s just joy, you know? Fun. Everybody’s laughing together, having a good time. They bring a lot of energy to the practices, to the meeting rooms — things like that.

"Everybody’s willing to learn, everybody’s willing to teach. Just learning different things from NFL guys, from guys that came from different programs, just learning different things. It definitely brings a lot of enthusiasm to the program and to practice."

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