Michigan Wolverines freshman linebacker Kalel Mullings faced the same decision many of his teammates did following the 2020 season. Defensive coordinator Don Brown was let go after the bottom felt out for his unit and massive changes were on the way.

Mullings, who has nine total tackles in a depth role so far this season, let the process play itself out with the hiring of Mike Macdonald to Brown's old post. He never wavered in his belief in the program but the change has been beneficial to his football prowess.

“As you’re told in the recruiting process, you pick the school and not the coaches," Mullings said during a Monday session with the media. "At any school, a coach could go at any time. When we found out Coach Mac was coming in, I was just as excited as anyone else. It’s been great so far with him and the new coaching staff.

"If I talk to myself last year compared to now, my football knowledge as a whole has gone up tremendously and that’s a tribute to Coach Mac and the new coaches. There wasn’t really any hesitation. I came here for the university, so I was ready to play for whoever was here.”

Mullings went more in-depth with how his football knowledge has increased in 2021. He is more aware of not only his responsibilities but those of the players around him.

“Coming out of high school, I focused a lot more on offense," he said. "Linebacker was somewhat new to me. Learning more coverages and different ways to play the position and ways to do different things. I know a lot more about what everyone else is doing, what’s going on and why things are working than I did last year. Last year was a lot of memorization. This year, I understand what’s going on with the defense as a whole. That’s the biggest thing.”

The game naturally slows down for players as they mature within a program, but the teaching he has received from Macdonald and linebackers coach George Helow is why he feels the change in scheme and approach worked out for the better.

“When we are installing new coverages or blitzes or things like that, we’re given the 'why' and what’s going on," Mullings said. "Or how else it could be played if we wanted to. So it just makes it easier to adjust to certain things because we understand the meaning behind the call. If there’s anything that needs to be adjusted mid-game or during the week, we can do that easily because we understand why we were doing it in the first place.”

Michigan's coaching staff is also giving its players the license to have a say in the look of the defense. There are leaders in place, but this is far from a dictatorship.

“When we feel like stuff might not be working or want to change something, we go to them," Mullings said. "Or they ask us and our feedback is heard and taken into consideration. That’s another big thing is the communication level between the players and coaches. We’re able to adjust and do things the way we want to, as well.”

The improved communication between players and coaches has been lauded as a positive in Michigan's 2021 culture change. Everyone is on the same page and receptive to change should it be best for the group.

“The back-and-forth happens in the meeting rooms," Mullings said. "We take what they give us and apply it to the practice field, then we review the film and see something that may not be working or if there is miscommunication between the players and the coaches.

"We discuss that and figure out ways we can fix it. If there is any confusion, the coaches make it really clear and it makes it a lot easier to play faster when everything makes sense. We take what they give us when we install it and practice it. Then, we look at the practice and review it and see how we can make changes.”

This approach has resonated with Mullings and other Michigan players, helping them embrace the defensive approach as something that belongs to them and not only a coaching staff.

“We feel like as players that this is our defense as much as it is the coaches," he said. "We want to protect our image and make people fear us. We do that by going out every day knowing that what we’re playing is just as much as us as it is the coaches. We take pride in that. It creates a level of ownership, for sure.”

The Wolverines defense will be tested down the stretch with meaningful games through the final six weeks. Mullings said that starting each week fresh will help his team achieve its goals by the time the year is over.

“We try to take things one game at a time," Mullings said. "Coach Helow always says we have to look at our opponents as nameless and faceless. We’re not looking past any team. Each week we are going in with a 1-0 mindset. As long as we continue to do that, we will reach all of our goals. There was never any looking past our opponent this week looking on to other games. We know we need to take care of business this week, take care of business next week and if we continue to do that, we’ll be set.”

---

• Talk about this article inside The Fort

• Watch our videos and subscribe to our YouTube channel

• Listen and subscribe to our podcast on iTunes

• Learn more about our print and digital publication, The Wolverine

• Sign up for our daily newsletter and breaking news alerts

• Follow us on Twitter: @TheWolverineMag, @Balas_Wolverine, @EJHolland_TW, @JB_ Wolverine, @Clayton Sayfie, @anthonytbroome and @DrewCHallett

• Like us on Facebook