Mike Sainristil's focus as game week creeps closer is abundantly clear. After spending much of the better half of fall camp splitting time between wide receiver and defensive back, he has acknowledged that his focus has been strictly on defense.

Meeting with the media on Tuesday, Sainristil's defensive-focused mindset is strictly due to the fact that he wants to understand all facets of the defense, given how closely he has worked with the offensive system the Wolverines run during his career.

"Earlier in camp I was kind of splitting equal reps," Sainristil said. "As the weeks have gone on, I've been focusing mainly on defense. Simply because I want to make sure I understand the defense to a T, given the fact that I've played offense for three years. I want to do my best and soak in as much knowledge from the defensive guys as possible."

Being comfortable with the defensive scheme in practice is one thing, being able to perform when it counts is another. Sainristil is trying to figure it all out and won't truly know where he stands until the season starts.

It's a wait-and-see process, but one in which Sainristil has plenty of confidence.

"I understand the defense," Sainristil said. "I know base personnel, nickel personnel, dime personnel. I'm comfortable in practice right now, of course, but I still don't have games played under my belt so until then, I won't know how comfortable I really am. Even then, games are going to go along and I'm going to be put in situations I've never been in simply because I'm on a new side of the ball.

"Will I be 100% comfortable this year? Who's to say but I am going to play to my best ability from all sides."

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