Jesse Minter recaps growth made by Michigan defense during spring practice

One year after proving itself as one of the staunchest units in the country, the Michigan defense is looking to improve upon its results, now going into the second year under defensive coordinator Jesse Minter.

Minter arrived at Michigan in 2022 by way of Vanderbilt, immediately making an impact.

The Wolverines finished fifth in the country in total defense and seventh in scoring defense, helping the team power its way to the College Football Playoffs. And while Michigan came up a little short, Minter has seen signs the unit could take a big step forward based on what he saw in spring ball.

“Just really like where we’re at,” Minter said on the MGoBlue podcast In the Trenches. “I think last year the talk was like second year of the same system, which was really good familiarity for the players. Now my own second year I think the comfort level between us is really, really high. I think we understand each others’ expectations, each others’ personalities, each others’ goals and what we’re trying to get accomplished. So really, really pleased with the spring overall.”

One thing Minter pointed out coming out of spring ball was that that developmental period of time means different things for different players.

So the Michigan defense worked to try to allow everyone to maximize the opportunities they had to grow in those areas during spring football practice.

“I think most importantly it’s always a time, everybody’s at a different level in spring ball,” Minter said. “Kris Jenkins, (Michael Barrett), it’s kind of like it’s for them to really tailor things in their game, really specific, small improvements they might be trying to make.”

For others, there’s some newness related to stepping into a bigger role. Increased responsibilities and increased accountability.

The Wolverines have some holes to fill after losing some talent from a very good Michigan defense. Younger players will need to emerge.

The good news is Minter saw a lot of that during spring football practice.

“Then for the first-, second-, third-year guys that might not have cracked the two-deep yet it’s a major opportunity to make a jump. So it’s a good mix of all that, pleased with just about everybody’s performance overall. Excited now to go into that next phase and get them with (strength) coach (Ben Herbert) and let him do his thing with them and then be excited to see them again this summer.”