Mike Sainristil opens up on what it's like to play to play for Jim Harbaugh

Michigan defensive back Mike Sainristil has had an interesting journey during his time with the Wolverines. He’s one of the rare talents that has switched from the offensive side of the ball to the defensive side of the ball and found success.

A former receiver, Sainristil has found success in his new home as a defensive back for the Maize and Blue. On Thursday at Big Ten Media Days, he revealed that he was initially joking about the switch, but Jim Harbaugh was the man that made the final call on the 5-foot-10, 182-pounder making the move.

On Thursday at Big Ten Media Days, On3’s Andy Staples sat down with Sainristil and asked him what it’s like to play for such a legendary head coach like Harbaugh.

“It’s great. You know, I know I have a coach who’s gonna do whatever it takes to help this program succeed. I know I have a coach who outside of football, is gonna help me be a better man. I love playing for Coach Harbaugh,” Sainristil continued.

Then he took a brief amount of time to make a recruiting pitch to any prospects out there listening to the interview.

“If any recruits hear this, Coach Harbaugh is a coach you wanna play for. He made one promise to my family and it was that, no matter what happens, he’s gonna make sure I’m a good man at the end of the day,” the Michigan defensive back said.

For more about Sainristil from Big Ten Media Days, check out this excellent article below from On3’s Nick Kosko.

Sainristil breaks down game-changing play against Ohio State

Mike Sainristil wouldn’t mind beating Ohio State for a third straight year with Michigan, but he couldn’t help but reflect on a key play from the 2022 game.

He joined Andy Staples live from Big Ten Media Days to break down a pass breakup of Cade Stover. It looked like Ohio State had a sure-fire touchdown.

But Sainristil made a game changing play to swing the momentum in the favor of the Wolverines.

“So first thing is we’re in nickel,” Sainristil said on Andy Staples On3. “I’m pretty sure to have they base out there … So my man here is Cade Stover … He’s bigger than I am for sure. Like no question about it. But so he starts off here with it looks like he’s running. He’s blocking me.

“I’m supposed to not blitz the quarterback but like, you know, contain in a way. But I took my eyes off him to see what the next thing coming around. And when I took my eyes off him here, I lost leverage.”

That’s when Sainristil described how he didn’t panic in the moment.

“So, he gets by me and instantly I’m in a you know, get back and face mindset,” Sainristil said. “But what goes unnoticed, because of the play I made, is the pressure by the D-line here. Chris Jenkins got in the face of CJ Stroud. Honestly if I think he had a clean throw, it probably would have resulted in a touchdown. So, you know, big shout out to the D-line.

“Big shout out to Chris for getting that pressure on him. So, the pressure forces him to float the ball in the air. And just you know, only thing I was thinking that whole entire time was don’t panic.”

Sainristil made one heck of a play. He’s a converted receiver, so he had an idea of how Stover could play the ball.

But as Joel Klatt said on the FOX broadcast, Sainristil played it “perfectly.” The play was made in the second half and eventually Michigan ran away with the game.

Ohio State had third down from the Michigan nine-yard-line and were knocking on the door to score a touchdown.

Sainristil’s epic play limited Ohio State to a field goal and the Buckeyes cut a fourth quarter deficit only down to eight points. The Wolverines went on to win 45-23 and clinch a spot in the Big Ten Championship, a win over Purdue.

Sainristil logged just one interception with 58 tackles last year. Expect those numbers to go up.

On3’s Nick Kosko also contributed to this article.