Michigan football: Safeties have a chance to be U-M’s best in years

Safety play can often be the difference between good and great defense — in some cases, great and special. This year’s Michigan defense has a pair that could be as good as any duo in recent memory, with emerging depth behind them that could make the group outstanding. 

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We’ve said it many times — junior Rod Moore is one of the better safeties we’ve seen or his age in his first two years, especially in terms of preparation and instincts. He plays the game the way it’s supposed to be played and still has at least a year, maybe two, to add to his growing legacy. 

Senior Makari Paige, meanwhile, finally met his lofty potential last year and seems primed for a huge season. He and Moore will both be candidates for All-Big Ten honors. But the talent doesn’t stop there, secondary coach and co-DC Steve Clinkscale said on the recent In the Trenches podcast. Far from it, in fact. 

“Our depth, we don’t do free/strong … we do right/left,” the Michigan assistant said. “You have to know every position. Our depth is actually pretty solid. [We have] Rod Moore and Makari Paige. [Grad student] Quinten Johnson is doing a really good job for us. [Sophomore] Keon Sabb is doing a great job, Zeke Berry and [senior] Caden Kolesar we get back, as well. 

“We have that kind of nucleus of the group, and then you have [sophomore] Kody Jones, who is kind of doing a little bit of corner, nickel and safety. We’re mixing all those guys in there together, and we have a couple of new guys we’re interested un and really excited to see help us in that position.”

Michigan grad student Mike Sainrsitil can play safety, corner, or nickel, he added — “wherever we ask him to. He’s definitely the catalyst to that group and helping those guys improve their game.” The game has slowed down for him, he noted. In addition, he’s the one leading both the corners and the safeties on a daily basis. 

The safeties had a great spring, Clinkscale noted. Several of them made plays in the spring game, and Sainristil told us this summer Sabb and Berry made huge strides. They’re “ready to make plays, and everyone will see it — simple as that,” he said.

“I tell them all the time, I’m violent by nature and I want my guys to play the same way,” Clinkscale said of the group. “I want them to be violent, aggressive and physical, but also to look at themselves every rep, every play, every practice, every game … ‘what can you get better at?’ I think their physical nature married up with their understanding of the game, formations and tendencies, and how they’re trying to attack us will continue to help them elevate.

“I talk to Rod a lot about plays we left on the field last year as an entire group — not just him — because he’s a leader. How we can we, in the summertime and the fall and during the season, continue to get better at those? They’re taking ownership as leaders. They definitely want the group to elevate with them, and that’s a great place to be because they’re really, really good players.”

Overall, Clinkscale said, the defense has all the pieces, just like it did the last few years. 

“[Michigan] coach [Jim Harbaugh] has talked about it several times,” Clinkscale said. “In 2021 we were an F-150 and ‘22 we’re an F-250. Now it’s ’23 — can we be an F-350? We’re manufacturing right now. We’re working on the parts; we’re building on it. We want it to all come together. 

“The defense feeds off the offense, and we all feed off special teams and the coaches. If we can all put it together, the defense can, hopefully, continue to make history. I’m really excited about these guys. I feel like we’ve got a lot of the right parts we need. We’ve just got to continue to do what we came here to do. You come to Michigan to be a team player. It’s all about the team, the team, the team, and I’m really excited about what this defense can do.”