Michigan CB Josh Wallace assesses first three games, talks freshman corners, having Jim Harbaugh back

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Michigan Wolverines football leads the nation in scoring defense, allowing just 5.3 points per game in wins over East Carolina, UNLV and Bowling Green. Despite never trailing this season and opponents having to pass to try to make up ground, the Wolverines slot eighth in pass defense, giving up only 141.3 yards per contest, even with injuries to sophomore cornerback Will Johnson, junior safety Rod Moore and senior safety Makari Paige.

UMass graduate transfer Josh Wallace has played the third-most snaps on the defense, starting all three outings at cornerback after joining the team this summer. He nearly had an interception along the sideline in the opener, leads the team with 2 pass breakups and has added 4 tackles. According to PFF, he’s given up just 2 receptions for 17 yards on 6 targets in coverage, though he did get burned on a double move against Bowling Green, before receiver Odieu Hiliare dropped the pass in the end zone.

“There’s a lot to improve on after every game,” Wallace said Monday, assessing his season so far. “Just gotta keep getting better every day, go over the film and just keep looking at things that I can improve on.

“It’s been great. The guys have been helping me along the way. Also, it’s been great having the fan engagement, as well.”

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Graduate cornerback Mike Sainristil, who’s played both on the outside and his typical nickel position this season, took Wallace under his wing after he transferred in. The two have watched film together every Sunday to get a “head start” on the week.

UMass is an independent program that played mostly Group of Five opponents — similar to what Michigan has faced so far — during Wallace’s time there. He faced Rutgers once and will take them on this weekend, with Big Ten play now here and the competition level ready to ramp up.

“It’s most definitely going to rise, but you gotta keep it simple at the end of the day,” Wallace said. “Football is football; you’ve been playing it since you were a child. I’m very excited to get into Big Ten play, though.”

The biggest difference between UMass and Michigan so far has been the way players hold each other accountable, Wallace explained.

“Me coming from UMass, always being looked down upon, you always want to challenge yourself to be on that bigger role,” Wallace said. “The players around me, they’re really big on holding each other accountable.

“It’s really at practice, just being in the right place, doing your 1/11th, as we say, doing your job and not trying to be the hero and do somebody else’s job. 

“[Michigan senior defensive tackle] Kris [Jenkins] had a great story for us. It happened his sophomore year, I think the Georgia game. He was telling us about not doing your job and trying to be a superhero, and things always go wrong when you try to be the superhero.”

Jenkins was one of the heroes of the Wolverines’ 31-6 win over Bowling Green Saturday night, notching his first career interception while blowing up a screen pass near the Bowling Green goal line and nearly scored but came up 2 yards short.

“Most definitely,” Wallace said when asked if the energy shifted at that point. “Coming out of halftime, we talked to each other, we had to get some turnovers to flip the game over. Of course, Kris started it off with that, and we were just rolling ever since.”

‘Happy to be a part of the show’

Michigan had four different interim head coaches for the first three contests, with head man Jim Harbaugh suspended. He’ll be back on the sideline this week, and Wallace and his teammates can’t wait.

“All four coaches were all great coaches. Honestly, for us, the biggest thing was playing for Coach Harbaugh,” Wallace said. “That’s what we were playing for, to get him back. That’s the biggest thing.”

While he’s been on Harbaugh’s Michigan team for months, Wallace has yet to get the experience with the head man in charge on game days.

“Honestly, just like fall camp,” Wallace said of his expectatiosn. ‘He’s a great guy, great coach, legendary, has a ton of experience in the NFL. So just happy to be a part of the show.”

Two Michigan freshman corners impressing

Michigan freshman cornerbacks Jyaire Hill and DJ Waller Jr. have earned some playing time this season, and both have flashed. Hill has racked up 7 tackles, including 1.5 behind the line of scrimmage, and was in the regular rotation Saturday against Bowling Green. Waller has risen on the depth chart, too, and has also registered 7 tackles.

“They’re gonna be really good corners,” Wallace said. “DJ — very aggressive. I think he’s from Youngstown, Ohio, so looking forward to see how he can help us moving forward. And Jyaire, as well. We call him ‘Sug’ — that’s his nickname we got him. They’re both great young corners, and I’m excited to see them continue to get a bigger role for us.”