Newsstand: Nick Saban says Mike Sainristil 'may be, pound for pound, the best football player in this draft'
Tweets Of The Day
With the 50th overall pick in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft, the Washington Commanders chose Michigan defensive back Mike Sainristil. On the ABC draft broadcast, former Alabama coach Nick Saban shared his thoughts on the selection.
“I loves … there’s a difference between love and loves … I loves this guy,” Saban said. “This guy may be the best football player — pound for pound — in the draft. I mean, he’s instinctive, he’s physical. And I know he’s not very big, but I’m going to tell you what, this guy makes plays, he can cover, he can tackle, he’s tough, fast reactor. I just love the way this guy plays. Good blitzer. Killed us in our game [the Rose Bowl] blitzing. Just killed us. Came off the edges. He’s a STAR, he’s a STAR, probably That’s what he should play, nickel.”
The Michigan defensive back was also praised by analyst Booger McFarland.
“Sometimes, it’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog — and this young man has a ton of fight in him,” McFarland said on ESPN. “I think he’s the best nickel back in this draft, a guy that can play inside. If you play inside, you have to have no fear. Come up and make a tackle on a quarterback — it doesn’t matter if he’s 20, 30 pounds bigger than you, it doesn’t matter to Mike Sainristil.”
Michigan broke its record with seven top 100 picks, with seven Wolverines coming off the board in the top 85 selections:
• QB J.J. McCarthy — 10th to Minnesota
• DT Kris Jenkins — 49th to Cincinnati
• DB Mike Sainristil — 50th to Washington
• LB Junior Colson — 69th to Los Angeles Chargers
• RB Blake Corum — 83rd to Los Angeles Rams
• WR Roman Wilson — 84th to Pittsburgh
• OL Zak Zinter — 85th to Cleveland
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Former Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh and the Los Angeles Chargers took Colson in the third round, and the head man was fired up, singing the Wolverines’ fight song.
Quote Of The Day
“Efficient runner, good vision, he has a compact build. His lower-body strength makes him tough to get to the ground. He has an effective stiff arm, he has burst, he has cut-back ability, pretty good hands coming out of the backfield, effort blocker in pass protection. Could improve from a technical standpoint, but the effort’s always there. His top-end speed isn’t necessarily the caliber of some of the other guys. But you look at the production, the fact that, OK, there’s a lot of tread on the tires, but you cannot underestimate what this kid gives you on a game-to-game basis. As a No. 2 back, he can get the job done.”
— ESPN analyst Mel Kiper Jr. on Michigan running back Blake Corum
Headlines Of The Day
• Clayton Sayfie, The Wolverine: Michigan RB Blake Corum selected by Los Angeles Rams in third round of 2024 NFL Draft
• Clayton Sayfie, The Wolverine: NFL Draft grades: Pittsburgh Steelers praised for choosing Michigan WR Roman Wilson in third round
• Anthony Broome, The Wolverine: Michigan OL Zak Zinter drafted by Cleveland Browns in third round of 2024 NFL Draft
• EJ Holland, The Wolverine: Blue Chips: Breaking down On300 Michigan QB target Noah Grubbs
• EJ Holland, The Wolverine: Michigan ‘on top of list’ for speedy 2025 WR target Phillip Wright after visit
