WATCH: Michigan defensive coordinator Wink Martindale on how the season is going compared to preseason expectations
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Michigan Wolverines football defensive coordinator Wink Martindale met with the media Wednesday afternoon ahead of his team’s game against Indiana. Watch video of his press conference below.
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Wink Martindale
Michigan has struggled to get off the field on third down, and those issues were prevalent in a 38-17 loss to Oregon last week. Martindale was asked about how that can be corrected moving forward.
“Well, I think you play with who you got,” Martindale said. “And that was a really good team that was ranked, as IU is, high on third down. So there were some space plays that we just missed, and we gotta find some different ways to affect the quarterback. That’s hard to do when you’re down men and everything else.
“But it’s gonna be a challenge for us this week, and you’re playing another offense that has 13 transfers. I think Oregon’s quarterback, that was his 58th career start. I think [Indiana quarterback Kurtis] Rourke, this is his 42nd or 43rd career start. So you know you got experienced guys back there pulling the trigger. So it’s going to be a tough challenge.”
Michigan’s defensive coordinator was asked if he’s been surprised or disappointed by how things have gone for his defense this season, compared to what his expectations were after taking the job.
“I think you lose the games you lose, you’re disappointed,” Martindale said. “But also, when you’ve done it as long as I’ve done it, there are seasons like this, where things just happen. I told the defense before the season even started, this is going to be a different year, this is going to be a different season.
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“Continue to harp on trying to get our depth to come along. I think there are a couple guys that started to step up now. Finally, you don’t have to play so many guys for so long. But it’s one of those things that it’s the tough spot for the position coaches and also for myself, when the game’s on the line, you want [Michigan junior defensive tackle] Mason [Graham], you want KG [junior defensive tackle Kenneth Grant], you want your guys in the game.
“A lot of these games we’ve played of late, the game’s been on the line for four quarters, so it’s hard to find that sweet spot. I thought we did a better job of it in the second half [against Oregon]. And then also the last couple games, we’ve started making guys come out of the game. So if we find that sweet spot, it would help us.”
Continued the Michigan coach: “From what I expected before the season, you always expect to win. As a coach, you do. But you also know that anything can happen. The thing that I always talk to the players about — losing is learning. It always has been. Different ways you can do things, different ways they can prepare, different ways we can prepare. Injuries are something that crop up during the season. Really, I think, in college football, you need to be three-deep — not two-deep, three-deep. And I know that’s where our success was the two prior years, is the depth that we had. You’re seeing all the guys that are starting now, were backups. That’s facts.
“We just gotta keep working our tail off to keep bringing depth in here. This offense is going to be the oldest offense by age that we’ve faced here with IU. They hit the portal just like Oregon did. So they have just as many portal receivers as what Oregon did and everything else, so it’s going to be a tough challenge.”
