News and Views: Michigan D.C. Jesse Minter on the matchup with MSU’s receivers, D-line play, and more

Michigan will face Michigan State Saturday night in Ann Arbor, and while there’s not much on the line for the 3-4 Spartans, the Wolverines are still right there in the hunt for a national title. MSU has their attention after last year’s controversial loss, and they seem ready to answer the bell and come out swinging. 

RELATED: The 3-2-1 – Michigan football vs. MSU hot topics, Big Ten tiebreakers and more

RELATED: Jesse Minter, Michigan preparing for MSU tempo, receivers, trick plays, and everything else

Defensive coordinator Jesse Minter talked about the challenge, the Michigan State passing game and more. We tackle his comments in News and Views format.

NEWS: The Michigan linebackers have steadily improved but could still be better — especially in coverage.

JESSE MINTER: “I thought they played well against Penn State. I think it’s been a work in progress for them to improve in certain areas in coverage … something they continue to work on, [we] harp on. 

“This particular team [Michigan State] runs some plays that will challenge our linebackers, and we look forward to showing progress and continuing to get better. Hopefully, we can defend those types of plays when they run them.”

VIEWS: For all the talk of the linebacker corps being “bad,” though, by a segment of the fan base … just, no. This team is 5^th nationally in run defense and total defense. You don’t get there with subpar linebacker play. 

Sophomore Junior Colson continues to improve, and grad student Michael Barrett has been around for a long time. He’s playing at a high level. They miss junior Nikhai Hill-Green, and we don’t expect him back for this game … nor would we expect him to play a lot even if he were healthy. This isn’t the game in which you bring out a guy who might be rusty for his first taste of game action this year. 

But the starters continue to improve, and junior Kalel Mullings is stepping in, too. They should be more than fine heading toward their biggest test of the year Nov. 26 in Columbus. That’s when we’ll really find out about this group.

NEWS: Barrett and senior nickel Mike Sainristil have been heavily involved in blitz packages and have had their numbers called in various ways this year.

MINTER: “I think when you when you try to create a culture of maybe a different guy every time, or a different guy in this pressure, different guy this week, it creates excitement. They do get excited when it’s their number called. 

“The thing I like — I enjoy about these guys — is they get excited when other people make plays, too. So, it’s really a credit to the culture that was already in place here with Coach Harbaugh, Coach [Ben] Herbert, just sort of the mentality that’s been developed here — a kind of a whatever it takes.

VIEWS: This year in particular, he added, with the “no-star” situation given the talent they lost, made it even more relevant. There aren’t any egos or guys worried about “getting mine.” They want to win, capture another Big Ten title, and you can tell how close they are. 

That’s leadership and, as Minter said, culture. It’s something that was lacking in some of the teams before last year, and it bottomed out in 2020. There was plenty of addition by subtraction in the last several years, and we’re finally where we thought Michigan would be under Jim Harbaugh.

“The guys have really embraced it,” Minter said. “It’s been fun to be around.”

NEWS: Michigan defensive tackles Mazi Smith and Kris Jenkins, along with Mason Graham and others, have quietly become dominant at the line of scrimmage.

MINTER: “Those guys know how to block destruct, and that is something we harp on. It’s one of our pillars of playing good defense is the ability to block destruct. I think Coach [Mike] Elston has done a tremendous job with those two, their ability to build a wall at the line of scrimmage, and sometimes take on blocks, sometimes get off blocks. I think this year they’ve done a really good job of not only building a wall, but also getting off blocks and making tackles.

‘When your inside guys can play like that, it gives you some flexibility of we don’t always have to bring an extra guy down into the box.”

VIEWS: That, as he noted, may allow them to concentrate more on ways to slow the Michigan State receivers given that the Spartans shouldn’t be able to run the ball (as they really haven’t on any decent team). Smith has spent the better part of two years being double teamed, but he’s developed into one of the nation’s better run stoppers. 

Jenkins continues to hold on to his added, good weight and has gotten better each week, and frosh Mason Graham and sophomore Rayshaun Benny have had outstanding moments, too. 

Guys like Eyabi Okie and Mike Morris have been winning their 1-on-1 battles, too. If they can get pressure with four Saturday, it could be a long day for Michigan State quarterback Payton Thorne.

NEWS: Gemon Green continues to impress. The grad student corner is rarely tested anymore … and that’s with a potential All-Big Ten player in DJ Turner on the other side. 

MINTER:” He’s just playing really well. He’s sticky in coverage, he’s got good size, good length … he can run. I think he’s playing with some confidence. 

“It’s going to be fun to watch him because he’s going to have some opportunities. They’re going to throw the ball downfield on him. But I think with him, it’s just really, really cool to see his consistency and his approach …how he practices, and how he prepares.”

VIEWS: He’s been the pleasant surprise on the entire team so far, and we expect him to hold up Saturday. In fact, we’re more interested to see how Turner holds up. He’s been grabby at times this year, and while he’s had some really good moments, he’s also missed some opportunities on potential interceptions, etc. 

This will be a big test for the Michigan secondary, but they seem excited for it, not anxious. This match-up could well determine whether this is a game in the second half.