Wink Martindale talks returnees on defense, including a few ‘fun guys to watch’

The Michigan defense should be a team strength again in 2025, led by several veterans who played a lot on a very good group a year ago. Coordinator Wink Martindale knows he has plenty of pieces — he talked about some of them with Jon Jansen on the In the Trenches Podcast Wednesday. 

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Defensive tackle Rayshaun Benny is one of the big pieces, and he proved himself primarily as a backup last season. When Kenneth Grant came out late at the end of the Ohio State game, Benny had a chance to prove himself … and he rose to the occasion.

“Rayshaun Benny goes in for him, and look at the two pass rushes he put on to win the game against Ohio State,” Martindale said. “He’s going to be a fun guy to watch. He knows what he needs to work on, and he knows what it’s going to take for him to get to the next level.”

Linebacker Jaishawn Barham, meanwhile, has all the tools to be great when he plays under control. He improved dramatically from the beginning of the season a year ago, and he could see more pass rushing opportunities on the edge in 2025.

“I think we did last year with him, as well. I think what we need to do for him is practice him more on the edge more than we did last year, but still use him in the same ways we have,” Martindale continued. “And it all depends on how some of these young linebackers come along, too — the inside guys — because BJ’s [linebackers coach Brian Jean-Mary] done a check of a job changing that room around, and the talent we’ve brought in is going to be fun to watch for years to come.

“I think we’re going to be fine with the guys we’ve brought in through the portal at tackle. Before I answer that question, I want to see those guys live and in the system. But I think we’re going to have plenty of depth and some younger guys coming in here this year that it’s going to be fun to watch. 

In the defensive backfield, Zeke Berry played multiple positions last season but settled in at corner. He played so well there that he’ll get first crack at starting there in 2025, as well.

“It’s really difficult, because he was projected here as a safety when he got here initially, and he went the opposite way,” Martindale said. “He went from safety, to nickel, to outside corner because of injuries. 

“The beginning of the year, we’ll start him at outside corner, and the thing that’s great about Zeke. The athlete he is, we can put him where we need him. I talked to [secondary coach] Lamar [Morgan] about it … we might have worn him out at nickel playing him there all the time. We need to do some different things with him and others during the season I think will help him. 

Safety Rod Moore will return for a fifth year, and he’s expected to be healthy by the summer. As of now, though, he still has a long way to go to return to form after suffering a torn ACL last winter.

“He is a leader. He’s from my hometown, so I’ve got a special relationship with him already,” Martindale said. “It’s going to be wait and see on him how fast he can come back. I don’t think he’s run in 14 months … that’s a long time to be off. It’s going to be interesting to see. He’s a leader, and he also got us a penalty on the sidelines during Ohio State. So, he was into the game, I guess, is the best way to say it.

“He’s a great guy. We’re looking for him to come back on his terms when he’ ready to go.”

Young Michigan safeties ready for their opportunity, Martindale says

In the meantime, Brandyn Hillman and Mason Curtis — two guys departed safety Quinten Johnson told us would be even better than Johnson and his crew, eventually — continue to hone their crafts.

“We’ve got to keep working on the little things with [Hillman], tackling circuits and things like that. Make sure he does keep his eyes up and hits people in the strike zone, which he has,” Martindale said. “It’s just difficult because of the way he does it. He has that natural explosion whether going through a tight end, wide receiver, or quarterback. He’s going to be a fun guy to watch this year, as well. We’ve just got to keep slowing tings down for him. 

“The next step is learning to disguise coverages and things like that. He didn’t have many mental busts for us last year when he was in there. He just knew his job and lined up in it, had blinders on to everything else. Now that he knows the system, he needs to know the offense and see what’s next.”

Curtis, meanwhile, has incredible length and a nose for the ball.

“The first thing that jumped out about Mason, he came here and played three different positions before we put him at safety,” Martindale said. “That’s the type of athlete he is. He is one of those guys you’ve seen the ball always finds him. Ty Law was that way … one of those guys, the ball always finds him because he understands what his job is, knows how to do it. 

“Now he can see through studying where quarterback is going to throw the ball, and he has the range and athletic ability to go get it. I’m excited to see where he’s going to go from here.”

Finally, corner Jyaire Hill will work on taking his game to another level, too, a player with great ability.

“Double moves got him early. I think you just keep throwing double moves at him and he’ll build that confidence where he can see it, play it; know which ones to jump and which ones not to,” Martindale said. “He was just trying to jump everything early, and that’s what got us.”

Overall, though, he’s got the ability like many of his teammates to impact games. Martindale is looking forward to spring ball and the opportunity to put it all together.