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ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Some of the hullabaloo coming out of spring ball in Ann Arbor is one notable position switch. And on Tuesday, Michigan football head coach Jim Harbaugh confirmed it.
The Wolverines have a loaded wide receiver corps, with Ronnie Bell returning this fall, along with Cornelius Johnson, A.J. Henning, Roman Wilson, Andrel Anthony, and others coming back. But one name we didn’t mention here is Mike Sainristil, who really came on in 2021 — because he’s trying his hand at cornerback and at nickel.
Sainristil has that positional flexibility and was listed by recruiting services as a cornerback when he was previously committed to Virginia Tech. Harbaugh says that Sainristil is working with the defensive backs at the moment, but come the season, he could play on both sides of the ball, as well as retain his role on special teams.
“He is right now, yeah,” Harbaugh said. “Mike has been playing corner and nickel corner for the start of the spring ball. Project him as a two-way player, maybe a three-way player.”
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But why make the move, especially after having a strong season in 2021? He was fourth on the team with 22 receptions for 318 yards and two receiving touchdowns.
Well, in short, because he has that positional flexibility.
“His skill-set. He’s got the skill-set for it,” Harbaugh said. “He’s got the skill-set for receiver, he’s got the skill-set for corner, for nickel corner. Skill-set reminds me a lot of Jimmy Ward and what he had in college. Yeah, skill-set.”
But he’s not the only one who’s switching positions this spring.
Also coming out of Massachusetts as a recruit, Eamonn Dennis was thought to be quite close to being a Mike Sainristil clone. However, when Dennis arrived in Ann Arbor in 2020, he got his start on defense, where he stayed in the 2021 season.
But now, Dennis is getting a chance to play on offense, Harbaugh says, noting that those are the only two who have made wholesale changes positionally this spring.
“Eamonn Dennis is working on offense,” Harbaugh said. “And I can’t think of anybody else that’s made a direct defense-to-offense change for the spring. There’s some other subtle position within the offense or within the defense that we’re exploring.”
We’ll get an opportunity to see both in action on April 2 when Michigan football hosts the spring game at The Big House.
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