Tag: Jesse Minter

Michigan football assistant named to Broyles Award nominee list

If the next two weeks go well, the award is as good as his. #GoBlue

A year ago, Michigan football produced the top-named assistant in all of college football as former offensive coordinator Josh Gattis won the coveted Broyles Award. The Broyles Award is given to the nation’s top assistant coach, and while there certainly could have been a case made for former defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald, as well, Gattis earned the prize of the top coach in the country.

Could another Michigan football assistant take home the prize for a second-straight year?

The thought when Macdonald departed for the Baltimore Ravens was that the Wolverine defense would take a massive step back. However, the maize and blue are excelling on all fronts in that unit, currently rated the No. 1 total defense, the No. 1 scoring defense, the No. 4 pass defense, and No. 1 run defense in the country through Week 11. The Wolverines also lead with the fewest amount of first downs allowed thus far this season. All of this is a credit to Jesse Minter, who oversaw Vanderbilt’s defense last year after going to the Commodores via the Baltimore Ravens.

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And Minter has found himself a nominee for the Broyles Award in 2022.

Should the Wolverines manage to hold Illinois running back Chase Brown and then the Ohio State offense at bay, there’s a good chance that Minter would earn the award this year. But those are both big ifs.

Fellow former Michigan assistant, Shaun Nua, is a nominee in his first year coaching at USC.

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Jesse Minter explains why Mazi Smith has been so indispensable for the Michigan football defense

He’s not getting the national credit he deserves. #GoBlue

Ballyhooed all offseason as the nation’s biggest freak in college football, the accolades have been quiet for Michigan football defensive tackle Mazi Smith. But, that doesn’t mean he hasn’t been a vital, key piece to the nation’s top-ranked defense.

‘The tip of the spear,’ Smith has been pivotal for the Wolverines, shutting down run lanes, taking up double and sometimes triple teams, and creating opportunities for everyone around him. If Michigan didn’t have Smith in the middle of the defense, likely, we’d be telling a different story about how good the overall unit is.

Appearing on the Inside Michigan Football radio show with Jon Jansen, defensive coordinator Jesse Minter shared just how indispensable Smith has been for the defensive front, and how the Wolverines work to deploy him when he’s out on the field.

“Man, he does everything,” Minter said. “He takes on double teams. You can’t single-block him. So we try to put him, at times, over centers and dare them to single-block him. We moved him some more this year. I think he’s really, really athletic. I think his movements have been one of the things that improved the most from last year.

“But the thing I’m really proud of is he owns his role. And you know, I would love for Mazi to have six sacks and 20 TFLs because he’s that type of guy, that type of player. He knows that’s not always going to be the case. And he’s he does a lot of the dirty work and him and Kris Jenkins, Mason (Graham) and those guys, and he owns it and he does a great job.

“He’s a leader. I think the most important stat for Mazi is that we have a great run defense and it’s come to fruition with him, so far. So, couldn’t be happier for him and more proud of how he’s played.”

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Smith hasn’t been the sole star in the middle, as Kris Jenkins and Mason Graham have also come on strong. Considering the personnel losses from a year ago, Minter had to rely on different faces than former coordinator Mike Macdonald had, and as such, he’s presiding over the top-ranked defense in the country through 10 games.

Minter says that those players have not only created more opportunities for those around them, namely the edge rushers, but they’ve been productive in their own rights.

“They’re just so powerful and it’s ways to try to create pass rush at times for those guys,” Minter said. “Our whole front’s done a good job of setting each other up with some of the picks and some of the games and twists. And it’s something that we kind of wanted to take another step in this year. Whereas last year, you had a couple of really good edge guys and it’s like how can we create rushes from all angles of the defense?

“And those guys enjoy it, they’re good at it. It’s when you’re 330-pounds and move like Mazi and have that power he can do a lot of different things in there and it’s been good to see.”

The defensive front will have their hands full this week with Chase Brown and the Illinois Fighting Illini coming to Ann Arbor on Saturday. Kickoff will be at noon EST and the game will be broadcast nationally on ABC.

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Jesse Minter explains how Michigan football deals with tempo

It’s been a huge turnaround from last year! #GoBlue

It was a major issue a year ago, whenever the Michigan football defense faced tempo offenses. This year, it’s been an amazing turnaround, under first-year Wolverines defensive coordinator Jesse Minter.

The issues came to a head in 2021 when the maize and blue faced rival Michigan State on the road, as the Spartans used tempo to keep Michigan off-guard. However, this season, it’s been a vastly improved element of the nation’s top-ranked defense, as the Wolverines haven’t just been prepared for teams who run fast-paced offenses but have found ways to hurt offenses when they substitute.

But how does Minter approach substituting when teams go tempo? That element was what got his predecessor, Mike Macdonald, in heaps of trouble. He says it’s all about waiting for the right moments to make changes to who’s out on the field.

He shared his philosophy with Jon Jansen on the Inside Michigan Football radio show by Learfield IMG.

“My understanding is, when the offense does sub, so whether it’s running back for running back or they go from one personnel to the other, the ref will stand over the ball for roughly two and a half to three seconds,” Minter said. “And, if you have to make a quick decision of whether you want to sub on defense, to one either match their personnel, so we might go from base to nickel, or we might be in nickel, and just want to do a one for one or a two for two or three for three or even like the whole front four — and so it’s a split second timing at times and sometimes when you play a tempo team, you plan for that. So it’s like, hey, they don’t sub a lot but when they do you have an opportunity to get a fresh guy in No. 1, to actually slow down the pace of their play. Yeah, for your guys that are out there to kind of catch their breath.

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“And so I thought it was a process for us. There was a couple opportunities early in the year that we learned from where we may have had a chance to — there’s times where an offense coordinator may decide with 10 seconds on the play clock to go from 11 to 12 personnel, and if you decide to sub, you can really put them in a tough bind. And so, we’ve had a couple of those that have worked out for us. But ultimately, it’s about No. 1, us matching personnel, No. 2, trying to slow down the game when it allows and just take advantage of the rules. If that they are what they are, we got to — there’s times where we can go 10 straight plays without subbing. So when we do get that opportunity to sub we need to take advantage.”

It’s made a world of difference thus far. We’ll see if that success continues in the final two regular season games coming up.

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Why Mike Morris has emerged as Michigan football’s dominant edge rusher

He’s getting better and better as the weeks go by. #GoBlue

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — All offseason, the media trope about Michigan football was that it could not replicate the success of the 2021 defense due to having lost both Aidan Hutchinson and David Ojabo up front. The Wolverines repeatedly insisted that edge rusher Mike Morris was ready for the spotlight, yet the narrative persisted.

Fast forward seven games, and that narrative has died.

Morris leads the team now with five sacks, which is the third-best in the conference overall and the best from the edge rusher position. Even when he hasn’t gotten home, he’s impacted plays, and he appears to be improving on a weekly basis.

In short, he’s everything that Michigan thought he could be when it compared him to the aforementioned Hutchinson.

“I think he’s just a phenomenal human being, who I think over the course of the season has sort of just evolved into the guy that we all thought and hoped he could be,” defensive coordinator Jesse Minter said. “He knows how to use his strengths and he’s a very unique athlete. That combination of height, length, power, athleticism, savviness as a dropper even at times. I think he’s a very unique player.

“And he’s one of those types of guys that he’s good at so many things. I think at some times, it’s like, ‘Oh, we can do this with him, we can do that with him.’ But he’s also a really good one-on-one rusher. And I think that’s what he’s proven to me. I think the most (he’s improved) is he has a great ability to win one on ones using his tools and what he’s good at a really consistent level. And, couldn’t be happier with how he’s been playing.”

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Morris had bulked up this offseason, having gone from 278-pounds to 292. While it has given him added versatility to play inside if needed, considering he hadn’t lost his step, the Wolverines have still played him mostly outside.

Ultimately, Minter says, what’s led to Morris’ emergence has been the simplification of what the defense has asked him to do. That doesn’t mean they aren’t asking a lot of him, but the more he’s been in, the more he’s shown. So, given that, he’s being put in a position to succeed with more and more now being added to his plate.

“I think he’s still the guy that we love to do a lot of stuff with. And he’s good at a lot of different things,” Minter said. “But, I just think he’s proven himself and I said at the beginning of the year, if there’s a guy that proves himself as a really good one-on-one rusher, then it’s my job, our job as coaches, to continue to find ways to create matchups for that particular player. And Mike’s a guy that’s done that so it’s fun to try to figure out week to week where to best utilize him and where the best to rush him from or who to match him up with. So that’s been fun. And he’s certainly thriving in that in that role.”

With Michigan State coming up on Saturday night, Morris will certainly be needed if the defense is to get QB Payton Thorne off his spot. That game will take place at 7:44 p.m. EDT at The Big House.

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Jesse Minter prepared for MSU long 50-50 deep ball attempts, tempo

Here’s hoping the defense shuts them down! #GoBlue

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — While the records for each Michigan and MSU might indicate that the Wolverines are likely to beat the Spartans, as does Vegas, in order to do so, the maize and blue will need to be fully prepared.

Certainly, there’s confidence in the offensive side of the ball, that Michigan will be able to run enough while passing against what has been an anemic secondary. But the questions probably lie on defense, even though the Spartans haven’t exactly fielded a high-powered offense this year.

MSU has indicated, however, as its gotten healthier that it can make big plays and win games. Payton Thorne to Jayden Reed is the preferred attack, especially since the run game hasn’t exactly taken off to this point. The biggest factor coming into a game like Saturday’s is the element of surprise, which is something that Wolverines’ defensive coordinator Jesse Minter is readying himself for.

“I think you prepare for wrinkles all spring, all summer, all fall,” Minter said. “We go against a tremendous offense in our own offense on a regular basis. I enjoy that because I think it helps prepare you for stuff that maybe that particular team hasn’t shown. So, really when teams run a trick play or a new play, especially both teams coming off a bye, we anticipate seeing things that they haven’t put on tape before, but it really comes down to like reverting to your training, reverting to your rules, trusting your eyes, trusting your instincts, trusting your technique.

“And there’s no secret play call to stop a gadget play or a trick play or something new. So it’s really just about having the guys as well prepared as possible. Them knowing where their eyes are supposed to be, what they’re supposed to be looking at, what’s their responsibility of that particular play call is. And I think when you do that, and the guys trust each other, you have an opportunity to stop it. And that doesn’t mean there might not be something crazy that happens. And if there is, you bounce back and you respond and try to clean it up for the next time.”

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This will be Minter’s first taste of the in-state rivalry, or any Michigan rivalry, for that matter. There’s only so much learning one can do in terms of preparing for the intensity, but it is something that Minter anticipates, especially since he’s gone back and looked at previous iterations of the rivalry.

Given what happened two years ago, as well as even two weeks ago when MSU beat Wisconsin, one of the things that Minter is aware of is Payton Thorne’s penchant to throw up 50-50 balls to Jayden Reed. In 2020, it was thought that the Spartans would be overmatched, but Mel Tucker’s squad kept throwing it up, with Rocky Lombardi repeatedly hitting Ricky White deep, upsetting the maize and blue on their home turf.

Minter has some strategies to keep that type of play from burning the Wolverines on Saturday, explaining his concept of pass defense against a team willing to put it up and out there.

“They have really good receivers, they have a quarterback who trusts his receivers, especially on those deep, deep down the sideline throws,” Minter said. “Whether it’s a deep ball or a back shoulder throw, they excel in those areas. So, it’s something that our guys are prepared for.

“But also, it’s mixing and matching coverages, and not always giving them the one on ones that they’re looking for. But also know, at times, like those guys are going to be one-on-one, and they’re going to have to hold up their end of the bargain. I think our guys are primed and excited about the challenge.

“And then for us, we just got to do a good job mixing up the looks and giving them help at times and knowing that they’re gonna be on their own at times. And, those guys are really, really good players that have elite ball skills and size and speed. Kind of two different body types, but both very capable of making big plays. So definitely something high on our radar.”

The other thing that really killed the maize and blue, just this last year in this game, was Michigan State going tempo on offense. Michigan kept trying to substitute, even when the Spartan offense hadn’t, which caught the Wolverines off-guard, repeatedly. Minter says his team has been preparing for tempo this year, as evidenced by the games against Indiana and Penn State, recently.

Should MSU try to run plays quickly, the Wolverines should be better than a year ago, in that regard.

“Practice it, prepare for it, anticipate it, have a really good focus on when they substitute versus when they don’t substitute,” Minter said. “It’s something we’ve worked on a lot this year. We haven’t been perfect in that regard. But definitely just prepare and practice for that stuff and know that they’re going to attack us that way.”

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Everything Jesse Minter said about the Michigan football defense before MSU

This was an incredible interview. #GoBlue

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Michigan football has had some big tests already this season on either side of the ball, but it’ll be a different matter entirely on Saturday when rival Michigan State comes to town.

While the Spartans aren’t exactly thriving at the moment, considering that they’re desperate and it’s a rivalry game, theoretically, anything can happen. We’ve seen lesser rivals take down bigger favorites in years past, all across the sport.

This iteration of the battle for the Paul Bunyan Trophy will be Michigan defensive coordinator Jesse Minter’s first. On Wednesday, he shared his thoughts on the defense as a whole, MSU, and much more.

Here is everything he had to say at his weekly press conference.

Michigan football using ‘good-on-good’ in practice to prepare for productive Maryland offense

Going up against the #Michigan offense in practice should be at least as tough as facing Maryland’s offense, right? #GoBlue

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Michigan football has yet to be challenged this season, and that’s about to change as it enters Week 4.

With Maryland coming to town, the Terps’ high-flying offense certainly will stretch the defense in ways that it hasn’t through three weeks, considering the level of competition the Wolverines have faced. Yes, Michigan has gone up against two air raid teams in Colorado State and Hawaii, but neither has the athletes that the Terrapins have, led by players like QB Taulia Tagovailoa, wide receivers Rakim Jarrett and Dontay Demus, and RB Roman Hembry.

Michigan defensive coordinator Jesse Minter acknowledges the challenge he has before him, as he broke down what Maryland does well in his Wednesday press conference.

“Seeing a very productive offense, about 500 yards a game, 40 points a game,” Minter said. “Really good quarterback, really good skill, a lot of speed. Good offensive line with a couple of really talented NFL prospects. So great challenge, really good scheme. I think they play to the quarterback’s strengths and kind of what he does well. So it’ll be a great challenge for us.”

As noted, Maryland has some athletes, and Minter knows that will be a challenge in and of itself. It’s in large part due to the Big Ten being tougher competition all the way down the line compared to the Group of Five teams the Wolverines have faced thus far.

“Conference game, first and foremost, definitely have some better pro players probably than what we’ve seen so far,” Minter said. “Yeah, I’m excited to see how we play against this team.”

So, how does one prepare for such a challenge? The easiest answer: go up against an offense that’s likely just as good. But where could one be found? Right here in Ann Arbor.

The Wolverines have spent a bit of time every practice going ‘good-on-good,’ meaning that instead of facing off against the scout team — which is customary throughout the majority of practice — the No. 1 defense is going up against the No. 1 offense. Especially with J.J. McCarthy under center, despite the offense being a bit different than what Maryland brings to the table, it helps prepare the maize and blue for seeing more electric athletes with Big Ten season now starting.

“It’s something we do a little bit every day,” Minter said. “I think Coach Harbaugh has a great plan for both sides of the ball.  I think when you focus so much on another opponent, you’ve got to also give them the benefit of the doubt that they’re going to put in some new stuff there. So, I really enjoy getting a chance a little bit each day to go against the offense and just run our normal calls against their stuff and kind of see how it adjusts, even stuff that we have in for that game plan. So, one, it’s tremendous work that way, tremendous work on the skill players that we have and the quarterback that we have — defending the guy that can run around.

“And then really this offense, especially — they’re kind of out of the same — there’s some similar backgrounds in this stuff that we run. So great, tremendous opportunity going good-on-good and enjoy that part of it.”

Fans will get to see if the process will pay off on Saturday when Michigan hosts Maryland at noon EDT. The game will be nationally televised on Fox with Gus Johnson, Joel Klatt, and Jenny Taft on the call.

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Jesse Minter isn’t concerned about the Michigan pass rush — yet

He has the same outlook as many fans here. #GoBlue

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — All offseason, the questions were posed with fervor and regularity — how would the Michigan football defense be able to get to the quarterback without Aidan Hutchinson and David Ojabo?

The curiosity was compounded by the fact that the Wolverines would have a new defensive coordinator this year in Jesse Minter, with Mike Macdonald having departed for the Baltimore Ravens job. But after the first game, it appeared there wouldn’t be much of an issue, as the maize and blue managed seven sacks from numerous different players right out of the gates.

However, that’s slowed down significantly. Michigan managed just one sack in Week 2 and no sacks in Week 3. But Minter said on Wednesday he isn’t particularly concerned at the moment.

“You know, pass rush — it’s a funny thing,” Minter said. “I think a lot of the second and third game was based on what happened in the first game and sort of the other team’s way to try to combat that. So, I’m not overly concerned. I think pass rush and coverage always work together. I like where we’re at. I certainly think guys know that there’s opportunities to win one on ones that we still want to take advantage of. So I’m excited to see how we go.”

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Regardless, Minter is aware of the competition that Michigan has faced. He’s not sugar-coating anything, thinking that what we saw in Week 1 is most likely going to be the type of output we see now that the Wolverines are entering Big Ten play.

He broke down why he felt that the pass rush worked against Colorado State, and why it hasn’t so much in the following weeks.

“When I look at the first couple of games, first game, lots of pressure — that team now I think has given up tons of sacks over their first three games. So, take it for what it is,” Minter said. “The second game, I think the ball was out really, really fast. I think the third game, honestly, we were preparing for a lot of screens and quick throws, which we did get early, especially on third down. I think it may have slowed our guys down a little bit. So we’ve just got to have some answers to combat that and let him turn it loose when it turns into more of a drop-back game.”

Michigan will certainly have a challenge this upcoming Saturday, with a potent Maryland offense coming to town. Kickoff is set for noon EDT and the game will be broadcast nationally on Fox.

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Everything Jesse Minter said about the Michigan football defense before Maryland

Incredibly good insight, especially with the schedule getting tougher in a hurry. #GoBlue

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Michigan football is about to embark on the tougher part of the 2022 season journey, as Big Ten play starts on Saturday when the Wolverines host the Maryland Terrapins.

The Terps bring a high-flying offense to Ann Arbor, which should certainly test the defensive side of the ball for the maize and blue. Although defensive coordinator Jesse Minter appears up for the challenge.

Minter spoke to reporters on Wednesday and shared his thoughts about how his defense has performed through three games, what he’s looking forward to about Big Ten season, what’s went well, and what could go better. Here is everything that the Michigan defensive coordinator had to say.

Jesse Minter details plans for using Eyabi Anoma in near future

If the first game was an indication, Anoma could have a special season now that he’s with #Michigan. #GoBlue

Does it get any better than Eyabi Anoma’s Michigan debut?

The former five-star, who originally committed to Alabama over the Wolverines, somehow found himself in Ann Arbor, after all, having journeyed from Tuscaloosa to Houston to UT-Martin before donning a winged helmet. Despite only being on campus for a few short weeks, Anoma was deployed relatively early in the season opener, and on his very first play, he had Michigan’s second sack of the season and his first in maize and blue.

According to PFF, Anoma played 10 total snaps on Saturday, nine on defense and one on special teams, and he was Michigan’s second-highest rated edge rusher — behind Jaylen Harrell — with an 81.9 defensive grade. But he’s just getting started and still getting acclimated, his defensive coordinator is quick to remind.

Talking to Jon Jansen on the ‘Inside Michigan Football’ radio show, Jesse Minter shared how the Wolverines intend to deploy Anoma given his lack of time on task and understanding of the defense. Though he’s still learning the playbook, Minter hopes to gradually increase Anoma’s playing time, and if all goes to plan, his production will continue as it did in Week 1.

“To his credit, the guy got here about three weeks ago,” Minter said. “He’s bought into what we’re trying to do. He’s a guy with a really a lot of physical tools, a high ceiling. I think he’s still learning and so he’s — we told him we want to try to feed him a little bit more each week and it was like, ‘Hey, let’s throw them in there, on the next third down.’ And, of course, the rest was history for him. It was good to get him in there more in the second half on normal downs and kind of get a feel for playing the run and playing a normal style of play. But he’s a guy that we can definitely utilize as a pass rusher as we go.”

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Michigan’s defensive front really showed out in the season opener, with other edge rushers really stepping up. We mentioned Harrell, but Mike Morris was involved in several key plays, as was Braiden McGregor from the edge rusher positions.

As far as Minter sees it, the more the merrier. The Wolverines may have relied most heavily on Aidan Hutchinson and David Ojabo last year, but this season, the production doesn’t have to come solely from two players, as there are multiple who can get involved and get to the uarterback.

“I think it’s just a mentality that we want to have, that everybody gets a chance and everybody eats — and a huge thing for us is when one person makes a play we all make a play,” Minter said. “And I’ve said this before like I’d love for the end of the year for us to maybe have a guy that can have 12-13 sacks but right now we want to spread it around. We want to bring different guys. I think we got all three levels of the defense involved in pressure and it keeps offenses off-balance and the if the guys really buy into it, and can continue to buy into it, I think as a team we’re gonna have a lot of success.”

Anoma and company will have another chance on Saturday when the Wolverines host Hawaii at The Big House at 8 p.m. EDT.

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