Tag: Mike Sainristil

Michigan football looking to improve weekly with eyes on Ohio State

Oh how things have changed in just a few, short years. #GoBlue

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — After Michigan football’s Week 4 win over Rutgers, fifth-year team captain Mike Sainristil settled in to watch the late games. While he was primarily concerned with seeing how his former teammates, who are now at Iowa, fared against Penn State, of course, Sainristil was curious about how rival Ohio State would do against Notre Dame.

And it appears that Michigan was on Ohio State’s mind in the immediate aftermath of that game, as well.

In case you live under a rock, Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day had a bizarre postgame interview where he lambasted former Irish coach Lou Holtz while making passing mention of the Wolverines’ dominance in the second half of The Game in 2021 — somehow forgetting that 2022 followed a similar script. Day emphatically insinuated that OSU is a physical team, taking umbrage to Holtz’s comments about how the Buckeyes get dominated by teams that play a more physical brand of football.

Asked about Day’s postgame comments, Sainristil refrained but did note that he’s proud of his team’s work towards being known as a tough, gritty team on the gridiron.

“I will just say we’re doing a great job of handling our business,” Sainristil said. “That’s all we can do, just focusing on making sure that we’re the best team going into that game. And just being able to go out there — Coach does a great job of preparing us and helping us keep Michigan football, the people in this building, the main priority.”

Physicality up front, in particular, is what Michigan football has become known for, beginning in 2021, as far as the modern era is concerned. Sainristil says that the onus has been put on toughness, starting with the coaches, but the players have bought in. Given the nature of the Big Ten Conference, it only makes sense that the maize and blue would aspire to such ideals rather than having a more flashy style of play as some other programs have adopted.

“That’s what coaches here prepare us to go against,” Sainristil said. “We know, Big Ten, everybody’s going to go out there and you want to be physical. But we just want to go out there and be the more physical team at the end of the day.”

Michigan still has seven more games before the Buckeyes come to town, and while Sainristil would love to see them on the schedule this coming week, having the time on task beforehand will allow the Wolverines to continue pushing towards being even more physical.

As he says, everything the maize and blue do, even against other teams, is all preparation for that year-end showdown for the two rivals.

“Every week, we can’t wait to — we want to play that game. That’s ‘The Game’ for a reason,” Sainristil said. “But the result of that game doesn’t change, our wanting to play them next week, two weeks, or at the end of the year. We know, regardless, that come November 25, we have to face them. And all we can do is prepare and show week-to-week, how well or how good of a team we can be leading into that game.”

What was the turning point for Michigan football vs. Rutgers?

This is the play that changed things! #GoBlue

Michigan’s ever-valiant foe, Rutgers, was once again in town for the conference opener.

Though the programs have historically been on two different levels, the Wolverines have a history of allowing the Scarlet Knights to stick in games. Saturday seemed no different for a half as Michigan led only 14-7 heading into the intermission.

However, Michigan would lurch to a comfortable lead after Mike Sainristil jumped a fourth-down screen route to boost Michigan’s lead.

With just under five minutes remaining in the third quarter, Rutgers was driving. Michigan’s defense had been solid all game, save for a 69-yard touchdown on the opening drive. However, Gavin Wimsatt was playing to a different tune in the third quarter. He threw a pair of difficult completions that pushed Rutgers into Michigan territory, but the Knights once again found themselves stuck in the mud. Down 10 with a fourth down situation on hand, the Knights elected to go for it.

The play call was a wide receiver screen. Rutgers lined up with two receivers to the field side and pulled their entire interior offensive line into space, attempting to cut off the slot corner. The boundary receiver cut in towards the QB while the slot WR went to set a block on the cornerback. Fortunately for Michigan, neither of the DBs bit. Will Johnson stuck his man like a third-grade art project while Sainristil undercut the route perfectly. He snatched the ball from the receiver, slipped under Junior Colson on a trapeze-like move, and was off to the races.

Sainristil’s opportunistic and cerebral play flipped all the momentum for the Wolverines. What was a 10-point game turned into a three-possession lead with an offense that had been stuffed time and time again.

The senior captain has proved his worth time and time again. This was one of the many clutch moments Mike has had since moving to DB. The fan-favorite will be looking to boost his draft stock this season and is well on his way to making an NFL roster.

Social media reactions to Michigan’s win over Rutgers

Great win for #Michigan! #GoBlue

Michigan took care of business at home to kick off the conference schedule, beating the Rutgers Scarlet Knights 31-7.

Though the defense gave up a long touchdown early in the game, they locked in and were able to hold Rutgers scoreless for the rest of the day. Michigan’s coaching staff once again showed their ability to make in-game adjustments, boding well for their chances as the schedule heats up.

Relive Semaj Morgan’s first career touchdown, Mike Sainristil’s electric interception returned for a touchdown, and more exciting moments from Michigans conference opener.

See what Michigan fans, media members, and more are saying about the win.

Five Takeaways: Michigan football wins Big Ten opener vs. Rutgers

Good, dominant game from #Michigan! #GoBlue

Michigan opened conference play with a 31-7 win over the Rutgers Scarlet Knights.

Rutgers opened the game with a long touchdown pass, but that was about all its offense could muster. The UM defense locked them down for the remainder of the game and even managed to get a score of their own on a massive pick-six courtesy of Mike Sainristil.

Jim Harbaugh made his return to the sideline, and while there were some hiccups, it was clear Michigan’s head coach was missed. Expect things to trend up from here as the Wolverines get into the heavy part of their schedule.

As the Wolverines advance to 4-0 on the season, here are some takeaways from the game:

Why Michigan football freshman WR Fredrick Moore is earning his early opportunity

He’s had more offensive snaps than many other expected veteran receivers. #GoBlue

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — It seems every year that Michigan football brings in some high-end skill position players, there’s offseason hype that they’ll see the field early and often, making an instant impact. Most often, that doesn’t happen, but when a player is unheralded as a recruit? It seems like you see those players being more likely to be an instant impact-type.

It’s too early, through two games, with only two catches for 18 yards to his name, to tell whether or not freshman wide receiver Fredrick Moore is one of those players, but he has seen more snaps than some of his older counterparts. With 20 snaps under his belt in key times during the first two games, Moore clearly has the trust of the coaching staff enough to have an opportunity to be an instant impact player.

Another such player who had a similar opportunity, Mike Sainristil got rave reviews at wide receiver when he arrived in Ann Arbor in 2019. Though his production wasn’t quite as anticipated following incredible showings in the April open practice and subsequent spring game, Sainristil did end up being an impact player, both on and off the field. Now he’s on the defensive side of the ball, but as he’s seen Moore in practice, he’s not surprised that the freshman is making the most of his opportunity.

“(He’s) just going out there and doing the thing that he’s been blessed to do,” Sainristil said. “Fred’s a really good receiver. He’s came in and he got to work right away, straight in his playbook. And the sooner you learn it, the sooner you’re able to go out there and impact. The game comes a lot slower to you when you do know what you’re doing. And Fred is the guy that knows what he’s doing when he’s out there. So it allows him to go out there and be comfortable and play his best game.”

Of course, there are also some injuries to key players that have precluded them from perhaps seeing as much playing time as expected — which also helps the freshman get on the field. Both Tyler Morris and Darrius Clemons have been listed as questionable on the weekly injury reports. But Moore is still being called upon where other available players are not.

We’ll see if Moore gets even more of an opportunity on Saturday when Michigan hosts Bowling Green at 7:30 p.m. EDT at The Big House. The game will be televised on Big Ten Network.

What makes Mike Sainristil Michigan football’s go-to player

When you think of #Michigan’s culture change, his face should be the first one you think of. #GoBlue

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Throughout the offseason, there was a common phrase that echoed throughout Schembechler Hall: ‘Mike Sainristil took me under his wing.’

It didn’t seem to matter the age, or whether it was an offensive or defensive player. Of course, the defensive backs look up to the fifth-year nickel back, but so do the wide receivers — and the whole team, really — as Sainristil was once in their shoes, as well. We’ve heard freshmen say they’ve been under the tutelage of Sainristil, sophomores, even grad transfers, such as cornerback Josh Wallace.

But what makes the two-time team captain such a resource? And how does he spare the time?

The biggest thing for Sainristil is that he makes sure he has his part down pat, and that allows him to spread his knowledge to others.

“I would just say being a person for others, I know — I’m gonna make sure that my responsibility is taken care of, and now it’s about, OK, I know what I’m doing, how can I take what I’m doing and help other guys and bring other guys into understand it as well as I do?” Sainristil said. “So that’s just how I go about it.

“Just take it for what it is, don’t let that opportunity go to waste. A lot of people would do anything to be in the shoes that we are in. And you’re one decision away from not even being at the school. One wrong mistake from not being at the school. So you’re here. This is what you’ve always wanted, so take the opportunity and run with it.”

But why does he do it? Of course, it’s beneficial to the team that he does, but he just as easily could do his job, hang up his helmet and call it a day.

However, given his wealth of knowledge of both sides of the ball, he feels like it’s to the team’s benefit to share his expertise. And that expertise is mostly one lesson: work hard, even when it comes to learning.

“I’ve just always been that way,” Sainristil said. “I will say that I’ve been blessed with being able to apply things and things come to me pretty easy. So, I didn’t — I still am learning more and more about our playbook. But you know, based off of what I did last year, when I came in, when I switched over to defense, I’d say it came pretty quick to understanding the whole concept of what it is that we do on defense. And you guys asked me like, ‘Well, how do you how do you do that? How’d you learn so quick?’ I mean, part of it is because I’m older, I don’t have enough time to be wasted, not knowing the playbook. I want to play, I want to get out there, I want to go to the NFL, of course. So I had, I put myself in a position where I have to learn.

“And then I tell the guys like the second half of the battle is wanting to do it. Like, you have to be able to want to learn. If you’re not open to learning new concepts, not open to taking the coaching, and it’s never gonna be easy for you. So you just have to go out there and come in and get extra meeting time, stay, get extra time after practice, even when you’re tired. It’s a part of the game, it’s your job, it’s your responsibility to learn. So you do good, you make coach look good. And it’s a partnership.”

There’s an added benefit of Sainristil being a team leader and imparting his wisdom: he can reemphasize lessons players are learning from the coaching staff. And sometimes that can have an even greater impact given that he’s a respected peer.

“Coach is always going to be coach but I feel like the second player tells you, it kind of changes your perspective because you’re actually hearing it from someone who’s going through what you’re going through at the time,” Sainristil said. “But you know, coach is always gonna give you wisdom, was gonna give you from a perspective of experience. Because coaches have seen it all, they’ve been through all kinds of things, they’ve coached all kinds of people. So it’s always good to hear what coaches have to say but definitely, when a teammate tells you something, that perspective is needed as well.”

BGSU QB Connor Bazelak to see familiar friend, and foe, with Michigan football

#Michigan already has some familiarity here. #GoBlue

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — There’s a lot of corollaries between Michigan football and its next opponent, Bowling Green. Jim Harbaugh’s dad, Jack Harbaugh, played and coached there, the Falcons’ current head coach is former Michigan quarterback and coach Scot Loeffler, and Erik ‘Soup’ Campbell, another former Wolverines player and coach, is on staff at BGSU, as well.

But there are some different connections for this Michigan football team and the Falcons.

A transfer who’s on his third school, Connor Bazelak was teammates last year with AJ Barner, as both departed Indiana following the 2022 season. Barner is excited to see his former quarterback, noting a time when they had a football connection in a game a year ago.

“Connor’s a good dude, a good player also, and I’m excited to go up against him and it’ll be good to see him again. And I wish him the best of luck,” Barner said. “He threw me a touchdown against Idaho, which was cool. But yeah, he’s a really good player, and I can’t wait to see him this weekend. And I’m excited for it.”

But there’s also the fact that the Wolverines saw Bazelak on the other side of the ball. Against Michigan in Week 6 in 2022, Bazelak went 25-for-49 for 203 yards with a touchdown and one interception.

While it’s unclear at the moment whether or not the full complement of the secondary will finally take the field for the first time this season, nickel back Mike Sainristil will be out there. And he recalls having played against Bazelak, the once-Hoosiers and Missouri Tigers QB. Though his stat line isn’t exactly something to write home about, he has good skill and ability, and there are things that Sainristil will be on the lookout for come Saturday.

“I feel like the biggest thing for us is that just knowing that when he’s under pressure situations — last year, we got a ton of pressure on him and he did a great job of just dumping the ball out of bounds,” Sainristil said. “We’ve just got to make sure we keep the main thing the main thing, make sure that our coverage is tight. Help the D-line get a good rush. In the back end, back seven help to D-line get a good rush. The line’s gonna go out there and do what it is that they do. That’s what they’re known for. So I’m excited to go out there and play on Saturday.”

Michigan hosts Bowling Green on Saturday night with a 7:30 p.m. EDT kickoff under the lights. The game will be nationally broadcast on Big Ten network.

Michigan football position grades after Week 1

The Wolverines looked good on both sides of the ball. #GoBlue

Michigan football, as expected, took care of business against East Carolina on Saturday with a 30-3 victory to kick off the 2023 campaign. J.J. McCarthy looked comfortable and in control of the offense. The junior quarterback completed the game with 26 of 30 passes for 280 yards. McCarthy and Roman Wilson connected for three touchdowns on Saturday. The Pirates were able to slow down the run by selling out and loading the box.

Defensively, the Wolverines looked really solid as well, only giving up 235 yards of total offense to East Carolina — which mostly came during garbage time. Michigan’s defense played a clean game with only one penalty called against the Wolverines. The Pirates were able to get on the board with a field goal as time expired but were not a threat to score the entire game.

With Week 1 in the books let’s grade the performance of the position groups.

What transfer CB Josh Wallace brings to Michigan football

Really encouraged to hear this! #GoBlue

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Michigan football was intent this spring to coerce Amorion Walker into a starting role at cornerback. The only thing is: it was his first time really playing the position at the college level. With a steep learning curve and the Wolverines chasing a championship in 2023, they needed some insurance.

Enter Josh Wallace, who transferred over the summer to Ann Arbor from UMass.

Wallace now has a full fall camp under his belt, and thanks in part to Mike Sainristil, he’s acclimated nicely to the program. And it turns out, he didn’t need much convincing to end up wearing a winged helmet.

“I had texted Josh while he was being recruited,” Sainristil said. “And I told him the opportunity he had. I told him, I said, ‘Look, you wouldn’t be being recruited if coaches didn’t think you could be here, one. Two, you have the opportunity to come in, potentially start at corner. So, take advantage of it if you do decide to come.’ And then when he got here, I told him, I said, ‘Look, be by my side all summer. I promise, I’ll lead you in the right direction’. And he takes me back, he said, ‘I already planned on it!’

“So since he’s gotten here, he’s been like a brother to me. We’ve already gotten close. And I feel like he has a bright future.”

While that speaks well of Wallace finding the right mentor in the building, what kind of player is he?

Sainristil is quite confident in his skills having seen him in action during fall camp. He says he’s willing to put his body on the line to make a play, and he listens to direction when it’s given. If he does, indeed, have the playbook down, the Wolverines can rest easy that they probably have a solid starting cornerback to play opposite Will Johnson.

“Josh, I think he’s a great cover guy,” Sainristil said. “He’s not a guy that’s scared to come down and hit somebody. He’s physical when needed. And he’s a guy that takes coaching. He doesn’t take anything personal. And he’s just got — he’s looking to do the right thing, he’s looking to help however.”

Fans will get their first chance to see Wallace in maize and blue on Saturday, when Michigan hosts East Carolina for the season opener. The game will kick off at noon at The Big House and will be streaming live on Peacock.

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Why Mike Sainristil is the perfect leader for Michigan football

He’s such a great asset to this team! #GoBlue

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — There’s a reason why, despite not having much production in his first two years, Mike Sainristil was active on Michigan football’s leadership council in his third year with the program. And why he was subsequently named a team captain in his senior year.

And again in his fifth year.

The Everett (Mass.) cornerback has his finger on the pulse of the team and was crucial when it came to helping the culture change in 2021, leading to the Wolverines’ turnaround from 2-4 to 12-2 with a Big Ten Championship. The maize and blue repeated in 2022, going 13-1, and is hopeful that it can get a third-straight championship in the conference this year.

But what makes him so effective as a leader? The three-year wide receiver who switched to nickel last year has learned that leadership requires a multitude of methods. Part of it is leading by example, some of it is pushing players. But it’s also about knowing specifically what each of his teammates may need in a certain moment. Which means he pays close attention to everything going on in the locker room beyond his own skill set.

“The way I am as a leader, I do my best to read the room. And then, as you figure out who your teammates are, every person needs a little something different,” Sainristil said. “Some people you can’t talk to a certain way, some people you can talk to a certain way. Some people need more of a push than other people.

“So I think the way you lead as you lead a whole unit is, one, you let them see what you do. You say what you mean to them, and then you mean what you say, as well. And then after that, whatever you say, you have to live up to what you say. But at the end of the day, leaders aren’t perfect. Leaders need people around them that also will help them move up, move up, move up. And I think, with the leaders that we have, the group of captains we have, we all balance each other well, and I believe we’re gonna do a great job this year of leading this team.”

Given that Sainristil has been in a leadership position for three years now, and in his second year of being voted a team captain by his teammates, his example will go a long way toward taking those who are still growing as players and getting them into the right mindset — as well as the right position on the field — to help the maize and blue chase another championship.

The season is set to begin on Saturday when the Wolverines host East Carolina for a noon kickoff at The Big House.

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