Michigan football takes on Minnesota this Saturday, and we’ve heard from Michigan players and staff, but what is the opposing team saying?
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Another day closer to the return of Michigan football. We’ve heard from a vast number of players and coaches in Ann Arbor so far, but we haven’t focused on what its opponents in Minnesota are saying about them. We heard Minnesota head coach P.J. Fleck give Michigan quarterback Joe Milton praise on Monday, calling him a “once in a decade” type of talent. Outside of the Monday press conference, we’ve yet to look into what other Minnesota staff members or players have said about the game on Saturday.
On Tuesday, Minnesota starting quarterback Tanner Morgan and running back, Mohamed Ibrahim spoke with the media and got into the rivalry talk. In case you forgot, this series is a rivalry game for the Little Brown Jug. Michigan leads the series 75-25-3, with the last result being a 33-10 win for the Wolverines.
“Obviously the Little Brown Jug is important, with the history that it has, the incredible history tied into the trophy and tied into the game,” Morgan said. “Any time you have an opportunity to play for something like that, we cherish it. And that’s something that’s so great about playing in the Big Ten, with the traditional classic trophy games that have so much history.”
With both players being on offense, they spoke about Michigan’s defense and its defensive coordinator Don Brown.
“They’re very aggressive and very well-coached,” Morgan said. “They do a lot of things very well.”
“They switch up their looks, so you have to take every play for what it is,” Ibrahim said. “You can’t just think that if they start off the series one way, that they won’t finish it a different way.”
Minnesota also had its offensive coordinator Mike Sanford Jr. talk to the media this week as he spoke about Brown and what it’s like going up against his type of defense.
“They’re just an incredibly well-coached football team but in addition to being so well-coached, their scheme is very unique and very diverse,” Sanford Jr. said. “They play so hard and that’s the characteristic you’re always looking for. When you put on the opposing defense’s film, I’m always looking at what type of effort do they play with? And they play hard, and that’s culture. That’s Coach Harbaugh and Coach Brown’s system.”
“The challenge is that we have to match their will each and every snap. They have a tremendous will. Certainly they’ve lost players, but let’s be honest, who hasn’t lost players across college football? Especially when you look at the elite football programs, and you look at the top of the top,” Sanford Jr. said.
“There’s football players on every single program that are no longer on the team for a multitude of reasons. Whether it be from graduation to the NFL Draft, to opting out to injuries. There’s so many key pieces that are missing around when you watch college football. But one thing that’s not going to be missing, and I know this firsthand from 2015 Notre Dame when we played Don Brown’s Boston College defense, they’re going to have incredible ‘how.'”
Sanford Jr. then called out a few defensive players for Michigan to be a problem for Minnesota’ss offense. His focus seemed to be three players in the front seven that has an intensity that can fuel a defense.
“The guys that really start that are the returners. Aiden Hutchinson is a first-round talent and certainly top five in terms of the way he plays the game,” Sanford Jr. said. “Kwity Paye is in this in the same conversation. Certainly a top 10 talent and plays extremely hard. Cam McGrone the linebacker too. These are guys that have the talent, and they play the game the way it’s supposed to be played. That’s a cultural piece of it.”
Michigan takes on No. 21 Minnesota at 7: 30 pm EST on ABC as they play in the TCF Stadium in Minneapolis, MN.
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