ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Michigan football isn’t the worst tackling defense in the Big Ten, but it’s far from the best. However, defensive coordinator Wink Martindale doesn’t believe that’s the issue the Wolverines are facing on that side of the ball. At least not the only issue.
According to PFF, the Wolverines are the seventh-worst tackling unit in the Big Ten, with an OK ranking of 72.8. But compare that to 2023, when Michigan football had a 91.2 rating — the best in the conference and second-best in the country.
WolverinesWire asked Martindale on Wednesday about the team taking a step back in that arena, and while he demurred that it’s been a consistent issue, he noted that it is something that the defense is working on.
“I don’t think that it’s been an issue throughout the year. I don’t want to lead that off with saying that,” Martindale said. “I think that we’ve had some missed tackles. We’ve had some games where individuals missed some tackles, and I see them working, better with their angles and eyes.”
So what are the Wolverines doing to address the waning ability to get opposing ball carriers on the ground?
“We’ve done tackling circuits the last, really, last three weeks, last four weeks,” Martindale said. “Get some more focused on their angles and everything else. But I also think there’s a part to the game where there’s a lot of space out there. That guy’s on scholarship too, and sometimes he makes people miss, but I don’t see the missed tackles as some other people see it. I think that we’ve done a nice job of playing hard, and that’s been a trademark forever, and it’ll continue to be a trademark. But, just keep running the football and having good eyes and good angles, and you’ll tackle better.”
Michigan is going to have a big challenge with a potent Indiana offense on the docket. The worst-graded tackler of the primary contributors is nickelback Zeke Berry, who has a 29.4% missed tackle rate, according to PFF. Brandyn Hillman has a 25% missed tackle rate and currently injured star cornerback Will Johnson actually has a 20.8% missed tackle rate. Maligned safety Makari Paige’s missed tackle rate is 20.5%.