ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Usually, when a longtime coach at the pro level comes back down to the college ranks, you often hear a lot about how they’re not exactly the most voracious recruiters.
The college game is much different in that regard. There’s really no offseason. Coaches have to be on their game, talking to high school prospects, working diligently to convince them that their college is the best fit for them to develop and get national attention. Now, with the transfer portal, new Michigan defensive coordinator Wink Martindale sees a lot of similarities between college and the NFL.
It may be quite rare that NFL coordinators take college jobs, but Martindale is excited for the challenge. Between the college job itself and the specter of recruiting, he shared his thoughts on how he ended up in Ann Arbor.
“It’s getting very comparable to the National Football League,” Martindale said. “So I think that through mutual friends, Sherrone and I got in contact with each other. And that part worked right away immediately. Just talking to Sheronne, I’ve heard a lot of great things about it. And everything that people have told me I’ve seen, and it’s an opportunity that for myself, and for my wife, I’m like, ‘I want to do this.’ And she’s like, ‘Are you sure?’ I’m like, ‘Yeah, I want to do this’. And, you know, to coach at this great of a university and play the games that we play — I mean, this schedule is not much different than the schedules I’ve been playing for the last 20 years. I know that. So it’s gonna be a tough challenge for us.”
At 60 years old, many have written Martindale off from the recruiting aspect, but don’t be so sure. On Friday, he shared a hefty amount of enthusiasm for that aspect of the game.
His proteges, and also predecessors, in Mike Macdonald and Jesse Minter were decent, although not avid recruiters. But Martindale appears ready for the challenge. And it’s something he says has to be done on a daily basis.
“Well, I think that recruiting, as a coach, I think you recruit every day,” Martindale said. “And the players you have on the roster — now, you tie to the portal, with the pros, it’s free agency. High school kids are transferring now and everything else. I think that part of recruiting is just coaching.
“As far as going out on the road, we did the same thing in the NFL. You can see out here at pro day all the guys that are out. We talk to as many people as you can, as well, as you know, on campus about these players. Same thing in high school. You go to a high school, you’re going to talk to as many people — you’re going to talk to more people at the high school than you are actually the kid to find out about the kid.
“And I think I love the challenge of recruiting, excited about recruiting, I think we have an advantage winning the national championship. And like I already mentioned, the coaches that were brought here, they’re all excellent recruiters. And Sheronne and Sean, they have a plan in recruiting and it’s going to be fun to execute.”
So if you thought that Martindale was going to oversee the defense and nothing else, perhaps it’s time to change your expectations. Because it appears that he’s ready to hit the road and take the challenge of recruiting head on — along with everything else.