Defense/ST notes: Jesse Minter explains pass rush struggles in head coaching debut

The Michigan Wolverines walked out of the Big House with a workmanlike, dominant 30-3 victory over East Carolina, but it was not without its share of warts on defense.

The Wolverines were able to hold ECU to 235 yards of total offense in the game, and nearly pitched a shutout if not for a white-flag field goal as time expired. But Michigan did not record a sack in the game.

In last season’s opener against Colorado State, Michigan was able to jump into the post-Aidan Hutchinson/David Ojabo era with a seven-sack performance that may have created a false perception of what was to come. Sacks are not the be-all or end-all, but it did raise an eyebrow coming off a game against an inferior opponent.

It was the first time Michigan did not record a sack since last season’s Illinois game. Prior to that, it was 2022’s non-conference finale against UConn.

Defensive coordinator/acting head coach Jesse Minter is not overly concerned about it given the Pirates’ emphasis on getting the ball out as quickly as possible to avoid potential catastrophe.

“They weren’t going to allow us to pin our ears back and rush with how fast they were getting rid of the ball,” Minter said after the game. “The threat of the draws and the runs with the quarterback that was in there, so just continuing to work our pass rush. I thought we had some really good rushes. I think it will show on tape. But I know they were a little frustrated at not coming home with any sacks.

“I’m confident in a lot of improvements being made in those areas from week one to week two.”

As far as Minter’s debut went, Michigan barely missed a beat. Head coach Jim Harbaugh was out serving the first of a school-imposed three-game suspension

“It was interesting because [Harbaugh] was around all week, Minter said. “I was talking to him a lot about how we wanted to manage the game; how we wanted to try to do things. When I saw him last night for what was going to be the last time, it really, really hit me there that this was going down. I was excited … excited or the opportunity. And I was just really excited to see our guys play.

“You go through a long camp, you go through a long offseason. It’s been a long time since we played in December. I was just excited to get back out there with the guys, and proud of the way we played.”

Michigan linebackers rule the day

Michigan’s defense will mostly feature two linebackers on the field, but the program feels like it has three starters in third-year Junior Colson, graduate Michael Barrett and sophomore Ernest Hausmann. Each played well and flashed their potential on Saturday and Minter was pleased with what he saw by the second level of the defense.

“Really proud of those guys,” Minter said. “All three have had tremendous offseasons. Junior has worked really, really hard to become a complete, full linebacker. He takes charge of our defense; he sets our fronts. He’s a great communicator, and he’s a great player, and he’s a great player because of how hard he works. He has a good skillset, but this offseason I’m not sure I’ve been around a guy that worked as hard as he has to really try to take his game to another level.

“Similar with Mike Barrett. He had options to go or come back or take a shot at the NFL but wanted to come back. So, our conversation was look, if you’re going to come back, these are the things we need to get better at. To his credit, he dove into those things and has worked really hard. I think Coach Partridge has been a huge addition for those guys as a linebackers coach. So l’m happy about those guys.

“Ernest, great to see him flying around. He’s able to play both spots. He’s a great addition because he provides instant depth at each of those positions. He’s really a starter … we really treat all three of those guys like they’re starters in our defense. Really happy with him. There will still be a lot of things to fix, but definitely pleased with the week one performance.”

Some special teams hiccups

Michigan has been used to elite, self-sustaining special teams with Jake Moody and Brad Robbins in recent years, but the operation needs a little polishing. Louisville transfer James Turner made a career-long 50-yard field goal just before halftime but missed a 52-yard attempt and an extra point in the game. He finished the day 1-for-2 on field goals and 3-for-4 on extra points.

Turner made 142-of-145 extra points in three years at Louisville and was 38-of-39 last season, so there’s plenty of history there to suggest the XP miss was a blip. He’s been nearly automatic from short range in his career — 18 of 19 from 20 to 29 yards, 14 of 14 from 30 to 39. The corner would be from 40 yards and beyond, where he was 14-of-20 between 40-49 yards out at Louisville and 1-for-6 from 50-plus yards. He had two such attempts on Saturday.

Junior Tommy Doman punted twice for 89 yards and was the holder on Turner’s field goal attempts.

The return game was a bit of an adventure, too. Senior walk-on Jake Thaw had two punt returns for six yards and did not look overly impressive out there. Freshman wideout Karmello English was back there on the next return and took one back eight yards. ECU only kicked off once in the game with senior running back Kalel Mullings with junior receiver Joe Taylor back deep, too.

Michigan defense/special teams odds and ends

• Minter gets credit for the win as Michigan’s acting head coach, bringing his career record to 1-0.
• Sophomore safety Keon Sabb, graduate cornerback Josh Wallace, graduate cornerback Keshaun Harris, sophomore linebacker Ernest Hausmann, junior EDGE Josaiah Stewart and graduate kicker James Turner made their first career starts at U-M on Saturday. Hausmann, Stewart, Wallace, Turner and freshmen cornerbacks Jyaire Hill and DJ Waller made their team debuts in the game.
• Turner’s 50-yard field goal tied a career-long and was his first make in a Michigan uniform.
• Graduate defensive back Mike Sainristil recorded U-M’s first interception of the season in the first quarter and second of his career. He recorded one in last season’s College Football Playoff loss to TCU.
• The Michigan defense missed out on a shutout by five seconds after ECU got on the board after 59:55 of scoreless football.
• Three of Michigan’s top four leading tackles were linebackers with Hausmann, Barrett and Colson leading the way. Juniors Jaydon Hood and Christian Boivin had four tackles apiece. Sophomore Micah Pollard had three tackles.
• Michigan was without two projected starters due to injury in sophomore cornerback Will Johnson and junior safety Rod Moore. Both were listed as “questionable on the pre-game availability report and warmed up with the team.

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