{"id":11873,"date":"2023-07-28T01:28:53","date_gmt":"2023-07-28T06:28:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/?p=11873"},"modified":"2023-07-28T01:28:53","modified_gmt":"2023-07-28T06:28:53","slug":"mike-sainristil-opens-up-on-what-its-like-to-play-to-play-for-jim-harbaugh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/mike-sainristil-opens-up-on-what-its-like-to-play-to-play-for-jim-harbaugh\/","title":{"rendered":"Mike Sainristil opens up on what it\u2019s like to play to play for Jim Harbaugh"},"content":{"rendered":"

Michigan<\/a><\/strong> defensive back Mike Sainristil<\/a><\/strong> has had an interesting journey during his time with the Wolverines. He\u2019s one of the rare talents that has switched from the offensive side of the ball to the defensive side of the ball and found success. A former receiver, Sainristil has found success in his new home as a defensive back for the Maize and Blue. On Thursday at Big Ten Media Days, he revealed that he was initially joking about the switch, but Jim Harbaugh was the man that made the final call on the 5-foot-10, 182-pounder making the move. On Thursday at Big Ten Media Days, On3\u2019s Andy Staples<\/a><\/strong> sat down with Sainristil and asked him what it\u2019s like to play for such a legendary head coach like Harbaugh.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s great. You know, I know I have a coach who\u2019s gonna do whatever it takes to help this program succeed. I know I have a coach who outside of football, is gonna help me be a better man. I love playing for Coach Harbaugh,\u201d Sainristil continued<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Then he took a brief amount of time to make a recruiting pitch to any prospects out there listening to the interview.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf any recruits hear this, Coach Harbaugh is a coach you wanna play for. He made one promise to my family and it was that, no matter what happens, he\u2019s gonna make sure I\u2019m a good man at the end of the day,\u201d the Michigan defensive back said<\/a>.<\/p>\n

For more about Sainristil from Big Ten Media Days<\/a><\/strong>, check out this excellent article below from On3\u2019s Nick Kosko<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Sainristil breaks down game-changing play against Ohio State<\/h2>\n

Mike Sainristil<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0wouldn\u2019t mind beating\u00a0Ohio State<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0for a third straight year with\u00a0Michigan<\/strong><\/a>, but he couldn\u2019t help but reflect on a key play from the 2022 game.<\/p>\n

He joined Andy Staples live from Big Ten Media Days to break down\u00a0a pass breakup of\u00a0<\/a>Cade Stover<\/a><\/strong>. It looked like Ohio State had a sure-fire touchdown.<\/p>\n

But Sainristil made a game changing play to swing the momentum in the favor of the Wolverines.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo first thing is we\u2019re in nickel,\u201d\u00a0Sainristil said on Andy Staples On3<\/strong><\/a>. \u201cI\u2019m pretty sure to have they base out there \u2026 So my man here is Cade Stover<\/a><\/strong> \u2026 He\u2019s bigger than I am for sure. Like no question about it. But so he starts off here with it looks like he\u2019s running. He\u2019s blocking me.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m supposed to not blitz the quarterback but like, you know, contain in a way. But I took my eyes off him to see what the next thing coming around. And when I took my eyes off him here, I lost leverage.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s when Sainristil described how he didn\u2019t panic in the moment.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, he gets by me and instantly I\u2019m in a you know, get back and face mindset,\u201d Sainristil said. \u201cBut what goes unnoticed, because of the play I made, is the pressure by the D-line here. Chris Jenkins got in the face of CJ Stroud<\/a><\/strong>. Honestly if I think he had a clean throw, it probably would have resulted in a touchdown. So, you know, big shout out to the D-line.<\/p>\n

\u201cBig shout out to Chris for getting that pressure on him. So, the pressure forces him to float the ball in the air. And just you know, only thing I was thinking that whole entire time was don\u2019t panic.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sainristil made one heck of a play. He\u2019s a converted receiver, so he had an idea of how Stover could play the ball.<\/p>\n

But as Joel Klatt said on the FOX broadcast, Sainristil played it \u201cperfectly.\u201d The play was made in the second half and eventually Michigan ran away with the game.<\/p>\n

Ohio State had third down from the Michigan nine-yard-line and were knocking on the door to score a touchdown.<\/p>\n

Sainristil\u2019s epic play limited Ohio State to a field goal and the Buckeyes cut a fourth quarter deficit only down to eight points. The Wolverines went on to win 45-23 and clinch a spot in the Big Ten Championship, a win over Purdue.<\/p>\n

Sainristil logged just one interception with 58 tackles last year. Expect those numbers to go up.<\/p>\n

On3\u2019s Nick Kosko<\/a><\/strong> also contributed to this article.<\/p>\n

The post Mike Sainristil opens up on what it\u2019s like to play to play for Jim Harbaugh<\/a> appeared first on On3<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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