Mike Sainristil thriving with second year on Michigan football defense
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — It appeared to be something of an optical move at first, Michigan football wide receiver Mike Sainristil moving to the defensive side of the ball last spring. But when looked like a novelty, working to put a player in a new position given the logjam at wideout, paid off visible dividends as soon as the season began.
And when Sainristil made the play of The Game, batting away a sure touchdown out of the hands of Ohio State tight end Cade Stover with 7:30 left in the contest, the move went from pretty good to a grand slam.
Now Sainristil is in his second year on the defensive side of the ball, and it’s also Jesse Minter’s second year with the program. From a holistic standpoint, he feels like the defense is on good footing, knowing where it’s been but realizing that in order to be better, it can’t stay in the rear view.
“Things have been able to start off well. The team is in a great spot,” Sainristil said. “Coaches are helping everybody understand that in order to get back to where we want to be, we have to not really focus on what we did. We understand what we need to do. Just my position, making sure that I can do everything I can to help the team succeed at the highest level possible.”
For Sainristil, the big thing for him is expounding upon that which he did a year ago. After all, he hadn’t played defense since high school.
He had said last year that he was working off of memory to some degree, but that he wanted to expand his repertoire this year having another year in the system on that side of the ball. Now that he knows the playbook and has that part down, he can dig into the minutiae and work to improve himself in a way that he couldn’t a year ago.
“Just being able to really focus on little techniques, small details,” Sainristil said. “Last spring, I really was more focused on learning the playbook more than I was being able to understand techniques and everything. But now that I have a year of the playbook under my belt, I make sure I get with the coaches to help me find those finer points in the techniques and details.”
That said, his role may be expanding this year. While it appears that fellow converted wide receiver Amorion Walker will get some run playing outside corner, Sainristil is also getting reps there, not sticking strictly inside as he did for the bulk of 2022. It’s a challenge he’s welcoming wholeheartedly, and the player who once said he’d play offensive line if asked has the same attitude for a more naturalistic position switch this time around.
“Wherever the coaches want me is where I’ll be,” Sainristil said. “Like I said, just helping the team succeed in whatever spot I am. They’ve been moving me around a little bit from nickel to corner. Wherever they want me, wherever they need me the most is what I’ll do.”
