Michigan DC Wink Martindale recaps the Ohio State game plan, the defense’s improvements, impression of QBs

TAMPA, Fla. — Michigan football shocked Ohio State to conclude the regular season, with the Wolverines’ defense holding the high-powered Buckeyes’ offense to 10 points in a road upset. 

A month after The Game, DC Wink Martindale spoke with media for the first time since coordinating the unit’s effort in Columbus. He discussed how hits on QB Will Howard changed the trajectory of the game, and how the defense’s performance was a continuation of improvements that began much earlier in the season. During his press conference ahead of the ReliaQuest Bowl, Martindale also named players who have impressed him in recent practices, and he offered his early impressions of QBs Bryce Underwood and Mikey Keene. 

Here is everything Wink Martindale said: 

Wink Martindale on the defensive line against Alabama:

I think the guys that were backing up earlier in the year, they’re gonna get a lot more playing time. And that’s gonna be the challenge for those guys is guys that are getting six to ten reps a game are gonna go up to 30, 40 reps. It’ll be interesting to see how they handle that. We’ll have a lot of the younger guys that haven’t had a chance to play, they’ll get in the mix and be able to get in that rotation.

Wink Martindale on Rayshaun Benny being the anchor for the DL right now:

Of course he is. Yeah, Rayshaun is.

Wink Martindale on the younger defensive lineman who have impressed him:

I think that Trey’s had a nice bowl prep. Enow’s had a nice bowl prep. Ike, he continues to grow in his role. So it’s gonna be exciting to see and fun to watch.

Wink Martindale on the Ohio State game plan:

Well, we were really confident in the game plan. Our whole message was all week, let’s take them to the deep end in the fourth quarter. We knew then we could take over the game defensively. 

So I know there’s been a lot of speculation about this and that, this and that. But all credit to the players. The game always has been, always will be about them. I came out with that on Twitter because that’s what it was.

We just physically outplayed them. And guys, when your best players are playing their best, that’s when you have a lot of success. And you saw that with Makari’s hit on the quarterback, and Ernest’s hit on the quarterback that was sort of hidden that no one saw because it was on a read sweep, but he got hit pretty good. And after that, he started getting a little nervous back there. 

So the guys had a great rush plan. Lou had a great rush plan. And Kevin with the four up front. LaMar and BJ did a great job with the coverage aspect of it. Just sticking to our game plan. And it was a lot of fun to watch. 

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