The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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THE WOLVERINE 2023 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ■ 101 ony in Columbus called it a fluke, with full payback coming from a scarlet-and- gray legion bursting with an abundance of NFL talent. Yet here they were, one year later, down 31-20, in their own building. A tenuous half of a quarter remained, and the long- awaited humiliation of the Wolverines had evaporated like a snowflake flutter- ing in front of a sideline propane heater. Still, the Buckeyes could pull this one out. They stood only 9 yards away from the touchdown that would claw the home team within four points, perhaps even three. Buckeye fans inched to the edge of their seats, screamed support, and desperately hoped. On the field, Michigan senior nickel back Mike Sainristil took as much notice of the crowd as his j e rs e y n u m b e r reflected — zero. H e r e m a i n e d c l i n i ca l , co o l ly assessing the situation, and the job at hand. Ohio State's in 12 personnel (one run- ning back, two tight ends). We're in nickel. When nickel is out there with 12 personnel, I've got to take the tight end. No small task there, especially given the situation. Sainristil stands 5-foot-10, weighing in at 182, an admittedly under- sized nickel that has to mix it up with the big boys. OSU tight end Cade Stover stands 6-foot-4, weighing just over 250. A mismatch made in Buckeye heaven. The Buckeyes weren't relying exclu- sively on Stover's size. They reached for some deception to clear a wide-open path to the touchdown that would propel them back to victory. Sainristil rejected that scenario. "When I knew I had Stover, when the ball was snapped, he showed like he was blocking," Sainristil recalled. "I'm taught that when my man blocks, I'm ei- ther supposed to blitz or look for the next thing coming — in the red zone, that is. "I took my eyes off of him, and within that split second, I didn't see him release. That put me in the trail position on the play. I kind of knew, with that route com- bination, it was some type of crossing routes or scissors. I was behind, and I knew that corner of the end zone was wide open." The whole world knew Sainristil ran behind. Stover flashed open across the middle of the field toward the left cor- ner of the end zone, ready to snatch C.J. Stroud's touchdown pass out of the air and turn everything around. Buckeye fans gasped in anticipation, watching the sure-handed tight end churn into open space. This was it. This would highlight the comeback, assure that 2021 was a fluke, make Ryan Day 2-1 against the Wolverines, and silence the nonstop noise out of Ann Arbor regarding a turnaround in the series. Sainristil remained clinical, calculat- ing, and ultimately Buckeye-crushing. "The only thing going through my head was, don't panic," Sainristil remembered. "This ball was 99 percent coming your way. Get to the hip. Don't panic. Don't look for the ball. Play through the hands. That's the technique my coaches taught me. That's the technique I trusted. I was in the moment, and I was able to make a great play. "I knew I was going to be able to get the ball. I was able to get back to phase with his hip. I knew I put myself back into po- sition to make some sort of play or strip the ball somehow. When I shot the hand, I was able to get it right in between his hands and tip the ball out." Sainristil did shoot the hand, with a surgeon's precision. The football rested in both of Stover's welcoming mitts for a split second, before Sainristil's left hand flicked it away like a swooping eagle rob- bing a grizzly bear of a salmon. Buckeye fans rocked back in disbelief. That did not happen. That could not hap- pen. Yes, the Buckeyes secured a field goal on the next play, pulling within eight points, 31-23. But on the very next play from scrimmage, U-M sophomore tail- back Donovan Edwards sailed away on a 75-yard touchdown run, the first of his two Buckeye busters in the closing mo- ments. Edwards and Michigan's offensive line applied the coup de grâce, but a savvy senior defensive back had already broken Buckeye hearts. On the field following the defensive play of the game, Sainristil certainly wasn't strutting like he'd ushered him- self into Michigan-Ohio State lore. In his mind, he'd just done his job. "Honestly, I had no clue," he said. "I just made a stop, and got them off the field." Sainristil stands far removed from any desire for self-aggrandizement. But the weight of the moment sank in a bit when he received an offseason request from another Buckeye slayer. "Desmond Howard actually asked me for the picture from that game," Sainris- til shared. "That speaks for itself of how legendary of a play people view it as." Putting Others First Sainristil's moment blocking the OSU sun only scratches the surface of what he's done in a Michi- g a n u n i f o r m . H e spent his first three U-M seasons as a re- ceiver, racking up 37 catches for 539 yards and 5 touchdowns. The year before his switch to defense as a senior, he earned Michigan's co-Of- fensive Skill Player of the Year (then earned the defensive award in 2022) with 22 catches for 312 yards and 2 TDs. He then shifted seamlessly to defense, after Harbaugh saw the need and acqui- esced to the requests of Michigan's de- fensive coaches. "I wanted him on defense because of how physical he was," former U-M de- fensive edge Mike Morris told the Big Ten Network. "The transition he made from offense to defense wasn't anything out of the ordinary. The coaches were trying to get him on defense ever since he was a freshman." After that legendary day in Columbus, Harbaugh noted: "We asked Mikey if he would consider going over to defense. Figured it was going to be tough to re- place Dax Hill and just felt Mikey had the skill set for it. He was smart enough to be able to do that and play both ways. He was willing, and then he was just so good at it, right off the bat." In fact, new defensive coordinator Jesse Minter just arrived when Sainris- til was making the switch, and Minter told Big Ten Network: "Truth be told, through the first couple days of spring ball, if I wouldn't have known that he'd just moved over, I wouldn't have known." Don't look for Sainristil to sing his own praises. He's here to do what he's asked, help lead a potential national champi- onship team and enhance others' confi- dence and futures. "We asked Mikey if he would consider going over to defense. … He was smart enough to be able to do that and play both ways. He was willing, and then he was just so good at it, right off the bat." HEAD COACH JIM HARBAUGH ON SAINRISTIL