Questions about our secondary/defensive scheme

Dunno, but I can say with confidence that Michigan hosts Maryland this Saturday at noon.

Ja'Den McBurrows was getting a lot of hype at corner before his injury. I'd expect him to play a role there next year

I think it's unlikely we see Sainristil move outside.  Last guy that small we moved outside was Jeremy Gallon at WR, but that was a bit of a desperation move that mostly worked out because Gallon wore an invisible jet pack.  I don't remember ever seeing Sainristil winning a jump ball.

These days "nickelback" is often synonymous with "slot corner", and Sainristil is physically close to what you're looking for there, which is undoubtedly why they put him there.  He's listed as 5'10", but if he's 5'10" then I'm Charles Woodson.  But that's okay because slot receivers also tend to be small-ish, getting open by being fast & shifty as opposed to tall & leapy.  Sainristil is shifty and not slow -- he was fine as a slot receiver himself -- so he can probably stay with even B+ slot bugs, although it remains to be seen if he can keep up with Smith-Njigba.  As for whether he stays, I think going up against Smith-Njigba will answer that question -- he could land anywhere from "play out eligibility" to 1st-rounder depending on how well or badly that goes.  (As much as I'm pulling for the guy he's probably going to need amoeba help against OSU, and ultimately winds up a Day 3 pick.)

Johnson is destined for outside corner, big and fast, but he's ridonkulus athletic which is why he can hack it at nickel.  In his case, slot corner is an apprenticeship for young outside corners because the responsibilities are more straightforward.  I don't know why; I just remember reading that years ago.  Johnson's playing slot corner for now, so I guess that still applies?

I don't know enough about the guys we're fermenting to comment on them.  The coaches tend to move them around; note they swapped Sainristil and Dennis just last offseason.

all i know is it won't be me .... 27 years after graduating high school i still have four years eligibility and still haven't gotten the call.

The fun part of the 2022 class is that the DBs can play a lot of different positions. Will Johnson is an outside corner (and projects to be his best position imo) but also big enough to play safety. Zeke Berry can play nickel or a safety position. Keon Sabb can play strong safety or move into the box. Kody Jones can play corner or nickel. Basically we got guys that can do the Amoeba defense thing well in the secondary which Seth loves to talk about. Not sure if they all will be ready by next year (that defense in 2024 will be cooking with gas tho).

In terms of next years starting corners I think it's going to be Will Johnson as CB1 and then Jaden McBurrows as CB2 even if Sainristil returns (why move him from nickel if he's good?).

Johnson CB1, Sainristil NB (assuming he comes back), and then someone from McBurrows/Kody Jones/Pollard/Perry  gonna have to step up as CB2

Gemon Green would still have a covid year to return for 2023, that'd be the best case scenario if he doesn't think he'd go high enough in the draft

Zeke Berry would be the Dax Hill FS/NB role type thing. Sabb a SS - like Moten role.  Don't forget about Damani Dent either

Modern pro defenses (which is what ours is modeled on) embrace a similar mentality to “positionless basketball” with their secondary personnel. We have a diverse group of athletes in the secondary, so the nickel will likely be matchup dependent. As dragonchild said above, a nickel like Sainristil typically covers the slot in a like-covers-like. However, offenses have begun to use their most effective receivers from the slot because of the matchup problems they create. So another way to approach nickel is to put your best cover guy there, like we did with Dax Hill last year. 
 

Going forward it looks like the options there are Kody Jones and Zeke Berry. Jones as the more slot shaped person, and Berry as the Uber-athlete a la Dax Hill. This is overly simplified but pretty close to what to expect.

Outside is Dj turner, Gemon Green/Will Johnson, and nb Mikey Sainristil. Safeties are Moten, Paige, and, Rod Moore. I'll think about next year's team in December when there's a few weeks prep for playoffs. 

Dude, we're 3 games into this season. Let's enjoy this one before worrying about who's playing DB next year.

My question is more about this year...

I am amazed by Sainristil so far.... he's been a player despite the position change.  Can he keep this up against the better teams?

He may be my favorite player on the team this year so far

We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. First, let's see how this defense handles the Maryland. After that, there's the rest of the B1G schedule. This movie has only started and thinking about what the scheme will be in 2023 isn't my concern until maybe January.

You know a lot. Don’t sell yourself short.