“How we doin’?”

Pretty good, how about you?

“Great. Couldn’t be better.”

Why is that? Why couldn’t you be better?

“Great afternoon. We’re practice 10 in. Guys have been working really hard. It’s just been really good. Environment’s awesome, staff’s awesome. Just think it’s a really good time to be a Wolverine.”

What’s it been like having Mike Sainristil back on punt returns?

“Oh, really good. He’s just a great kid, fun to be around, fun, energy. He’s been doing some really good stuff back there [at] both punt and kick return. I’m excited to see him as he keeps getting better and growing and stuff like that but he’ll be a guy that will challenge for those jobs for sure.”

A guy like Josh Metellus, how has he grown over the years considering how he was when he first got his start in 2016?

“Yep, that’s a great question. I mean, Josh is playing at an elite level right now. His leadership qualities are unbelievable. Really proud of him. He’s grown tremendously just as kids when they grow into men do, but he came in here, he was young for his age. He came in just having shoulder surgery if you remember back in the day so he wasn’t as strong his freshman year but he was so smart he got on the field and then he’s just grown as a player.

“He’s used any challenges that he’s come through, he’s used them as motivation as a positive thing, and I just—sky’s the limit for him. I think he could be one of the best safeties in the country this year. That’s what we’re shooting for.”

You have Moody and Nordin. Where is that right now?

“It’s great. Couldn’t ask for better as a coach. Those guys are coming every day. They’re competing, they’re getting after each other. They’re great teammates for each other. The environment is very competitive and those guys have handled it like A+ student-athletes and they’re there for each other, they’re coaching each other, and they’re competing against each other. It’s exactly what you want.”

How do you think Quinn responded to the end of last season when he really wasn’t the guy?

“Yeah, I think he obviously—it’s not what you want, right? It’s not what anyone asks for, but he’s got an adverse situation, he looked it in the eyes, and he’s come in and he’s competed. He hasn’t backed down from it. He hasn’t went in the tank from it. He’s really matured from it and handled it in a really, really good way.”

[After THE JUMP: more on the kicking competition, a bit about returners, and thoughts about the coaches who left for OSU]

Jim said they’re both neck and neck. Is that still the case?

“Oh yeah, for sure. I mean, we have two of the best kickers around, I think, and they’re going after each other, they’re competing, so it’s been really good. It’s been really fun to watch.”

Is that one you’ll let go all the way up to whenever the first game is?

“Oh yeah. We’ll let that crank as long as it has to go. That’s not a competition you ever cut off. You let that thing keep rolling.”

Could you see it being a two-kicker rotation? I would think Quinn’s maybe got the bigger leg—

“Yeah, I mean, they both have really strong legs. I don’t think I’m ready to say that. We’ve got to see where it goes. I don’t think we’re going to rule anything out but I also don’t think we’re going to commit to anything like that. We’re going to let these guys keep handling it like they’re handling it and see where it lies when it gets to late August.”

What are the stats like? Jim sort of rattled off something last week. They’d each missed one at that point.

“Yeah, they’re close. I think Jake’s missed two or three and Quinn’s missed two or three. They’re right equal. Quinn’s got a couple deeper ones that he hit. So, they’re really neck and neck. It’s tight. There’s no separation at all.”

Has Quinn changed anything either mentally or technically, maybe in his motion, compared to last season?

“Not necessarily changed anything. I just think maturity-wise he’s just putting everything on himself and attacking the football better and not really thinking about his leg swing as much and just relying on what he’s coached and what he does. He tends to overthink sometimes. I think his maturity has helped him not do that.”

Were you surprised by how Jake did at the end of last year?

“Um, no, not really because you can kind of just tell he was a calm, cool, collected young man so nothing really surprises us, no. I mean, for a guy to come in and kick off like he kicked off, you just know he’s got the ability to do everything else. I mean, shoot, he came in as a freshman and was hitting 4.0 hangtimes to the goal line and that’s exactly what we’re looking for, so I just think we just felt like we had something special there right off the get-go and he proved us right.”

With the competition between the two, have you seen that be beneficial to both of them in the competition?

“Is it beneficial?”

Yeah.

“Oh, heck yeah, it’s beneficial. If you don’t have a competition you’re competing against yourself and now you got to compete against yourself and somebody else so in all athletics any competition is beneficial with what we do so yeah, they’re both gonna get worlds better just from showing up every day and knowing that you’re in this competition and knowing that there’s someone that’s equal to you that wants the job, for sure. And the special thing is how they’ve handled it. They’re friends.They encourage each other. They lift together. They’ve handled it the right way and that’s what you want as a team.”

Quinn hasn’t really had as much competition the past two years so is there anything that’s been different for him about that?

“Yeah, of course. He’s got to grow and understand that that’s what this world is. We’ve had conversations about you want to kick, you have the ability to kick further in your career and go to the NFL, well they’re constantly going to bring in people to compete and to beat you. I said, ‘This is how you have to handle it. It’s just how our sport is set up and how the world is.’ People are going to be out to compete for the best jobs and that’s what he has to do and he’s done it really well.”

Jim said Ronnie Bell’s the main guy at return man for both [kick and punt]. What’s impressive about him? How do you size him up?

“Yeah, so Ronnie’s explosive, he’s athletic, he has great ball skills. He’s very comfortable back there so he’s been doing a heck of a job. Obviously we’ve got a guy who started for two years that’s our punt returner out right now, so Ronnie stepped into that and I think he could be a dynamic weapon back there and I think Mikey could be a dynamic weapon back there and then hopefully Donovan comes back healthy and ready to go. You might have to put two of them back there. You might have to do some different things. But those guys have been really, really good.

“I mean, Mike Barrett’s been really good back there. He’s just smooth catching the ball and he’s another athlete that has good feet and can do some stuff whereas two years ago we were struggling to find one. We had to start a true freshman. Now it’s going to be hard keeping four guys off the field in that role.”

Do you take kickoff off Ambry’s plate now that he’s playing more corner?

“Um, we’re not going to take it off his plate. We just—we got to improve some things with him in terms of the ability to catch it moving forward but he knows that. We’re not going to take it—he’s just such an explosive athlete you’ve got to get the ball in his hands whenever we can so we’ll try to keep getting him going but right now him and Ronnie are neck and neck for that kick returner spot as well.

“Mikey’s working back there, Mike Barrett’s back there, so we have some guys there, too, whereas two years ago we had to start another true freshman. Now it’s like, okay, now there’s some choices, there’s some weapons, there’s some different things you can do with those guys.”

You had two guys on your staff leave for Ohio State. What’s the vibe now with the two younger guys and it’s got an East Coast feel now, doesn’t it?

[laughs] “So I’ve known Anthony [Campanile] since high school. We went to high school together. Here’s the thing: Anthon has a very, very good knowledge of our scheme from top to bottom, right, and the position that he’s coached and where he’s coached, that helps a lot, so he’s stepped in and really hit the ground running and really brought a lot to what we’re trying to do.

“And then Shaun, he’s passionate, he understands the players, he understands how to motivate a room, he’s got those guys bonded right now and I think that’s huge. I think just feel like the atmosphere is unbelievable in this place right now. The staff is unbelievable.

“I mean, let’s be honest, we lost that game and I think everyone that’s here looked up at that scoreboard and when it hit zero we had a decision to make. Our mouths were bloody and we wanted to say—the people that were here stood up and said we’re not going to stay down. We’re not going to get a knockout blow and stay down. We’re going to attack this thing. And that’s what I think we’ve done. As a team we’ve grown stronger from that. We didn’t run out of here. We stood, we looked it in the eye. I think we’re hungry. I think there’s an energy here that hasn’t been here since I’ve been here in terms of these guys walk in the building, they’re excited, they’re ready to go, they know what’s at stake, they know what needs to be done. Those guys that have come in have just added to that.

“I mean, you talk Gattis too, he’s passionate, he’s energetic, he’s taking control of this offense. You just see that going. For me who’s been here the whole time, it’s just exciting. Everything going on is exciting. You’ve got guys who want to right the wrong and you’ve got guys who are just adding to that so it’s really good.”

J’Marick [Woods] featured during the bowl game. “Yep.” Have you seen him take that next step this spring—“Yep.”—now that he’s finally healthy?

“Yes, yes. So the thing about people on the outside, they don’t understand. Everyone feels like guys just walk in here and they had the same past, right, but these kids come from different programs, different situations, [and] are different in regard to how they have to develop. Woods came in here, he was 6’3”, he was young, he was 17 years old, he was like a baby deer running around and he has now developed into a man. He’s controlling his body. I mean, we saw it in December before the bowl game and he’s come into this spring ball and he’s been lights out to where he had to develop a little bit and we’re excited about him. Like I said, he’s becoming a man, he’s taking a stronghold, he understands the defense, he’s seeing formation, he’s taking coaching and it’s really been awesome.

“The other guy, too, is Brad Hawkins. Brad played last year because of injuries or whatnot but Brad was a receiver his entire life, so he’s literally going into his third year of ever playing defense, so the sky is the limit and he is shooting for it right now.

“I’ve got three guys back there that I feel so strong about that I think are going to come out and be a group that is going to open some people’s eyes because they’re all just getting to where they could be and they could still go more but this has been really good for those guys this spring and for our defense to say ‘Wow, Brad has gotten so much better.’ Well, yeah, because he’s going into his third year playing defense so just seeing formations, understanding calls and all that stuff. He’s gonna continue to get better.”

Who have you been the most impressed with within your own group from a leadership standpoint?

“It’s easy: Josh Metellus. I mean, he’s just—he’s taken that. He’s a guy who comes in every day excited, ready to work. He’s taken the young guys under his wing. He’s running that defense from the back end. He’s the guy that is the leader right now and I don’t think there’s any question about it.”

With the energy from the assistants, I think they’re all under 37.

“Oh yeah.”

Is there something to that? It seems like there was a type that coaches were looking for, maybe unproven or less proven, I should say?

“Like I said, the energy’s awesome. Everyone’s fired up to come to work. Everyone’s excited to get out to practice. The players feed off the energy. Really I couldn’t imagine it being better anywhere else right now and I don’t know if the age has anything to do with it but I think Coach has done an unbelievable job putting this staff together, putting this spring together, the way we’re practicing, the way the meetings are structured, the way practice is structured. I mean, the energy in the building is sky high.

“Whatever the motivation each person has is their own motivation and I don’t know if age is a factor or not. Shoot, Don Brown’s one of the most energetic people there is. I don’t think the age is a major factor. I just think it just meshes really well together.”

You alluded to it earlier, though. A good deal of it has to be from how last year ended, I assume.

“For me, yeah. Yeah, I got blood in my mouth. There’s no qualms about it. So yeah, for me the motivation is how last year—I don’t wake up a day and not think about it, that’s for sure. I know Don feels the same way.

“And I want to be candid: those guys left and it was another shot. It wasn’t okay. That’s just how I feel. I’m not speaking for anyone else, so I’m ultra motivated. I make sure my guys that I get in front of, they hear it and they know that every single day when I wake up I’m motivated. I want to take this thing, I want to hit it in the mouth, and I want to go get it.

“I just think each person is motivated their own way but I just know my personal opinion, I’m gonna coach harder than I ever imagined I could coach, I’m gonna be more aggressive than I ever have been before, and we’re going to try to make sure that that scoreboard never looks like it did last year.”

Have you talked to Greg [Mattison] or Al [Washington] since they left?

“No, no.”

No desire?

“No desire. No desire at all. I’m not the kind of guy who’s gonna reach out or anything like that. I’ve been here going on my fifth year. I consider myself an alumni of Michigan, just like someone who goes four years and graduates. So, I’m here, I’m Michigan, I’m Go Blue all the way so I don’t have the desire.”

Did that surprise you to see both guys leave? Maybe Al [inaudible]?

“I mean, nothing surprises me in this business nowadays I guess. Whether it’s right or wrong I’m not one to comment. I just know how I feel and I’m just—I’m Michigan all the way and that’s kind of it.”

For someone who had been entrenched here in Ann Arbor as long as Mattison had, and like you said you consider yourself kind of an alum, is that—obviously you said nothing surprises you, but does that just seem kind of odd that someone would leave here after being here for so long and go to Ohio State of all places?

“Uh, yeah, it’s odd. I don’t think it really happens ever. I’ve never seen it happen before but I’m not gonna pretend to understand the reasons. All I know if we’re here and the people that are here are locked arms ready to go, ready to walk down that alley and do what’s needed to win and that’s all that really I care about, you know. And that’s his decision. He made his bed so he’s got to lie in it and here we go. You know, that’s it.”

You looking forward to that game?

“Pssh, oh yeah. Trust me, I am.”