Per Jesse Minter, Adjustments Will Be The Key To Victory Against TCU

Michigan defensive coordinator Jesse Minter has been a wizard all year long when it comes to making adjustments.

Jesse Minter and his defense have been phenomenal all year long. Whether it was more of a run-heavy approach by a team like Illinois or a wide open speed attack like Ohio State, Minter has figured things out over the course of each game and developed one of the best second-half teams in the entire country.

The plan is likely to do the same thing with TCU. There will be a stretch of time where each team attempts to feel the other one out, the game might remain close through the first half before Minter flips the switch and dominates the Horned Frogs in the second stanza. That seems like a pretty specific prediction, but we've just seen it over and over and over. In order to do that to TCU, the entire defense is going to need to be on their game and Minter seems confident that they will be, with credit going to some pretty special Wolverines.

"I think it starts with our strength and conditioning, Ben Herbert and the staff," Minter said. "It speaks to the really, really good players and the smart players. When we need to make adjustments, we have good assistant coaches and smart players. Where there's time, we can tweak a call at halftime or tweak a call in the second quarter that they are able to pick up on that. That's not always the case, especially like somewhere where you are new and new defense or young players. We got guys that now have been through a lot together. So we're able to make adjustments and stuff like that. But ultimately, it just speaks to the guys that we have and the mindset and their ability to want to finish games really strong. It starts in the weight room and starts with Coach Herbert and carries over to the players."

Herbert has been given so much credit by different assistants and Jim Harbaugh himself that you really start to believe that he's out there and involved just as much as the 10 on-field assistants. Whoever is responsible for getting the defense ready beyond Minter, needs to keep it up, because TCU definitely poses a threat and can score in a hurry.