Michigan's Wink Martindale talks Will Johnson, playing man vs. zone coverage

There's been a perception that the Wolverines will return to a Don Brown style of defense under new coordinator Wink Martindale, but that's been shot down emphatically...

Iowa tight end Sam LaPorta (84) and Michigan defensive back Will Johnson (2) react as a penalty is called on Iowa during a NCAA Big Ten Conference college football game, Saturday, Oct. 1, 2022, at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa. / Joseph Cress/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK

When Wink Martindale was hired by Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore to be the Wolverines' next defensive coordinator, the aggressive playcaller was immediately compared to former U-M defensive coordinator Don Brown. Martindale immediately set the record straight and shot down those comparisons.

No, Martindale's defense is expected to look very similar to the one orchestrated by previous Michigan DCs Mike Macdonald (2021) and Jesse Minter (2022-23), which led the Wolverines to great success over the past three seasons. There's been rhetoric stating Martindale will play more man-to-man coverage than Macdonald and Minter did, which led to those comparisons to Brown, but Martindale once again waved that off in a recent press conference.

Blue Team head coach Wink Martindale watches a play during the spring game at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor on Saturday, April 20, 2024. / Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK

"There’s no truth to any of that. I mean, that’s all speculation," Martindale said, though the defensive coordinator did stress the importance of being able to play man coverage.

"I’ll say this wherever I’m at, and I’ll say it when I’m retired, OK? Man teams, when you start out teaching the principle of man, which we'll do on the first practice, can play zone to win games. Zone teams who play nothing but zone can never play man to win the game," Martindale said. "Teams that don’t pressure, when they have to pressure, it doesn’t usually look right because they don’t practice it enough. So if you just want a four-man rush and coverage the entire game, when it comes time where you need to win a situational play, if they know that you’re just going to be a four-man rush coverage team, you don’t have a very high success rate."

That's why Martindale is thrilled to have arguably the best cornerback in all of college football on his defense in junior Will Johnson.

"My preference, I want to corner out there and cover man," Martindale said. "My preference. What we do with the safeties is our business. But if you got two corners that can play man, like Will can, that’s my preference. I like the guys that get drafted, high."

Jan 8, 2024; Houston, TX, USA; Michigan Wolverines defensive back Will Johnson (2) celebrates with linebacker Junior Colson (25) after a turnover against the Washington Huskies during the third quarter in the 2024 College Football Playoff national championship game at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports / Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

After spending the last 20 years coaching in the NFL, Martindale knows what it takes for a cornerback to have success at the highest level of football. Johnson has that in spades, and Martindale wants to make sure the rest of Michigan's secondary is put in the best situation to have success, not only this season in Ann Arbor but in the future as well.

Like under Macdonald and Minter, whom Martindale mentored within the Baltimore Ravens organization before their time at Michigan, the Wolverines will play a diverse and situational style of defense in 2024.

"I’m not saying you can’t play four-man rush and coverage in situations," Martindale said. "But I think just building it off of the man principle, one-on-one coverage principle, which these kids have been playing ever since they played football with all the 7-on-7s and everything else they’re doing seventh grade on, sixth grade on, younger than that, they all grow up playing cat coverage. You know what cat coverage is? 'I got that cat.' So, I think that there’s a lot more things that go into it than just playing man, man, man."

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