One of the things that helped Michigan win the college football national championship two years ago was a complicated defense, one that was hard for offenses to predict and understand.
You saw the impact of that in the Super Bowl. The New England Patriots' offensive line had some issues, but Drake Maye also didn't know what he was looking at. Mike Macdonald has built a career on confusing the quarterback. Jesse Minter, too.
In this new age of football, it's the most proven way to beat great offenses, outside of having elite play in the trenches, which Michigan football has had, is the ability to confuse the quarterback.
Wink Martindale was supposed to run the same defensive system, but he didn't really. He favored more blitzing than coverage and didn't disguise things well enough.
Maybe the players didn't execute well enough. Regardless, the defense needs to be better against the most difficult teams on the schedule. Jay Hill, the former BYU defensive coordinator, who came over with Kyle Whittingham, will be responsible for that.
Michigan has the most complicated defense in college football
Earlier this week, on the In the Trenches podcast, Hill talked about how the Wolverines' defense is the most complicated in college football.
“I would say we run the most complicated scheme in the country. We have more calls, we do more things with fronts and coverages. So, this is not something that they just pick up in a day. We’re going to need all of spring, we’re going to need all of summer, we’re going to need all of fall camp to get us ready to go for the first game. And, by then, we’ll be ready to go," Hill said.
The defensive transition might take some time, but Hill is an elite defensive coordinator, who reminds me a little of Minter and Macdonald.
Maybe he's also a future head coach, even at a place like Michigan.