"They refused to let anything affect them": Michigan DC Wink Martindale opines why Wolverines picked up pace towards the end 

Michigan Wolverines defensive coordinator Wink Martindale was proud of his team and defense for how they ended the 2024 season.

After winning the national championship in 2023, the Wolverines struggled in 2024 but ended the year well with upset wins over Ohio State and Alabama. In the wins, the Wolverines allowed 10 and 13 points, respectively.

Looking back on the season, Martindale says he was proud of how his team played.

“You talk about the Ohio State game, it’s the physicality we played with,” Martindale said on the 'MGoBlue Podcasts with Jon Jansen' on Wednesday. “After that game, they refused to let anything affect them during the game. Situational football —we played great situational football in that game, and sudden change was part of it. It was fun for me to be a part of for the kids and watching them play.

It was different for me because I’m from Ohio, so I heard it when I got into the stadium. That part of it made it fun. But in those games, in those rivalry games, when you keep it about the players, that’s one of the reasons we called a timeout. We had two timeouts there and we called a timeout going into third down. I said, ‘okay – I told you Monday this was going to be your game. What do you guys want?’ They told me what they wanted, and the secondary told me what coverage they wanted through the coaches."

Martindale says the players bought into the system despite the season not going as hoped.

Wink Martindale praises Michigan's defense

Entering the game against Ohio State, Michigan had nothing to play for and many players were also focusing on the NFL.

However, Martindale credited his defense for not backing down and making the plays.

“I asked Mason [Graham], I asked Makari [Paige]," he said on the podcast. "It was just a really cool thing to see it work out, because [OSU] could have made plays. You saw the plays they made in the playoffs. But [our guys] just not were going to be denied.”

Michigan's defense ranked 10th in total defense in 2024 while ranking third in run defense.

Martindale will enter his second year as the DC of the Wolverines in 2025.