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Mike Sainristil Is A Officially A Michigan LEGEND

Saturday’s Big Ten championship game was one of the more boring college football games I’ve watched in a minute. I’m happy that my team came out on top, but it was definitely a struggle. Both defenses came to play, but it wasn’t exactly an inspired effort by Michigan’s offense. They basically did the bare minimum to win. On defense, they were dazzling, with the biggest bright spot of the game being senior defensive back Mike Sainristil, who won the game’s MVP. None of these players have a legacy that is complete yet. Michigan still has at least one more ball game against Alabama in the Rose Bowl. The saga continues, but even if the season were to end tomorrow, Mike Sainristil would go down as a University of Michigan legend. 

There are many reasons why the first six years of the Jim Harbaugh era were a disappointment, but I think one of the big ones was that the leadership wasn’t always great. Sure, there might’ve been a lot of bravado and chest-thumping, but it also seemed like there was a fair amount of finger-pointing when things went sideways. Never having an elite talent at quarterback didn’t help either. To me, a player like Mike Sainristil represents everything right with Michigan football. He arrived on campus in 2019. He was in a wide receiver room with Nico Collins and Donovan Peoples-Jones, two guys who ended up playing in the NFL. He played receiver for three years, and he wasn’t that bad. You heard his name a fair amount. He may not have had the upside that Roman Wilson or Cornelius Johnson had, but he could’ve easily transferred out and played wide receiver at a high level at another school. The wide receiver room was getting slightly crowded, and they decided to move them to defensive back. That’s where his career took off.

Sainristil still has a lot of football left to play. He’ll be playing on Sundays in the NFL for a long time. I would have no objection to the Detroit Lions taking him, but over the last two years, he has become one of the best defensive backs in the country. In back-to-back seasons, he’s made key plays against Ohio State. His pass breakup in the 2022 game is one of the most overlooked big plays of the Jim Harbaugh era, and this year, he laid a whooping down on Treveyon Henderson in the second quarter against the Buckeyes.

When people talk about this Michigan team, it’s easy to bring up the scope position players. J.J. McCarthy, Blake, Corum, and Roman Wilson have all had excellent seasons, but this defense has made this team what it is. This has been a legendary Group with tremendous leadership and even more NFL talent. 13 players from this defense were named to the first, second, or third team Big Ten this year. That is ridiculous. But the best of them has been Sainristil. On a game-by-game basis, the country may have defensive backs who put up better numbers, but I can’t think of many who have had bigger moments. He’s been a big game player for the Wolverines his whole career. I hope he goes home with a Natty.