CFP NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP: WASHINGTON VS MICHIGAN

January 6, 2024

Steve Clinkscale

NRG Stadium

Michigan Wolverines

Press Conference

Q. What did you get the sense from Coach Harbaugh how to navigate the new staff and the set of guys obviously that came here a little bit later than some of the other guys? Can you talk about --

STEVE CLINKSCALE: He was looking for someone in the secondary room especially to kind of corral the guys together, bring them together. It was a group that was very talented in the past couple of years, but not always bonded.

So we decided to keep everybody in the same room and have a lead coach. That's how I've been doing it for years, and so that's what he wanted. I told him, I think that's the best way right now.

Now that we do it, we still do it that way the majority of time. Coach Jay, who should be up here with me as well, plays an intricate role with the secondary as well. He is one to bring those guys together, bond together, work harder, be more accountable, and that's what I'm about.

I want the guys to understand that it's not just about football. It's a great opportunity on Monday, and hopefully we continue to do what we've been doing and make history and become legends.

But I want them to be legends off the field. I want them to take their butts to class. I'm going to make sure they go to school. I'm going to make sure that they're gentlemen around women and children and they respect the game and respect why they're here.

Everybody doesn't get this opportunity. We affect more people than preachers and teachers. It comes with a great responsibility.

We had that talk. Coach and I had talked for about two or three years, to be honest with you, and he sensed that with my personality. He was excited about bringing it all together, and that's how we kicked it off.

Q. You guys play a lot of complementary football.

STEVE CLINKSCALE: It's the number one thing. I love being around our staff. Jesse does a great job. He is extremely organized. Everybody has ideas. We bring it together, bring it to the table. We like this. We don't like this. We move forward. We adjust during the game.

Everybody takes responsibility for their position group, get them to practice and play the way we want them to play. The chemistry is unbelievable, and best staff I've been on. Extremely enjoyful.

You see where we are, so it's paying off.

Q. (Indiscernible) the offense staff (indiscernible) any kind of separation between the two coaches when you talk about just kind of the (indiscernible) among the assistants (off microphone)?

STEVE CLINKSCALE: Sherrone does a thing, he brings cookies on Thursdays. I try not to eat them because I gained a little weight. I smell them. I get excited.

We all have our role. We a get together in the morning. Jesse is working out. Guys are working out before we even start anything. Just talk about family, talk about recruiting, different things.

Then we get on to football, and what happens on the field, things we don't like, we get them corrected, and that's it. We don't harbor on them or point fingers. There's no backstabbing or whispering. Everything is on the table, and that starts with our head coach because he brings everything to the forefront, and we all discuss it.

Q. (Off microphone)?

STEVE CLINKSCALE: He has empowered all of us and developed us during the spring game, giving everybody the opportunity to be head coaches and coordinators and everything. He's definitely tried to build this team to where if he's not there, we're fine. Just like you saw this year.

Q. How have the conversations been like as far as answering questions about the program? How have you handled that topic?

STEVE CLINKSCALE: You get asked that question quite a bit. We don't know what's going to happen. I'm just honest with them. We don't know. I believe the way our organization is designed that we'll be fine, whatever the outcome may be.

I tell parents all the time, my son is coming to play there. He's going to be a walk-on. This is a great opportunity for him. But if I wasn't here tomorrow, I would want my son to be around men at Michigan. You know, the organization, the AD, the president, everybody. Athletically, academically, they do a great job of developing young men and young people.

It's still an opportunity whether Coach is there or not.

Q. Obviously this is a national title, but is there something more magical to this Michigan team (off microphone)?

STEVE CLINKSCALE: I like to say we're all excited, but this is the game we've been prepared for. We left last season saying this is where we want to be. All those other games in between, those were stepping stones, but this is where we wanted to be.

We're here, and now we have to execute and do our job and manage the moment. Don't take it in too much, like get overwhelmed. Understand we have to go out there and execute against the best team we're going to face all year.

Q. Just circling back to when you were talking about all those things you were looking for in recruits and future recruits. What does Keon Sabb in particular, what did he kind of bring to the table and how has he grown in two years?

STEVE CLINKSCALE: Keon, recruited him initially. You saw a very athletic young man, got a great frame, the things you look for physically.

As you start to talk to him, you realize he's a very intellectual guy. He takes a lot of pride in relationships. I'm also a relationship guy. Which has helped us grow together since he has been here.

I felt that just recruiting him and talking to him that he was a great fit. He valued academics. He valued family. He valued the culture. He valued being at the best football program in the country.

It was a great fit for us. It's just his character. Watching him around his little brothers, he's a great big brother. Watching him around his dad, his dad is a big influencer back where they're from. Just seeing hem continue to grow.

You see he'll be continuing to play more and more, and excited about Keon.

Q. It's funny that you mention his brothers. He did a lot too. Do you see him almost being a big brother even though he's still a younger guy?

STEVE CLINKSCALE: I tell people all the time, it doesn't matter your age, your year, anything. If you are a leader, if that's who you are, be you.

Keon is definitely someone who gets people to follow him because he is a brother. He's a big brother, little brother, but he bonds and brings everybody together. He does a great job with that. But yeah, I've always seen him with that leadership role, and I'm excited about him.

Q. How has he handled that transition from being a star guy on the field from every down (indiscernible) a role player?

STEVE CLINKSCALE: They're always on the field. I have four starting safeties. He is not a role player. You look at it like that, everybody is a role player. Corners are role players.

No, he's a starter. I expect him to be ready if he's called. If he starts, he starts. If he rotates in, he rotates. If he doesn't play, he doesn't play. My guys know where they stand. I'm open and honest.

If you know where you stand, you may not like it, but at least you understand where you're at and how you can move forward and what you can grow at and how you can build trust within the organization. Keon understands his role. He's been doing a great job. I'm excited about him.

Q. Steve, what's the advice to DBs this week, especially at the catch point with Washington and all the back shoulders and those kind of things?

STEVE CLINKSCALE: Well, the coaching point, we work on back corners all year long, whether people throw them or not. I have a couple techniques I try to teach the guys. I'm not going to give away any secrets. At the end of the day, it's really it about their timing. If you don't throw their timing off, they're going to connect. That's the hardest pass to defend on the outside.

Of course, just normal slants and end breaking routes are hard to defend as well, digs and posts, but when you focus in on the back shoulder fade, you have to really be disciplined. You have to understand the timing, when they're trying to throw it, where they're throwing it, where is the target, who they like throwing it to. Then finish because sometimes that ball is behind them a little bit.

Don't panic is the biggest thing. As you watch their film, there's a ton of pass interferences, a ton. A lot of it's because the ball is back shoulder underthrown. Don't panic. Get that timing. Once we get adjusted to that, you may have a couple of PIs. Be aggressive.

Once you get adjusted to it, then we have to execute when we need to.

Q. Alabama didn't go vertical too much, but how did they get you ready for this?

STEVE CLINKSCALE: Y'all say that, and I watch the film. I don't know if you watched the game, but they went vertical quite a bit. They did. They couldn't get the ball off a lot, and we were over top of them most of the time.

What was the last part of that question? That first part always gets me, like they didn't go vertical. They ran double moves. They ran deep shots. I think three or four times. They ran a couple of boots where they have switch verts in the boundary.

So they threw the ball, tried to throw it vertical. What we thought we he did best last week was the rush started the game. The D-line started. They set the tone, and the defensive backs, we met them. We were all together. We matched one another.

The rush matched the coverage. The coverage matched the rush, and then we forced him to be a passer, which we thought was his critical issue sitting there trying to dice us.

When we forced him to do that, then we were able to continue to have some success. But these guys this week, they're going to throw the ball deep. They're going to throw RPOs and screens. They're going to do everything that you have seen, boots, quick game. We just have to do a good job, like I said, a great job. We have to do a great job of being in the right position and trying to disrupt the ball. If we can get ball disruption, we'll be where we need to be.

When they catch the ball, they make big plays. Next play. It's these are great receivers. All three of them. All three of them are special. They all have their role. They're really good. The quarterback is elite. The tight ends are exceptional athletes and do a lot of different things with the screens and the flat routes and vertical routes.

We have to do a good job of making plays. When we don't, go to the next play. When we get our next opportunity, give our offense the ball back and do what we're doing all year. The team, the team, the team. Offense, defense, special teams.

Q. I'm not sure how it compares, but Washington uses a lot of presnap motion, right? It seems like up until the play clock. How does that compare? What kind of challenge does that present?

STEVE CLINKSCALE: Being a defensive guy, anybody that shifts motions, it creates a challenge for communication. We've seen a lot of it all year, though. Whether it's going against our offense or any other opponent. Alabama motioned almost every other play last week.

You're going to get those shifts in motions. They do a lot of different ones. You just have to be patient, see what their final formation is, and then execute with the communication first and foremost.

Q. And then with Odunze, what has stood out about him as you've watched him this week?

STEVE CLINKSCALE: He catches everything. He is very patient. He lets the ball come to him. He's prime time. Trying to think of the two-minute game. It wasn't Washington State. Trying to think of the game. But two plays back-to-back to him, he took over the game. Like, he took over the game.

We have to be prepared for -- Oregon, yeah, maybe. He was prepared to be the guy. He wants to be the guy. And they all are out there. Polk, he is a firecracker, man. Every catch, I don't care if it's a screen or a two-yard gain, he gets up, excited and pumped about being out on that field and catching that ball.

We're going to have to match their energy. We have to match their talent. We have to match their ability to make plays and do the same.

It's going to be a big challenge for us. I don't want to say up and down and all that stuff. We're going to go out there and do what we've been doing. I'm an aggressive coach. We're going to coach aggressive and do what we've been doing all year, play violent and play our style of football.

Q. So much of the conversation is how good Washington receivers are, but you guys have one of the best secondaries (indiscernible). What do you think is your greatest advantage about trying to cover this group?

STEVE CLINKSCALE: I think understanding the game plan. We have very smart players. I think, first, we talk about their receivers. I think you guys have to go backwards a little bit. Their offensive line is extremely good. They do a great job of pass protecting. They move well. Their left tackle is one of the best we've seen all year. They do a great job even in the run game.

The receivers do a great job of setting up the run game with the perimeter blocking and cracks and all that stuff they do, just building off of that. Again, the quarterback, his timing and knowing where to go with the ball is what makes them great. He knows where to go.

You see him sometimes. He'll throw the ball, feel pressure, kind of turn his body. Won't even see the ball all the way thrown, and it's complete because he knows where the guys are going to be.

Their chemistry together is the biggest challenge for us. It's not just going to be one group on that offense. It's going to be the entire offense.

Q. What do you guys think that you plan to do about --

STEVE CLINKSCALE: I can't hear you.

Q. What do you plan to do to counteract some of the confusion?

STEVE CLINKSCALE: To counteract some of the confusions? Well, it's defense. We talk about defensive football being like a boxing match. You've always got to see what they're throwing, feel them out a little bit, then adjust, then do something. What they do to adjust and keep playing chess and not checkers.

We're going to really, at the end of the day, with a short week, play fundamental football. We're going to live on our four pillars. Execute our assignments and keep that ball in front of us.

That's all you can do. Look at what week this is. We had all this time practicing and all that stuff. That's great against their offense, but what do you do best? What we do best is our four pillars, so we're going to go out and execute.

Q. I want to go back to Odunze. You mentioned he catches everything. What's the hardest aspect? Is it the catch point or his body control or the way he wiggles? What is it that stands out most?

STEVE CLINKSCALE: I think his -- you know, film, seems like he's a smart football player. Seems like they know -- they see the coverages. He knows what release to take. He knows whether to keep the route outside or inside.

Him and Penix are just on one accord. A lot of that's coaching as well. I see that. You kind of see that over and over and over; right?

You also see -- I watched last year's film and this year. He looks stronger. He is a little bit bigger. He wants to be an all-around complete receiver.

The things you mentioned, he has great speed. He has good quickness. He high points and accelerates and gets to the ball. He wants to be the playmaker.

All that combined, you have to be able to do -- a little bit what we did with Marvin, understand that's who they want to get the ball to, but they have other guys as well. That's what Ohio State started to do. When they had some success, they started moving the ball to other people.

We just have to be sound at whoever is covering and whatever coverage we call and execute it. Then, like I said, just do a great job. I'm always big on getting lined up fast, letting them do all the shifts and motions, communicate, and just understand the final position and finish.

Q. I know you guys have faced (indiscernible). Is he in that class with a guy like Marvin? Is he of that ability in your opinion?

STEVE CLINKSCALE: He is elite. I think, to be honest with you, for what they do, they're all elite. Again, I watched both. Polk is that he gets it going, and when he gets in rhythm, he is a guy who can take a screen, a bubble screen. You see him get outside of people and run down the sideline.

Then No. 11 is all over the place. Jalen does a great job of getting the ball out of the backfield, getting the ball down the field. And then you have Polk who is, like, at the end of the day the big play guy for them.

Just being able to understand what their roles are and match those guys, just like they're going to watch us and see Mike, he plays everything. Will Johnson, we're trying to match him up with the best guy. Josh is going to be all over the field doing different things, playing corner and nickel, and the safeties there will be a constant rotation of those guys.

They're going to watch us too and match up. We just have to have great matchups and win ours.

Q. The Washington receiving room, it might be better than some NFL. Going up against a team like Ohio State and the weapons that they have, how does that Ohio State matchup kind of prepare you for the Washington matchup?

STEVE CLINKSCALE: Well, I think last week prepares us. Those guys were extremely fast. I think Ohio State, of course. Like I told somebody earlier, even Maryland.

I think it's not always just a receiver. It's the scheme. It's the run game. It's what helped Ohio State. Their run game was extremely good too. That running back, what people don't understand, he would have at least one or two plays where he would have 50- or 60-yard touchdown runs in a game. Eliminating that opportunity for them forced them to continue to throw the ball and try to get to Marvin and other people.

It's not just their receiver group.

To make a statement that they're better than some NFL groups, that's a pretty bold statement. Those NFL players are pretty damn good. I would rather go against these guys than go against the Dolphins right now; okay? No, they are good.

Q. (Off microphone.)

STEVE CLINKSCALE: I don't know. They're very good at what they do, and they wouldn't be here if they weren't the best. You follow me?

We feel that we're the best, and you have the best versus the best out there, offense, defense, and let's roll.

We're excited about it. Over and over you get questions about the receivers, and that's great, but I think they do a great job from their coaching staff and being creative with that offense, and they do a great job getting the players to understand the game plan, and they execute that thing like a well-oiled machine.

They're very similar to me like when I was at Kentucky and we played Alabama and the quarterback Mac Jones when they were there. Their chemistry, their timing, that thing was rolling, bro. It's very similar to that.

Q. (Indiscernible) just patient in the pocket, maneuverability?

STEVE CLINKSCALE: It's really good. He knows presnap where he wants to go, and if it's not there, he knows where his second or third option is.

Then the thing that everybody be forgets about him, he can run. I mean, he runs extremely well. So we just have to do a good job of capturing him, giving him different looks. He's a smart quarterback. We have to execute our assignments. That's the bottom line.

Q. You already mentioned it a little bit talking about Penix. Is there anything you can further elaborate on? What makes Penix so special as a player?

STEVE CLINKSCALE: Well, like I just said, I think he does a great job of understanding what defenses are trying to do to attack them. He's an unselfish player. He's going to not force the ball. He knows where to go with the ball, and if it's not there, he goes to the second or third option.

He also can escape. His escapability I think is elite. Once he has escaped and moving on the run, he is extremely accurate where he throws the ball.

Q. What's your favorite hobby?

STEVE CLINKSCALE: Fishing. Yeah, I like to fish.