Michigan football: Defensive backfield injury update and uniform combination for Bowling Green
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Michigan Wolverines football has been banged up in the secondary to begin the 2023 season. Junior safety Rod Moore hasn’t seen game action, though he’s dressed for both contests, wins over East Carolina and UNLV. Senior safety Makari Paige, meanwhile, played in the opener but was limited to just 10 defensive snaps, before missing last week’s game. Sophomore cornerback Will Johnson did the opposite — missing the opener and playing minimal snaps (8 on defense) Week 2.
Two-time Michigan captain and graduate defensive back Mike Sainristil, the only returning starter in the secondary who’s played in both contests so far, provided an update on the trio’s status after practice Tuesday evening.
“Yes, Will was out there, Makari was out there,” Sainristil said of Tuesday practice. “Rod is still coming back.”
Sainristil got the Michigan defense going with a first quarter interception in the opener, a 30-3 win over East Carolina. The Wolverines have fared well without some of their starters, but Sainristil is excited to have the entire crew on the field with him.
“Once the whole secondary is back, the whole pack is back, it’s gonna be … I’ll just leave it at that. I can’t wait to be out there with everybody, 100 percent,” Sainristil said.
Michigan sophomore safety Keon Sabb has started both contests to this point, with 6 tackles and 1 pass breakup. He’s played the most snaps on the entire defense and played well in coverage, allowing just 1 reception for 5 yards on 6 targets, per PFF.
Graduate cornerback Keshaun Harris, a walk-on, has also been a starter opposite graduate Josh Wallace, a UMass transfer who almost had an interception (it was overturned) versus ECU.
“Just guys who stay ready. Going into this [season], I feel like we all knew that we’d have some guys that were down — Makari, Rod, Will. So, those guys at practice are stepping up and making sure they’re taking advantage of their opportunity to play right now.
“As a leader out there, my job is to make sure that they’re in the right positions, as well as taking care of my job. I’m helping them, and they’re doing a great job at staying ready.”
Michigan football uniform combination for Bowling Green
Michigan sophomore defensive tackle Mason Graham told TheWolverine.com Tuesday evening that the Wolverines will wear blue pants for Saturday night’s game against Bowling Green. The team practiced with blue bottoms Tuesday.
Michigan has gone with its classic look — blue tops and maize pants — each of the first two games. The Wolverines wore blue pants in three of eight home games a season ago — against Penn State, Michigan State and Nebraska. They also went with the look in a Big Ten championship game win over Purdue.
Michigan is 11-1 all time with blue pants, including a perfect 7-0 mark at home. The lone loss came against Georgia in the College Football Playoff semifinal at the Orange Bowl in 2021.
Michigan and Bowling Green will kick off at 7:30 p.m. ET, marking the Wolverines’ 14th-ever home night game. The program is 11-2 in primetime games at The Big House.
