Michigan football: Lou Esposito on dealing with the 'decriminalized' holding penalty

Michigan’s defense is second nationally in pressure rate this year but has yet to force a holding penalty, one of the most interesting anomalies in the college game so far this year. U-M defensive coordinator Wink Martindale said he’d say his piece about it after he retired, but line coach Lou Esposito offered this Wednesday … 

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If you can’t do anything about it, take steps to play through it. After all, there’s no other choice.

“You’ve got to play with your hands. If they’re going to hold you, we talk about running away from blocks … you’ve got to do it all the time,” Esposito said. “I do feel like holding in general is becoming decriminalized across college football, so everybody deals with it. It goes both ways. So, we’re going to do a good job of using our hands and running way from blocks and disengaging and creating separation, because that’s the only way you get off of it.

“You can talk about it all you want, but it’s not going to change the outcome, right? People are going to view it differently. We’re going to go do what we have to do to get off the block … still the same thing. Get off the block, run away from it — don’t walk away from — it so they can’t hold you. Do a good job with your hands, and normally we get off those.”

But it is an equalizer, and it takes away a significant advantage when you’re that much better than the competition like the Michigan D-line.

“I felt like it was the same thing last year too with the two guys we had inside [Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant],” Esposito said. “I don’t remember many holding calls we got against us, so it’s one of those things that we’re just going to have to deal with, and everybody’s going to play with it. Everyone’s on the same playing field there and we’ve got to do a great job, like I said, using our hands and getting off blocks.” 

Alabama transfer and Michigan tackle Damon Payne is one who has seemed to have been victimized among the interior linemen, but he’s still getting the job done. Esposito lauded him as an example others could follow.

“The biggest thing for him is he’s done a great job of really buying into the system and playing with great effort,” Esposito said. “I think when you see a lot of those holds, it’s that second and third effort, too … like you create separation, you get off the block, and as you’re trying to get off, they’re holding you here. 

“So, that extra effort we talk about is one of the pillars we talk about … certain angles, and he’s done a great job with that, and he’s bought in. He plays hard and the other thing at that position is like many positions on our defense right now. There are a lot of guys there. So, if you’re not playing hard, you’ll be sitting right next to me on the sideline …  and no one wants to do that.”

In other words, holding or not, no excuses, one of the reasons the Michigan front seven continues to play at such a high level.