Ask Nick: Did Michigan football's defense learn from Ohio State game?

There have been plenty of questions surrounding Michigan football's offense this spring. 

But we haven't forgotten about the defense. That group takes center stage in this week's mailbag. 

Does coach (Mike) Zordich's take on what happened at the Ohio State game give you concern for how (Michigan) may play defense against other teams with speed next year? — @Garbo824

This was a relatively popular question this week. For those who weren't aware, when asked for his thoughts on the Ohio State loss, cornerbacks coach Mike Zordich said this week it was more a matter of execution than game plan. Asked further if it has been business as usual in terms of coverage work this spring, sticking primarily with press-man, Zordich said yes, it was. 

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"The way we play man, we have built-in protection modes, you could say, because of all the rubs and picks (teams run against us)," he said. "Yeah, zone takes care of (those) right away but in some of our man schemes we do have that zone principle involved. We have some checks involved. It’s all there. It’s just execution.”

Michigan is primarily a press-man team. That's not going to change, it'll continue to be what Don Brown runs as long as he is employed as the defensive coordinator. Same time, Zordich has a point. Michigan does have some zone concepts that it uses. Michigan used zone and some coverage checks during the Ohio State game last year. Those were in the game plan, and used early. 

The problem? 

Ohio State knew exactly what those checks would be, when Michigan would use them and how to get around them. Every time Michigan countered, Ohio State and then-offensive coordinator Ryan Day had another counter that was better. Was every call perfect? No. Did Michigan run the same defense for three-and-a-half hours without trying something else? No. Michigan tried everything it had that day. None of it worked. The execution was far from perfect, as Zordich noted. 

More:Michigan CB Myles Sims enters the transfer portal

Michigan either overestimated how fast its own defense was in relation to Ohio State's skill players or underestimated how fast Ohio State was. On top of that, Day and head coach Urban Meyer had the better game plan. 

I know people want a more complicated answer to what turned into a gigantic problem. But, in my view, there isn't one. 

So, if you're Michigan, you internalize it and you move on. Brown's group was shredded by Penn State in 2017 and bounced back from that pretty well. OSU quarterback Dwayne Haskins is gone, but its receiving corps is still very fast. Michigan might be faster in the secondary this year, but it won't have an inside linebacker faster than Devin Bush Jr. Brown will have to be better than that day and he'll have to be better in preparation for it — something that has surely already started. 

[ LISTEN:The Michigan Rant podcast: A new-look offense emerges ]

More:Michigan's Daxton Hill, 5-star freshman, could play 'very early'

Thoughts on Ben Mason moving to defense and the continued trend of an offensive player moving to defense. You’ve touched on it before and how it seemed to be a concern since most of our struggles have been on offense. — Gregory

The Mason move was done in large part because he's a good player, and this team won't use the fullback the way it did during his first two years on campus. It's experimental at best. 

[ Ben Mason's grunts and screams freak out teammates ]

It's also important to note he'll still have a role in the offense this year. Once Michigan gets its running backs healthy, expect to see Mason in the H-back role within new coordinator Josh Gattis' offense. Ben VanSumeren spent plenty of time there during the spring game. It's a perfect role for Mason, as it's a combination of a tight end/hybrid running back. 

He'll still be a factor on offense, but Michigan is tinkering to try to find him more snaps. 

The move that raised my eyebrows this spring was the decision to put Michael Barrett back on defense exclusively at viper. He did have an interception in the spring game — great catch, by the way — so maybe it's working out well. 

But this was a difference-making football player with the ball in his hands in high school. For a team with so little running back depth, that move was interesting to me. 

I'll close with this: Be thankful Michigan left Mike Sainristil on offense. Plenty of schools recruited him as a cornerback. 

More:Michigan CB Vincent Gray finds footing, now climbing depth chart

More:Michigan D-linemen Donovan Jeter, Mazi Smith make push for playing time

If Michigan gains a grad transfer and commitment what happens to Poole/Brazdeikis? Do you give away your scholarship when you declare and intend to sign an agent, or is Michigan still responsible to fulfill scholarship if they change their minds on the last day? — @BlakeRa46377447 

The current (and approved) rule states a prospect can hire an agent and return to school with eligibility, if he severs ties with his agent and pulls out of the draft by May 29. So, if either player is still in the draft with an agent May 30, the scholarship would officially be freed up. 

Coach John Beilein wouldn't come out and say this specifically Wednesday, but the Wolverines have to recruit right now under the assumption both players will be in the NBA next year (which isn't a bad assumption, frankly). If they don't, they're not going to sign any of these top-level players in the spring session. No one's waiting until the end of May to make a college decision. Michigan has to give out signable offers right now and take them as they come. That's what's happening right now. 

If one or both those players opt to return to school, Beilein will deal with it then. With the way this is structured through NBA rules, college coaches don't have another choice. 

Beilein summed it up well: "There's no book on this yet. We're just around the edges right now. Let's finish school, let's see the (NBA) reports coming in and grow and make educated decisions. ... Just like a game: it's what out of bounds play are we going to run, what defense are we going to run, how are we going to switch screen? You have to adapt to what you feel is going on and make decisions that way. Some of them might not be popular, we'll just have to make them." 

More:How John Beilein is navigating offseason as NBA draft decisions loom

Listen to the latest episode of The Michigan Rant podcast

Contact Nick Baumgardner at nbaumgardn@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @nickbaumgardner. Read more on the Michigan Wolverines and sign up for our Wolverines newsletter.