Michigan Wolverines football may have the best culture in America

Heading into the 2023 college football season, Michigan Wolverines football is being pinned as a potential national title contender and is currently the favorite to three-peat at Big Ten Champions. On the defensive side of the football, the Maize and Blue have plenty of position battles heading into the new season — included in these competitions are crucial positions like cornerback, linebacker, and edge rusher. According to second-year defensive coordinator Jesse Minter, the Wolverines have plenty of competition, but the team’s culture continues to prevail.

Michigan Wolverines football has culture that prevails in the midst of heated position battles

For many players and teams, a position battle would likely start turmoil among the roster heading into a new campaign. Yet, according to defensive coordinator Jesse Minter, who had a phenomenal year in 2022, Michigan Wolverines football is different from most programs. In fact, the position battles and how the players are responding are a testament to the culture that Jim Harbaugh has installed in Ann Arbor.

“I think the culture here that coach Harbaugh, coach Herb (Ben Herbert) — that is the foundation of the program,” Jesse Minter said on Thursday. “It’s just that whatever’s best for the team, and it’s really what everybody sort of brings every day. The competition is great. There’s competition amongst individuals at a certain position. There’s competition, offense versus defense, and trying to make each other better. Iron sharpens iron. I really think just the culture here, that mentality, sort of takes care of itself.

“The coolest thing here is that the guys in the competition are the ones helping each other the most,” Minter continued. “Some places I’ve been even where two guys are in a competition, and they’re not even sitting next to each other in the cafeteria because they’re in a heated competition. Here, these guys are great in the meeting room; they’re always trying to give each other tips and advice. Mike Barrett has probably helped Ernest Hausmann more than any player here, and that’s the guy that he’s trying to hold off to be a starter. So I think that’s what I respect most about the culture of this place and how these guys operate, and it’s really special to see every day.”

Right now, the position battles to watch are at cornerback (Amorion Walker, Josh Wallace, and more), linebacker (Michael Barrett and Ernest Hausmann), and edge rusher (Jaylen Harrell, Braiden McGregor, and more). While the team’s second string will see a lot of reps this year, whoever comes out on top after fall camp is going to be expected to perform at an All-Big Ten level as the Wolverines chase a national title throughout the coming months.

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