David Nasternak, whom you undoubtedly know from our hockey coverage or Future Blue Originals or the podcast but will associate more with his sartorial choices by the end of this transcript, was in the scrums after the Peach Bowl and sent back audio. This transcript picks up in the middle of Winovich's presser, but it was 16 minutes of audio in which he honestly and thoughtfully addressed the big issues of the day.

“I mean, you can make excuses for stuff. We had a lot of problems, a lot of things: obviously the players leaving who were impact players even the last time we played Florida, injuries galore—in warmup I strained my calf and my hamstring, I’m dealing with a cold and I got to get surgery on something else, [and] that’s kind of just the way it went for the game; Kwity [Paye] got hurt, Devin Gil got hurt, we had players that were starters that weren’t playing in the game. The excuses, you could go on and on. Like I said, I don’t know if that would have even made a difference. They were just, like I said, a better team than us today. Hats off to them.

“For me personally, it was important that I felt like I came off the field and I didn’t have any regrets. I wanted to play until the last snap I could. And my mom was telling me, signaling, like, ‘Sit on the bench, just come off it, call it quits. They’re up 20.’ And I said, ‘That’s just not me,’ and…I tried.”

You shared a pretty special moment with Shea [Patterson] coming off the field, a nice smile and hugs. What has this year been like with him and what’s that bond like?

“It’s been a real pleasure. You know, the bond that I’ve been able to acquire and share with Shea has been one of the special—it’s unique to come across somebody that’s a lot like you and also in the same position in life and likeminded in the sense that we want to go to the same places: we want to play in the NFL and we’re both almost like high-motor, try-hard, want-to-win-at-all-cost kind of guys. It’s special. I mean, it’s rare. I could go on and on but yeah, it’s been a great experience with Shea and I’m lucky to have him as a friend.”

My last one is what did Coach say to you guys in the locker room after you got off the field?

“Something—I came in a little late so I caught the tail end of it. Just about we’ve got to tighten up. At the end of the day, next year, we’re not going to try to go backwards. We’re going to focus on what we did wrong and improve. What can you say at that point? It’s tough. There’s no words that he could have really said that would have made that any better, so yeah.”

[After THE JUMP: Comments that reach their intended audience, picking who should lead the defense from a pool of everyone on the planet (spoiler: it's Don Brown), and how the OSU game lingered]

The game was close at halftime and seemed like you guys were in it and then they pulled away with three straight touchdowns. Is there anything that they did differently or anything that you did differently?

“They were just making plays. I mean, that’s what it comes down to. I don’t know if it’s effort—that part might have been a little disappointing. I don’t know. Like I said, I’ve got to go back and evaluate things. It’s one of those things where it’s like…I don’t know, so many kids come from these really rough neighborhoods and they’ve struggled their whole life and I’m not saying they ga—I don’t know if they did or not, but if anybody did, it’s a shame, so…but it wasn’t any individual’s fault. They were just, like I said, the better team today, and I’ve got nothing but respect for how they beat us and the way they finished the second half.”

What surprised you most, either something they did or something you guys didn’t do, about today? 

“I’m kind of stoic in the sense that a lot of the sense that a lot of the stuff, especially just playing as many years as I have, kind of stoic in the sense that a lot of the stuff’s already accounted for. I’ve already accounted in my head that certain things might happen so nothing really surprising. I just felt they made more plays than us. We needed plays and things didn’t go our way; the touchdown, you know, it wasn’t his fault, it’s just we didn’t get the catch and just other stuff. That’s just off the top of my head.”

Coach Harbaugh says he thinks you guys are close, right there at the top but just have to get over the top. Where would you assess this program right now?

“I got a lot of flack a couple weeks ago because I said we’re building a powerhouse and I used some pretty heavy words and my motivation behind that was really trying to get a recruit that decommitted to come back, so it worked, but I would say…I meant what I said, it’s just not—we’re building a great team .This thing takes time. I think in hindsight, coming to Michigan, I may have underestimated the amount of time it would take to get over that hump, because we’ve been chasing this for quite some time but we’re close. We’re clawing at it.

“It’s a tough business. Just look at if you win half your games you’re going to get fired if you do that long enough at most programs, so it’s a cutthroat world and everybody wants to be at the top. Only so many people can do that.

“I’m not Nostradamus. I’m sure I’m going to get some flack for doing the gator thing today and at that point we were down three. In hindsight people are going to look at the score and be like ‘Why are you hitting the gator?’ I wasn’t doing it when we were losing [by that much]. I don’t know what the future entails, I just know we’ve got a great group of guys that are currently on the team and a great coaching staff that aren’t going to give up on their players. I was lucky and blessed to be a part of that.”

Don Brown said yesterday—he was asked about the Ohio State game and he said it’s impossible to move past that in this short of time and that it stays with people. Do you think that this was any result of that carryover at all, mentally or anything like that?

“Yeah, yeah, it definitely—like I said, it could have been a million things. There was a million things that didn’t go right. To blame it one thing I just think does everything else an injustice. It definitely played a role though, for sure. If you just look at it in the context of the whole season and just how high on ourselves and how confident we were going into that game, just to do like a 180 on that and just feel the opposite way, it’s tough to come back from. Especially when you have some of your leaders—that’s just facts. I’m not blaming anybody. It is what it is. That’s as candid as I can put it, so…it definitely hurt us and it definitely lingered, but at the end of the day, it’s football. I don’t think anybody was watching me today and said, ‘Oh wow, he’s really hurt about them losing to Ohio State.’ I’m sure mentally it maybe stuck with us in practice but, you know.”

0-4 and 1-3 in bowl games; what do they have to do to reverse that?

“You know what, thank you for that. Everyone says I’m 0-5 as if I played my redshirt year. I don’t even know how much of the game I really watched my freshman year. I’m sure I did but it just…I wasn’t there, so—that was besides your point. I’m cramping, I’m sorry. What do we have to do?”

To reverse it.

“1-3 against who again? I’m sorry.”

1-3 in bowl games-

“Oh, in bowl games. Okay, okay.”

 0-4 to finish the year.

“No, I got you, I got you. I don’t really know. If I knew, I’d be paid millions of dollars to coach this team. [laughs] I just know what I do and I just went out there and did what I could to try to make my family and my team proud. That’s on coach Harbaugh and guys who get paid way more than I do. I just know we’re going to keep on recruiting and keep trying to build the team necessary to be able to do that.”

You mentioned a couple times they made plays. You guys didn’t, obviously. It’s easier to say than do, but is there an element to, thinking about the Ohio State game and this game, maybe—sorry, I was pointing.

“Sorry, they got a light over there I was just seeing. Okay, why?”

Is there an element to that, making plays? What can be done so that Michigan’s making those plays?

“That’s a good question. That’s tough. It’s just—I don’t…it’s just a tough question for me. I’m probably not going to answer just because like…it’s just, the only way to answer that question is a negative reflection on my teammates and so I’m just gonna say next question. I don’t know what they’ve gotta do. We’ve got to figure it out! We’ve got to make plays! At the end of the day, somebody’s got to step up and do something. And when you have that opportunity, when you’re in that position, you’ve got to do it.”

Do you see elements of this team going forward, that there are people there that can do it?

“Yeah. I don’t see why not. There’s so many facets to that question, too. It’s like, there’s development and I know we got a great strength staff and we’ve got great coaches, too. Today…I don’t know if they wanted it more, I don’t know what the answer was, but they were able to do it and we weren’t. It’s a game of inches. Not to quote “Any Given Sunday,” but it really is. The inches are everywhere around us, like the dropped ball. I keep referencing that but there were so many of them. Yeah.”

Do you think, in retrospect, the emotional letdown from Ohio State lingered?

“Yeah, they talked about it, too. They asked. I know you weren’t here, I understand, but same thing I told him: there are so many factors that go into any given preparation in any given game that yeah, after a loss like that and how high on ourselves and how confident we were in just our team, that whole month of December, it was rough. Everyone’s faced with decisions like to leave for the NFL and pursue their dreams of making a lot of money and just dealing with injuries and everything they had to deal with.

“I mean, yeah, it was tough. I know you’re trying to make a story about that but at the end of the day, I think if you watch me out there you’re not going to say, ‘Oh wow, he’s really bummed about that Ohio State loss.’ It’s football. Once you’re out there, that stuff means nothing. Maybe in the lead-up it hurt us, but I think there was things greater than that that impacted us today.”

I apologize if you were already asked this earlier, but--

“It’s okay. I’ll answer it again for you; I got you.”

How much of a factor was it being without some of your starting players?

“Yeah, it hurt us. [laughs] It just seemed like every second you turned around, somebody else was getting hurt or cramping, going down. It’s like, even my mom was telling me—who’s a workhorse, totally admire her opinion—she was saying when were down twenty, she pointed at the bench saying, like, ‘Hey, at a certain point you’ve got to start looking after yourself’ and for me it’s like, I’ve never mailed it in in my life. I’ll be damned if I’m about to start—if I’m about to give it to these guys and just roll over and quit.

“I know that’s kind of besides your question but it extended that, it’s kind of like yeah, it hurt us, and maybe guys took that in a negative light during the game. I don’t know. I’d have to use one of those machines from “Black Mirror” and look inside peoples’ brains to see how they were feeling.”

I’m sure you’ve already been asked this but have you processed at all that you’ve put on the Michigan helmet and uniform and all that for the last time?

“Yeah, it was definitely—I’m a lot more emotional, I’d say, this time around than I was in like high school. It means more and it was tough.

“I’m having yet another conversation about it being tough; just hats off to Florida. Much respect to coach Mullen and their coaching staff did a great job of preparing their players and they came ready to play. Not saying that our coaching staff didn’t, just outward respect. Moving on. Next step.”

How do you explain the last three years, losing to Ohio State and losing the bowl game? Three straight years this has happened.

“[laughs] There’s no way I can answer that question without talking negatively on Michigan, so I can’t really explain it. For starters, a lot of people don’t beat Ohio State. People—I don’t know. I’m not going down that rabbit hole. Just…we lost. I don’t know. Like I said, I told them earlier if I knew the answer to that question and I could apply it, I’d be getting paid millions of dollars to be the coach. Coach Harbaugh, he knows those answers to those questions. I believe in this team and I believe in the future of Michigan.”

Don Brown’s going to take some heat, probably. What are your thoughts on him and what he’s done for you?

“I mean, it’s tough to coach a team when you lose. I think at one point we were down six or seven; I know myself, personally, I thought I played pretty well, but I’m still myself even playing at 65% or maybe not that low but I’m hurt. I strained my calf and my hamstring in practice this week, I’ve got to get surgery. I know I’m making excuses and complaining but I don’t know, it’s just…it’s not the Michigan team that we were with at Penn State is my point. For whatever reason, you can name this or that, and so coach Brown did what he could. It wasn’t a perfect game by him but it wasn’t a perfect game by me; nobody on the defense could claim perfection. I love coach Brown to death. If I had to pick one person on the entire planet to lead this defense, I wouldn’t want it to be anybody but him.”

Harbaugh said your team has been close but can’t get over the top. Is there anything that you can see—what is this team missing? Is there anything you can look at and say 'If this team had this, then…’

“I mean, there’s a lot of things. Are those cleats or…? Hold on one second.”

[Ed. A- Can confirm that David's blue Nikes will sometimes grab your attention from glinting in your peripheral vision at random times]

These? No.

“Shoes?”

Shoes.

“Okay, shiny. Alright, I see. How’d I not notice those earlier? I don’t know.

“Yeah, I really don’t know if I could say there’s one thing or something missing. There’s always something you could do better and I can only yell and cheer guys on and encourage guys and fight so hard, so I think there’s going to be a lot of thumb-pointing across the board. It’s what it is.

“Thank you guys for your time, man. For those of you that’ve been covering me, I’m much appreciative of everything you guys have done, so thank you.