[Isaiah Hole/247]

What led to the decision to come here?

“It was just a great opportunity to work with coach Harbaugh. He’s had a lot of success everywhere he’s been, so honestly I just wanted to be a part of that and learn from him. And also the chance to work with coach Brown, who I’ve worked with before and I’ve played with. It was a chance to meet up with him again and work side by side, so I couldn’t pass up that opportunity.”

Difficult transition at all going straight to Florida like that and not even knowing any of the player’s names at this point, it’s such a quick decision?

“Yeah, I mean, everything happened fast. The whole process, just learning names out on the field the first day. But like I said, I’ve worked with coach Brown before in the past so that made the transition a lot easier for me. But just spending extra time trying to get in the playbook myself, learning it along with the players, was a fun process.”

What was Jim’s pitch to you coming to Michigan?

“Well, he didn’t really have to pitch too much. Michigan kind of speaks for itself. It’s a great university and they’ve had a lot of success in the past, and just the opportunity to be here I couldn’t pass up.”

More enjoyable to play for coach Brown or to work with him?

“Well it was great to play for him in that defense that he has. It’s changed a little bit over the years but not much. It’s still the same philosophy, so as a player you love that style of defense.”

We’ve heard a lot about the front seven in his defense. How does that impact the back four?

“He always does a good job stopping the run and it makes teams one-dimensional, so it helps us out.”

MGoQuestion: What are the characteristics of the ideal free and strong safety in this defense?

“Well, we like guys that have length, that are athletic, that can play man-to-man. You know, those are some of the things that we look for. At the end of the day, football players- guys that are football players, tough, [and] love to play the game.”

[After THE JUMP: it’s a press conference of course Jabrill comes up]

You mentioned getting to know some of the guys, having to learn their names really quickly. How’s that process coming along and what do you still need to do? What’s still left to go?

“Um, it’s been pretty good so far. I’ve been scrambling around to three different places the last two years and I’ve never been good with names! Sometimes I find myself just sitting in front of the computer going over names, trying to memorize them.”

How much contact have you had with these guys and how would you assess the talent pool that you have right now?

“So far it’s been good. We’re just looking to get better every day. The guy’s have been willing to learn everything we’ve been teaching them, so they’ve been open to it. That’s just our whole focus- getting better every day, trying to improve upon the last day.”

What do you think of them personnel-wise? Are there any players maybe you’ve been able to watch a lot of film on or get to know a little bit more about?

“Yeah, you’ve got a lot of older guys, returning players, so not to single any one out they all have been impressive, the guys that we have. And just their willingness to work and get better.”

We know that Jabrill is doing some work with the linebackers. Is he backing out and playing at safety with you also?

“Well, he’s the type of player where he’s smart enough to play wherever we put him: offense, defense, I mean, he’s smart enough where he can learn it.”

Were you disappointed to learn that he was moving away from you as soon as you got there?

“Uh, well, you know, like I said, he’s on the team. As long as he’s on the team it doesn’t matter where he’s at.”

What do you think of the role- you obviously work with coach Brown- what do you think of the role he has right now?

“Excuse me?”

What do you think of the role he has Jabrill in right now?

“I think it’s good. I mean, wherever we put him he’s picking it right up and he’s able to play so, you know, I think it’s good, the way he’s being used.”

Secondary was a strength for the team last year. How much pressure or drive do you have to keep that a strength for you guys?

“Like I said before, we just can’t worry about pressure. We’ve just got to worry about getting better every day. That’s our attitude when we come in the building. Just improving, learning the system right now, and working hard; that’s really our main focus.”

Can you talk about transitioning from the NFL to college, and how difficult is that for you?

“Well, I mean, I think at the end of the day football is football. Just dealing with younger guys in general, their concerns and what they talk about is a little bit different but at the end of the day football is still the same game. It’s good being in coach Brown’s system because he studies NFL defenses and a lot of things we did in the NFL, he does some of those things in his system. It’s made it a lot easier.”

A lot of guys on this staff have made that jump from the NFL to Michigan. Have you talked to them about it at all?

“Um, I haven’t really talked to anybody in particular about it, the move. I coached in college before so it’s not my first time, so that obviously made it easier. I kind of knew what I was signing up for.”

How important is the nickel package going to be? It’s almost like a standard in the NFL; you see it a lot. Do you guys expect to use it a lot more in your base package?

“Uh, I guess that really depends who we’re playing against and what they’re showing us. That’s going to determine what we’re going to do.”

You don’t necessarily know a lot about what was going on last year, but Jarrod Wilson was someone who had a reputation as sort of the leader of the group in terms of knowing what everyone was supposed to do. Do you see players that are stepping up in that group that are now in that role?

“Yeah, there’s a couple guys that are stepping up. Like I said, we have an older team, you know, secondary-wise so those guys definitely have stepped up and they’ve learned the system pretty quick. I’ve been surprised how fast they’ve learned the system. Dymonte’s done a good job taking leadership back there with some of the younger guys and kind of bringing them along, so I’ve been happy with that.”

You mentioned coming in with older guys. Is that an advantage as a coach or would you rather come into a situation that had younger guys that didn’t already have previous habits built up? What’s the balance like?

“As long as the older guys can play, it makes it easier. When you’ve got older guys that are receptive to your coaching and your philosophy it makes it a lot easier, and our guys have been receptive to what we’re doing so that makes the transition a lot smoother. I’ve been happy with that.”

What’s your relationship like with Mike Zordich?
”He’s a great person, easy to get along with, and we’ve had a good relationship so far.”

What’s going to be the challenge for you taking over this group?

“The challenge for me is to just keep challenging the players every day, you know, making it tough on them and trying to help them reach their full potential. That’s always the challenge for me.”

Is it a transition at all going from coaching linebackers to safeties?

“Well, no. I played safety, I played corner; I’ve been a defensive back guy my whole career, pretty much so that transition has been pretty easy.”