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00:00 advantage of this opportunity we have in front of us, you know, in a rematch against Iowa for the
00:04 Big Ten Championship. Very exciting. Unfortunately, we don't get to play against our, you know,
00:10 former teammates, Kade and Eric. But, you know, I've already spoken to Eric. He's, you know,
00:15 he's super fired up. I haven't had a chance to talk to Kade yet. But, you know, as far as this
00:19 team goes, man, you know, I'm so happy we're in this position. It's a great position to be in,
00:24 you know, with Coach Harbaugh, you know, coming back, we're all fired up, we're all ready to go.
00:30 And, you know, I'm just excited for a great week of preparation for Saturday.
00:33 Our first question comes from Aaron McMahon.
00:38 Mikey, kind of going off what you were just talking about, was there a part of you at the
00:43 beginning of the year that was hoping you'd face Eric and Kade in the Big Ten Championship again?
00:47 Oh, yeah. I mean, we knew, you know, them two guys transferring over there was gonna help,
00:53 you know, that team tremendously. A team that already has a really good defense.
00:58 Just them two alone going over there and being able to add to, you know, what that offensive,
01:03 that offense does schematically would help that team out a lot. But, you know, it's unfortunate
01:09 for, you know, them both to have, you know, the injuries that they suffered this season.
01:13 But, you know, we talked about it. We said, look, Kade and Eric are going over there.
01:17 The Iowa team is probably gonna be, you know, who we see
01:20 if we handle everything how we need to in the Big Ten Championship.
01:28 Again, if you'd like to ask a question, please raise your hand in the chat.
01:30 Our next question for Mikey comes from Faygo Franklin.
01:33 Hey, Mike. For you, what does it mean to you to not just be a leader on the field,
01:46 but show class and character off the field because your coach has given you a lot of praise?
01:53 Um, you know, I would say, you know, the way I handle myself off of the field is exactly how
02:00 I'm able to handle myself on the field. You know, just being somebody who's always looking to do
02:06 the right things, who's always looking to, you know, put other people first, you know, take care
02:10 of my family, take care of myself. You know, it's funny because I spoke about this with coach
02:15 yesterday. If you do those two things, then you'll always be able to be able to, you'll always be
02:19 able to take care of the team because, you know, how you do one thing is how you do everything.
02:25 So just being someone who, you know, wake up, you know, take care of my bed, you know, clean
02:30 whatever's around the house, you know, do the things I have to do necessary before I step into
02:36 the building, you know, get myself on the right path for the day. It allows me to, you know,
02:41 have a great rest of my day every single day. So, you know, just how I carry myself outside of here
02:46 is what helps me, you know, carry myself inside this building as long, I mean, as well as the
02:52 group of people that I'm surrounded by, you know, who are always, you know, helping me find ways to
02:57 elevate while elevating themselves. It just works hand in hand. Our next question comes from Larry
03:06 Lage. Can you share with us when's the first time you communicated with or saw Coach Harbaugh
03:16 personally and as a team after the game Saturday? I sent Coach Harbaugh a text after the game,
03:24 you know, just saying, you know, Coach, we did that for you. Love you. Quick text like that.
03:29 He texted me back, but I didn't see him until yesterday. So I know, I think I saw, you know,
03:36 a couple of things out there, like where did Coach watch the game? And JJ said they were trying to
03:39 get him into Chrysler or whatever. He didn't want, I don't know. But yeah, I didn't see him until
03:44 Saturday, I mean, until Sunday, yesterday. Our next question is from Anjali Chenglas.
03:50 Mikey, two quick questions. Have you had a chance to visit with Zach and how devastating was that
03:59 for the team in that moment? And my second question is, everybody focuses on Iowa's defense
04:04 and how strong it is, but what have you seen from their offense? So for the first question,
04:11 you know, I sent Zach a text after the game, you know, just saying, you know, we're with you.
04:17 I told you we have your back, you know, because I was able to say, you know, a few words to him
04:22 before they carded him off. You know, he texted me back and then later on he posted that night.
04:28 So that was really good to see, really uplifting. And I'm super proud of this team.
04:34 For how we handled that situation. I think it gave us a big momentum shift and, you know,
04:41 confidence boost as well as just being able to score literally the play after he got hurt.
04:45 You know, that meant a lot to this team, but that just goes to show like how we say we have
04:50 each other's backs. And then, you know, as far as Iowa's offense, you know, with, like I said, with
05:01 K being out and, you know, some issues in the tight end room with Eric being hurt. And
05:06 I forgot the other tight end's last name. I'm pretty sure he's hurt as well.
05:11 So there's, you know, there's some struggles there, but they're probably, you know, gonna
05:16 come out and run the ball. And, you know, try to, you know, take control over the line of scrimmage,
05:25 you know, early on in the game and, you know, potentially set up play action, movement passes.
05:30 12 personnel, heavy team, 21 personnel, heavy team.
05:34 So, you know, I'm just, you know, looking forward to the game plan that we have for him.
05:38 Time for one or two more from Mikey. Our next question is from Brandon Brown.
05:43 Yeah, Mikey, with all the success that you've had on defense, I just wonder,
05:50 do you think back to when you first got to Michigan and kind of asked, like,
05:54 how didn't I start out here in the first place? You know, you played wide receiver. We're pretty
05:57 good there too, but just the level of success you've had as a DB.
06:00 Um, no, I've never thought about it that way. I guess, you know, I'm kind of, I'm just happy,
06:07 you know, there's, there's everything has its own time, you know, God has a plan for you.
06:12 And, you know, I'm thankful that I was able to, you know, just trust the process and let everything
06:19 fall in place, how it fell in place. Never, you know, trying to rush things, just being patient
06:25 and, um, you know, staying where my feet are. Just, you know, I was, when I was playing receiver,
06:29 I wanted to be the best version of a receiver. I could be now moving to DB. I want to be the
06:35 best DB I could be. So, um, you know, I'm glad I am where I am at the moment.
06:40 Our last question for Mikey comes from Michael Cohen.
06:44 Hey, Mike, I know you're not a defensive lineman, but from what you've observed about coach Elston
06:52 or heard from your teammates, what has he done to develop Mason and Kenneth so great,
06:56 so well, in addition to the talent that those two guys already have?
07:00 Um, you know, I, I see, I see the, you know, what they do in pre-practice and
07:07 even during practice, um, like drills, the fundamental stuff they do. Um, and, you know,
07:15 he, he coaches those guys very hard and, you know, they're, those are players who accept the coaching,
07:20 listen to the coaching and aren't afraid of criticism. And so when you have players who
07:24 are able to take coaching from a very great coach as well, um, someone who played the position,
07:31 who literally played in, you know, the, you, the same uniform you were sat in the same seats,
07:36 you sat, um, there's a direct connection there. So it's not hard to be coached by someone like
07:42 that. And coach Elston is a guy who was, you know, constantly fired up, um, energy's always
07:47 through the roof and, you know, it's, if I was a D lineman, I'd say it's, it's fun to play for
07:53 a coach like that.