FootballScoop is proud to announce that Jesse Minter (Michigan) is the recipient of the 2022 FootballScoop Defensive Coordinator of the Year presented by AstroTurf as selected by prior winners.
Michigan's 2021 defense may have been the proud program's best since the 1997 national title team -- and then many of the key pieces left. Multi-award winner Aidan Hutchinson, pass rusher extraordinaire David Ojabo, and coordinator Mike Macdonald left for the NFL.
Jesse Minter took over the Wolverines' defense -- and it got better.
Michigan jumped from 14th to 3rd in yards per play, shaving close to half a yard per snap from their already-stellar numbers. As a result, the Wolverines cut four points per game off their scoring defense average, limiting opponents to 13.4 points per game, a number bested by only two teams in FBS.
Minter's defense held four opponents to single digits and six of their 13 foes to date to 10 points or fewer. Perhaps most impressively, only one team mustered more than two touchdowns against Michigan, and that team (Maryland) only scored their elusive third touchdown with 45 seconds remaining in an already-decided game. In 29 red zone trips, Michigan permitted 11 touchdowns, a 37.9 percent conversion rate that stands at third nationally heading into the College Football Playoff semifinals.
The Wolverines were equally stingy against the run and the pass, standing as the only team in the nation to rank among the top four in rushing defense and pass efficiency defense.
Opponents mustered just 85.2 yards per game on 2.92 per carry, with four of them failing to crack the 40-yard mark and six teams averaging less than 2.5 yards per tote.
Through the air, opponents completed 56.4 percent of their passes for 5.8 yards per attempt with nine touchdowns against 12 interceptions. Michigan stands as one of four teams to surrender fewer than 10 touchdown passes, and the Wolverines defended the more passes (429) than any team in the group.
Michigan continued to inflict negative plays without Hutchinson and Ojabo, ranking 17th in sacks (2.77 per game). The Wolverines were also a top-20 unit on third down (32.4 percent).
The Wolverines did not only defend their Big Ten championship, they became just the third team to go 10-0 in Power 5 conference play, joining 2020 Alabama and 2019 Ohio State.
Perhaps fitting to their identity, Michigan fielded arguably the nation's most well-rounded defense without a single AP All-American. Mike Morris was named the Big Ten's defensive lineman of the year and was joined on the All-Big Ten First Team by fellow lineman Mazi Smith. Linebacker Junior Colson and defensive back DJ Turner were Second Team All-Big Ten performers, while linebacker Mike Barrett was a Third Team All-Big Ten honoree.
A College of Mount St. Joseph graduate, His coaching career began in 2006 as a defensive intern at Notre Dame, and has included stops at Cincinnati, Indiana State, Georgia State and the Baltimore Ravens. Minter was Vanderbilt's defensive coordinator in 2021 and joined Michigan's staff in February.
The FootballScoop Coaches of the Year awards presented by AstroTurf are the only set of awards that recognize the most outstanding position coaches in college football. The finalists (Chris Hampton [Tulane], Will Muschamp and Glenn Schumann [Georgia], Phil Parker [Iowa] and Ryan Walters [Illinois]) were selected based off of nominations by coaches, athletic directors, and athletic department personnel. The prior winners selected this year's winner.
Previous winners of the Defensive Coordinator of the Year award are Nick Holt (USC, 2008), Kirby Smart (Alabama, 2009), Vic Fangio (Stanford, 2010), John Chavis (LSU, 2011), Bob Diaco (Notre Dame, 2012), Pat Narduzzi (Michigan State, 2013), Brent Venables (Clemson, 2014), Don Brown (Boston College, 2015), Jim Leavitt (Colorado, 2016), Kevin Steele (Auburn, 2017), Bob Shoop (Mississippi State, 2018), Phil Snow (Baylor, 2019), Mike Hankwitz (Northwestern, 2020) and Jim Knowles (Oklahoma State, 2021).
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