The Michigan coach shares which aspects of Alabama’s offense are most difficult to replicate during Rose Bowl drills.

The Wolverines will be challenged by Jalen Milroe, but that’s not the only key for the Michigan defense.

ANN ARBOR, Michigan: In the College Football Playoff in the Rose Bowl, Michigan football will have to contend with Jalen Milroe and the Alabama offense.

Former four-star prospect Milroe is a dual-threat quarterback of a caliber the Wolverines haven’t seen this season. Jaylen Harrell described him earlier this week as “talented, real athletic, freaky,” and he’s not afraid to throw it deep, as evidenced by Alabama’s fourth-best pass play total in the country (40 yards or more). With 12 running touchdowns this season, c development during the 2023 campaign was crucial to the Crimson Tide’s trip back to the College Football Playoffs.

Michigan defensive coordinator Jesse Minter spoke on Tuesday about the challenges posed by Alabama. Here’s what he said about how the Wolverines are preparing, and the aspects of the Crimson Tide that are difficult to replicate in practice:

To assist us get ready for these situations, I believe we get the opportunity to play against a really solid offensive every day. Undoubtedly, there have been teams with talented players who we have had to match up with and attempt to contain. We haven’t seen a quarterback like this, in my opinion. The closest thing we see, in my opinion, is when some of our guys practice. As a scrambler, Taulia at Maryland was somewhat of the same kind of guy. But a player with this level of run game involvement and his ability to make plays off the schedule. Some of our men said yesterday that they thought Alex Orji did an excellent job of mimicking Milroe as the quarterback of the scout team. He’s performed admirably;

It’s difficult to mimic the offensive line, please understand. You’re referring to 6-7 360, 6-7 360. Nobody is available. Myles Hinton is on our offensive line. So we have nobody — that’s the most difficult thing to imitate, along with the speed of their receivers. So, while the quarterback is crucial, and we’re doing our best to keep him, it’s more difficult to replicate the other positions and quality that they’ve accumulated over the years.