Michigan DB Zeke Berry: ‘No matter what the job is, I’m going to get it done’

Michigan Wolverines football junior defensive back Zeke Berry has big shoes to fill. The 5-foot-11, 192-pounder is playing both nickel and safety heading into the 2024 season, set to play a part in replacing nickel back Mike Sainristil (NFL) and safety Rod Moore (injury) on a Wolverine team that intends on defending its national championship.

“I would say expect me to be playing both positions, safety and nickel,” Berry said on the ‘Leaders And Next’ podcast . “I’m not sure where I’m gonna be playing the most at, but I know I’m going to be playing both positions.

“Transferring from safety to nickel, I’ve been asked to cover a lot, but that’s something that I like to do, I’m willing to do. Either come down in the box and hit, cover … no matter what the job is, I’m going to get it done.

“It changes a little bit more, having to stay after meetings and going over the game plan for both positions. Not too bad on the responsibilities for both positions, but it does take an extra hour or two just to go over the game plan, whether it’s for nickel or for safety.”

Berry switching back and forth from safety to nickel is an adjustment, but nothing compared to what Sainristil did in moving over from wide receiver to defensive back ahead of his final two seasons at Michigan. Sainristil has served as a mentor for Berry, who’s been pegged as a breakout candidate for the Maize and Blue.

“He’s one of the guys that’s helped me out a lot,” Berry said of Sainristil, who’s now on the Washington Commanders. “If I had questions with either reading the offense or helping out with understanding the defense a lot more, he was the guy that I went to like, ‘Hey, what do I do here?’ or ‘When you see this, what do you think is coming?’ He took me under his wing, and we were just connected and kept talking about football  or whatever it was. He just helped me out a lot.”

First-year Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore said during the April 20 spring game that Berry was “peaking at the right time.” The Pittsburg, Calif., native posted a tackle for loss as part of an impressive performance.

“It makes me feel good,” Berry said of Moore’s comment to the public. “All the hard work and all the time that I put in, in the offseason is finally coming out and showing people like, hey, yeah, I’m finally ready to come out and do what I can do for this team.”

It took patience to wait his turn. Berry has seen time in 13 games as a college football player, including 11 during the 15-0 2023 season. However, he totaled just 42 defensive snaps in a pair of outings last season, with most of his contributions coming on special teams.

“It was hard. I was a top guy coming out of high school, and then I come to college and see all of these top guys,” Berry noted. “I’ve just been working and putting all the extra time in to do what I can do. It was hard sitting behind some of the guys, but it was also a good thing to sit back and pick these guys’ brains and actually learn the game of football and just pick up some things from them.”

Don’t think Berry is going to stop playing special teams, though, either. He said he recently went to special teams coordinator J.B. Brown and told him “I don’t want to come off special teams.”

“I’ve just grown to love it,” Berry added, noting that he’s been working on punt and kick return in addition to other duties.

Zeke Berry: ‘The standard hasn’t changed’

Michigan has a new head coach in Moore, along with seven new assistant coaches. However, Berry and his teammates have said the culture remains intact.

“After the guys left and went into the NFL, they had a standard that we had to follow,” Berry said. “So after them leaving, the standard hasn’t changed, and it’s gonna be the same. And everybody on the team knows that this is the standard, this is what we have to do each and every day to be what we want to be — and that’s national champions.

“For us and how the players treat each other, I would say that everybody wants to bring the best out of one another. So it doesn’t matter if we’re in the weight room, if we’re out there on the field for practice or even if we’re out there on the field just doing extra work, we’re going to make sure that you’re doing the best that you can do and hold you accountable to the highest standard because we know that everybody can help benefit this team. And just making sure that they’re being great in everything that they do — not only football but for school and just being a better person.”

Berry has made huge strides since entering Michigan’s training program, which is now led by Justin Tress following the departure of Ben Herbert to the Los Angeles Chargers.

“It’s been good. I remember when I first came here, I believe I weighed about 183, 184. And now, I’m like 195, so I’ve gained a lot from that,” Berry said.

“But the first lift, I remember seeing all these guys lifting heavy weight. I’m just like, ‘Woah, I can’t do that.’ But Coach Herb, Coach Tress and everyone else on their staff, they got us right. Just training with them, making sure that we’re doing the right things, gaining muscle and doing whatever we can to make sure we’re ready for the season.”

Berry was in Tress’ lifting group for years and loves what he brings to the table.

“For me, he’s always on me,” Berry said. “He would always make sure that I’m paying attention and I’m doing it to the detail that is up to my standard and he knows I can do. So, attention to detail, stuff like that, that’s Coach Tress.”

Michigan’s defense finished No. 1 nationally in several different major statistical categories last season, and while much of the production has departed, it has experience, breakout candidates like Berry and high hopes. The defining trait of the defensive unit is its togetherness, Berry believes.

“I would say the drills help us, but not only is it the drills but I would say it’s the connection from player to player,” Berry said. “We’re with each other every single day, we just talk with each other and we have meetings on our own. We don’t even have coaches with us in meetings, so we can just make sure we’re on top of things and clean some things up. Having a relationship with each and every player on the defense is going to make us stronger.”

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