(Photo: David Guralnick, The Detroit News)
Ann Arbor — Chris Partridge sounds like a heavyweight boxer, his face bloodied but his will bolstered and his determination at an all-time high.
Partridge, who coaches Michigan’s safeties and is special-teams coordinator, can’t stop thinking about the way the regular-season ended last fall, a 62-39 rout at arch rival Ohio State. And if that blow wasn’t enough, the one-two punch that followed in January, when longtime defensive line coach Greg Mattison left to become Ohio State’s co-defensive coordinator, and Al Washington left to coach linebackers after one season in that role with the Wolverines, elevated his fierce approach entering this upcoming season to another level.