The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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FEBRUARY 2021 THE WOLVERINE 27 Aamira, and their children into the Michigan Football family." Bellamy embraced his chance to again make an impact at Michigan Stadium. "I am excited about the opportu- nity to return to my alma mater as an assistant coach," Bellamy assured. "I look forward to working with Coach Harbaugh and this outstanding staff as we work each day to put the play- ers in the best position to be success- ful on and off the field. Michigan means a great deal to me and my family, and we can't wait to get to work helping the football program achieve its team goals. I'm coming home again. Go Blue!" Bellamy took the Lakers to the playoffs the past seven years — five times more than they'd ever been before. This season, they reached the pinnacle for the first time in program history. He has also put 165 of his players into position for college football schol- arships, with 50 FBS performers, in- cluding star U-M running back signee Donovan Edwards. His work with the wide receivers will supplement what offensive coordinator Josh Gattis has done the past two seasons. ❏ The Mike Macdonald hire in particular had the Internet buzzing when he was announced as U-M's new defensive coordinator. Here's a sampling of what some what to say about it: • "He's definitely sharp. He can walk into any room and communicate with anybody, probably just about any sub- ject, whether it's a real-life subject or a football subject, and that's what matters the most. "… There's all kinds of work that needs to be done, and a lot of time there will be students who are interested in being coaches that'll just volunteer their time. Sometimes you give them student pay, sometimes an hourly wage and sometimes they just volunteer to get their foot in the door. He obviously impressed everyone enough on the defensive staff that when there was a graduate assistant position available, he got it. And that's really not that easy to do. I had guys calling me left and right trying to get a graduate assistant position, because it is a pathway — that was the path I took as a graduate assistant first. "What happens is a guy gets his foot in the door, you see his work ethic, you see he's a sharp guy, you trust him, he's already got a working knowledge of the system, and you're like, 'He's a perfect fit,' so you hire him as a graduate assistant coach, and then he gets more responsibility as he goes." — Former Georgia and Miami head coach Mark Richt (via Angelique Chengelis of The Detroit News) • "Macdonald is a professional, veteran, humble and well- liked coach. He's not brash or over the top. His presence has always been direct and even keel. He's the epitome of a professional in terms of engagement with the media, his diction and tone and the way he carries himself. "… Linebackers are asked to do it all in the Ravens defense. They two-gap on the front side. They play man. They play zone. They blitz. They bluff. They stand over the A gaps and crash the OL. The Ravens defense as a whole makes an effort to be 'position-less' where, at times, all 11 defenders could have coverage or passing rushing responsibility." — Balti- moreBeatdown.com's Spencer Schultz (via TheWolverine.com) • Of course, the return of Mike Hart also garnered quite a bit of attention, particularly from U-M running back signee Donovan Edwards, who had this to say about his future position coach: "I'm a little bit surprised, but at the same time, we already have a relationship. He recruited me my sophomore year [for Indiana] and kept in contact with me throughout my senior year. He's a great person. He's produced a lot of great running backs. "He has a great knowledge of the game. I'm really inter- ested in developing that from him. I know he was a great running back at Michigan." — Clayton Sayfie Ron Bellamy spent the last 11 years as the head coach at West Bloomfield (Mich.) High, where he mentored star Michigan signee Donovan Edwards and several other future college players. The former Wolverine and NFL player will now coach U-M's wide receivers. PHOTO BY EJ HOLLAND What They're Saying About The Hiring Of Mike Macdonald And Mike Hart