The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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MARCH 2021 THE WOLVERINE 9 INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS Maurice Linguist Was A Home-Run Hire By Austin Fox Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh made several solid staff additions this offseason, but none were more impact- ful than the hiring of Maurice Linguist as defensive backs coach and co-defensive coordinator. Linguist has displayed his coaching acu- men at several of his past stops, most notably at Minnesota in 2017 (led the Go- phers to the No. 11 pass defense in the nation) and Texas A&M from 2018-19 (helped the Aggies finish No. 41 in the country against the pass in 2019 after ranking No. 98 in 2018). The primary reason Linguist was a slam-dunk hire, though, is his reputation on the recruiting trail. The Dallas native has immense ties to the talent-rich state of Texas, having played at Baylor and coached with both Texas A&M and the Dallas Cowboys. Rivals.com South Central recruiting analyst Sam Spiegelman told The Wolverine in February he expects top prospects in the Lone Star State to now give Michigan a much harder look than they previously would have. Linguist's addition is already paying dividends on the recruiting trail, with Cross Plains ( Tenn.) East Robertson four-star safety Taylor Groves and Germantown (Tenn.) High four-star safety Kody Jones each citing their relationship with him as one of the primary reasons they pledged to Michigan Feb. 5. Ron Bellamy's Hiring Is Already Paying Off By Chris Balas When we talked to former Michigan wide receiver Ron Bellamy this past sum- mer — he took an hour of his busy sched- ule as West Bloomfield (Mich.) High head coach to break down U-M's receiving corps for us — it was clear to us he had what it took to be an outstanding coach at the next level. Twelve years after building West Bloom- field into one of the state's top programs, he jumped at his opportunity when U-M head coach Jim Har- baugh offered him a job. Bellamy was a good receiver at Michi- gan, catching 888 yards in passes in his career, and an even better teammate. His personality, leadership and dedication to his players have made him an up-and-comer in his profession for the last several years, and he's finally come home. We love the Mike Hart hire. Michigan's former running back is a perfect fit to coach that position, and he'll be a head coach someday. Maurice Linguist has been a grand slam on the recruiting trail, and we're intrigued by the Mike Macdonald hire at defensive coordinator. But when it comes to keeping in-state talent home and helping the receiving corps reach its potential, we couldn't have come up with a better all-around hire than Bellamy to fit those needs. In-state coaches rave about him, and he's hit the ground running in helping secure four-star defensive tackle Raysh- uan Benny … one of many to come. POINT ❙ COUNTERPOINT WHAT WAS THE BEST OFFSEASON MOVE MICHIGAN'S FOOTBALL PROGRAM MADE? LINGUIST BELLAMY Michigan's men's basketball team was under the radar entering the 2020-21 season, coming in unranked in the preseason Associated Press poll. The Wolverines won their first 11 games and started 14-1, resulting in a continual ascent in the rankings throughout the campaign, culminat- ing with a No. 3 mark in the poll released Feb. 15. The Maize and Blue sat just behind No. 1 Gonzaga and No. 2 Baylor, both teams that re- mained undefeated. Ranking third is tied for the 11th highest U-M has ever been in the poll, according to Sports Reference. It is also the highest the Wolverines have soared since reaching No. 2 dur- ing the 2018-19 season. The highest ranking before that came in 2012-13, a season in which U-M made the na- tional championship game, with the team ranking No. 1 at one point. Before 2012-13, the last time U-M ranked third or higher came in head coach Juwan Howard's junior season as a player, when the squad topped out at third in the land. The only other seasons in which the Maize and Blue have been tabbed as the top team in the country have been 1964-65 and 1976-77. Here is a look at U-M's teams that have made the AP top 25 and risen into the top five in a season. It's im- portant to note the AP began releas- ing its rankings on Jan. 20, 1949. We also examine where each team ended up being ranked in the final AP poll, which is released just ahead of the NCAA Tournament. Season Highest Rank Final Rank 2012-13 1 10 1992-93 1 3 1976-77 1 1 1964-65 1 1 2018-19 2 8 1988-89 2 10 1985-86 2 5 1984-85 2 2 1965-66 2 9 1963-64 2 2 2020-21 3 — 1993-94 3 11 1989-90 3 13 2019-20 4 Unranked 1996-97 4 Unranked Freshman center Hunter Dickinson has helped lead Michigan basketball to a No. 3 national ranking this season. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL Michigan Basketball's No. 3 National Ranking Is One Of Its Highest Ever