The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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16 ■ THE WOLVERINE 2021 FOOTBALL PREVIEW MICHIGAN FOOTBALL Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh needed to make a big hire to replace re- cently hired Mo Linguist, who accepted the head coaching job at Buffalo this spring. He did that and then some in hiring Kentucky defensive backs coach Steve Clinkscale, one of the top up-and-comers in the profession. Wildcats writers universally lamented the loss as a big one for Mark Stoops' program. Clinkscale is renowned as both a recruiter and a coach, making him one of the most sought-after assistants in the nation every time a program had an opening. U-M has looked into hiring him two other times, but Harbaugh made it known from the get-go this time that 'Clink' was his guy. "I can tell you I brought up his name to [Harbaugh] a couple times," said former Michigan receiver Ron Bellamy, now U-M's cornerbacks coach after an outstanding high school coaching career at West Bloomfield (Mich.) High. Even those in Kentucky knew he checked all the boxes Michigan was looking to fill, CatsIllustrated.com's Justin Rowland added. "He's been recruiting the state since 2009 back to well before being at Kentucky, for Cincinnati and others," Rowland said. "We didn't really know what to expect when he was hired. "He turned out to be a rising star in the profession. He landed five-star [defensive tackle] Justin Rogers from Michigan [Oak Park], [Oak Park four-star offensive lineman Marquan] McCall, [Flint (Mich.) Beecher receiver] Earnest Sanders, [four-star De- troit offensive tackle] Jeremy Flax. If they needed an in-state recruiter, he can certainly do that." Rowland describes Clinkscale as person- able, laid-back and honest, traits that have helped him on the recruiting trail throughout the years. But he's also "relentless," identify- ing talent early and continuing to follow up with them. "Not only does he offer early, he does a great job getting guys on campus," Row- land continued. "If he offers a kid and really wants him, he'll get him on campus 20 times before the recruit makes a decision. He'll see these guys at camps and encourage them to come to games — a few years later, these kids are four- and five-star recruits and he already has tremendous relationships with them. "In addition to that, he's very plugged in with trainers and coaches at the grassroots level. Those relationships are very strong [and] he's building the relationships early." Bellamy has seen it up close. He built West Bloomfield into a powerhouse and a state champion, leading the squad to a Divi- sion I title this year with a 41-0 win in the finals, and watched Clinkscale recruit his players the right way for a decade at his various stops. He knew early on he was one to trust. "He's someone I loved and developed a relationship with. We've known each other close to a decade, and I've known him in his stops at Cincinnati, Illinois and Kentucky," Bellamy said. "The thing that impressed me most about Coach Clink — I use the word reliability. As a high school coach, you always watch, take note of the kind of coach you want your players to play for and to be around; someone that is going to take the message we were trying to convey to our boys in high school and do it in college. "Clink was one of the guys I felt most comfortable with. As we built our program into a powerhouse, you'd see more and more kids want to visit them. You look at a kid like [Michigan freshman safety] Makari Paige. Look at his final four of Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State and Kentucky, and some might say, 'One doesn't belong in that group.' That shows how much the kids value Steve Clinkscale." Couple that recruiting ability with what he's done as a coach, Rowland continued, and you've got something special. His defen- sive backs led the SEC in passing defense in 2019 and 2020, pacing the league and rank- ing third nationally with 16 interceptions in the latter season. Despite losing its top six producers from 2018, the 2019 unit ranked second nationally in fewest touchdown passes allowed (nine) and third in passing yards given up per game (167.8). "That Kentucky secondary has not only performed at a very high level on his watch, but much better," Rowland said. "He's put- ting guys in the NFL — Lonnie Johnson [a second-round pick of the Houston Texans in 2019], Kelvin Joseph [a second-round pick of the Dallas Cowboys in 2021], Mike Ed- wards [a third-round pick of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2019]. "They're three-deep in the secondary this year. He brings in guys and makes them all cornerbacks to start, isn't going to recruit guys he can't teach those concepts to … that's where he starts them all. Length at the position is important to him, and he recruits to it." All in all, Rowland said, it's a huge loss for Kentucky. But it's Michigan's gain, and exactly what Harbaugh needed to do in re- placing Linguist, Rivals.com Midwest re- cruiting analyst Josh Helmholdt said. "Michigan had struggles recruiting in- state for a while, kind of resurrected it there at the end of the 2021 class, but Clinkscale is a guy that has a lot of relationships, par- ticularly in southeast Michigan and Detroit," he said. "He's going to continue to elevate Michigan's recruiting abilities in state and for the top guys in the region." — Chris Balas Clinkscale's defensive backs at Kentucky led the SEC in pass defense in 2019 and 2020, while the defense led the conference and ranked third nationally with 16 interceptions in 2020. PHOTO COURTESY UK ATHLETICS Steve Clinkscale Hire Viewed As A Stunning Home Run