The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1386887
THE WOLVERINE 2021 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ■ 35 BY CHRIS BALAS F or several years, Ron Bellamy has been hearing it from friends and colleagues alike: "When are you going to make your move?" The former Michigan receiver and Big Ten champion had already accomplished plenty in his career as a player, from col- lege to the NFL, where he earned a pension after an injury-plagued five-year career. He'd even spent time overseas in Scotland for a season in the World League, playing in and visiting several European cities. The sport had given him so much, and when it was time to give back, he began at the prep ranks to influence kids who started just as he did in New Orleans a few decades ago. He built West Bloomfield (Mich.) High into a state power from 2010-20, using the principles his prep head coach, Hank Tier- ney, and Michigan's Lloyd Carr taught him. He took his teams to the brink of a title a few times, to the point that collegiate head coaches were starting to knock … and knock loudly. Each time, Bellamy politely declined. "I still felt like I had unfinished business at West Bloomfield," Bellamy admitted in May, months after joining Jim Harbaugh's staff. "I had been approached by college coaches for the last several years, and it's something my wife and I talked about … it just wasn't the right time for us. "But during the pandemic, what happened was I usually got a chance as a coach to get in the car and drive my kids around these college campuses. The pandemic forced us to do everything virtually, and in doing so, I developed better relationships with these college head coaches. The common thing from them was, 'How much longer are you going to last in high school? When are you going to make the jump?'" Harbaugh was among those who had reached out and gauged Bellamy's interest previously, and for good reason. Everything Bellamy had learned from his mentors was apparent on the field, from how disciplined his team was to how well he related to his players … and yes, to winning. His teams had come painfully close to a state title each year, even losing a crazy 3-2 championship game to Clarkston High in 2017, while be- coming a perennial contender. COVID-19 threatened to strip away another great shot this winter, but it only delayed the inevitable. The Lakers beat nemesis Belleville in double overtime in a semifinal delayed until January, and then pounded Davison, 41-0, in the title game. The itch had been scratched. Bellamy felt it, and so did those around him. "I started poking around in the spring, when coaches couldn't get on the road," he explained. "I started asking some of my coaching buddies, something I hadn't done before. I called Mike Hart when he was at Indiana, Roy Manning at Oklahoma and some of our other guys in college coaching I had developed relationships with." Two of them, coincidentally, would end up being his colleagues on Harbaugh's re- vamped Michigan staff. Hart and Kentucky defensive backs coach Steve Clinkscale — who, as fate would have it, Bellamy had recommended Harbaugh pursue previously — are now on his team. Clinkscale replaces Maurice Linguist, now the head coach at Buffalo, to form a young and impressive defensive backfield coaching duo. If it felt right initially, it feels perfect now. "Those are guys I really respect," Bellamy said. "I thought it would be a good move for me … and to be able to win a state champi- onship, at that point it was a no brainer for me to jump on some of the other opportuni- ties that were presented to me." Learning From The Best And make no mistake, there were several. That's always going to be the case when you come across a guy who can not only coach at a high level, but also has the personality to be a great recruiter. HOME, SWEET HOME Ron Bellamy Is Back In Ann Arbor To Make A Difference Among the career highlights for Bellamy — a wide receiver at Michigan from 1999-2002 — were helping capture a Big Ten title in 2000, and posting 46 receptions for 530 yards and five touchdowns as a senior. PHOTO COURTESY U-M ATHLETICS