The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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LINEBACKERS 98 ■ THE WOLVERINE 2024 FOOTBALL PREVIEW vant," Martindale said. "He's in [the foot- ball building] all the time. He knows that when you can slow a game down, know where everything's going and what ev- erybody's doing … when the game slows to him, he can make more plays. He's one of those guys that truly believes that knowledge is power." He also uses his hands better than a lot of guys in the NFL getting off blocks, Martindale reported, high praise from a coach who has done it at the highest level for a long time. Barham, meanwhile, is also a Big Ten- proven player, earning honorable men- tion all-conference honors a season ago after recording 37 tackles and 3 sacks for the Terrapins. He also picked off a pass at the goal line in a loss to Michigan. It didn't take him long to make an impact, junior defensive end Derrick Moore said. Moore played with Barham at Baltimore St. Frances, where both ex- celled. "He's playing really fast; he's looking dominant out there," Moore said. "It's looking like he's been here [a long time] — he's been looking great." "He's really good," Sherrone Moore added. "He was the guy that when we played Maryland every year, we were like, 'We've got to deal with No. 1.' To have him on our team now is super awesome. "You talk about a phenomenal human being, this kid … he doesn't say anything. He just puts his head down and works. When he's on the field, you feel so super stoked around the guys behind him." Barham has all the physical tools to be one of the nation's best, Martindale said after coaching him in the spring. Now, it's just about putting everything together and studying the playbook. "His physical talent just jumps off the chart at you. With that, he's going to be fun to coach," Martindale said. "He's mak- ing good progress knowing the system." Depth Remains A Question Mark Hausmann and Barham need a few other players to emerge behind them to solidify the position, and that's still a work in progress. Moore noted there were still position battles he and his staff were evaluating heading into summer, and backup linebacker was one. "There were some we looked at like, 'OK — this guy took a little bit of a step forward,' or 'this guy stepped up,'" he Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore had work to do to assemble his staff when many of Jim Harbaugh's assistants left for the NFL and other opportunities, and he didn't waste time. While he kept three of the offensive coaches in coordi- nator/quarterbacks coach Kirk Campbell, receivers coach Ronald Bellamy and of- fensive line coach Grant Newsome (pro- moted from tight ends), the defensive staff required a complete overhaul. Moore made a splash in landing long- time NFL veteran Wink Martindale, the architect of the Baltimore Ravens' de- fense. Mike Macdonald and Jesse Minter used it with great success at U-M the last three years, and now Martindale will get his shot to employ it in Ann Arbor. The other new assistants have been learning it, and one — Brian Jean-Mary — is back for his second stint at Michigan. Jean-Mary was doing well at Tennessee and was very well-liked in Knoxville, but Moore was able to poach him for one big reason. " There's no bigger fan [of] Coach Moore than myself," Jean-Mary said this spring. "I've known him for years and was so happy when he got this oppor- tunity. I was cheering him on, and we would always still communicate even when I wasn't here. "I think he's not just a dynamite coach, but a dynamite person, and he's got a chance to be a great football coach. Even in the time when we were apart, when I left and went to [Tennessee], we kept in touch, and I knew what kind of future he had. I knew he was going to be a head coach, and I always said anything I can do to support him — whether it was on the same staff or I was somewhere else — he would always be a guy I wanted to make sure I stayed close to." And now he's right next to him, ready to go to battle. Jean-Mary worked for Jim Harbaugh in the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign but left for Knoxville after one season. The Wolverines cap- tured three Big Ten titles and a national championship in the years since, and Jean-Mary kept an eye on his friend and his career path, rooting for him every step of the way. Still, the athletics department needed to open the checkbook to steal him away from Tennessee. Jean-Mary excelled both as a developer of talent and as a recruiter, making him a hot commodity. "It wasn't as tough of a sell as maybe you would think," Jean-Mary said of bringing his family back to Michigan. "I will start with the culture … it's one of those things when the players come in, you talk about a successful program. A new coach or new players come in, it's the culture that's there that they have to adjust to. "I think Michigan is at a place right now with the culture and the way these kids are wired, these new kids and new coaches, we have to learn the Michigan way no matter where you've come from or what kind of success you've had, because it's proven." They're all striving for the same goals, Jean-Mary said, and it's clear when they walk in the building. "They reached the mountaintop, but you can still see the hunger they have to keep up the success that they have," he said. He's thrilled to now be part of it. "I think the culture here, and I'll say it — I think it's the best in college foot- ball," he said. "… I watch college football. Obviously, in recruiting, you hear things about different places, and I think the Michigan brand and the Michigan culture is the best in college football." — Chris Balas Jean-Mary, who was on the U-M staff for the COVID-shortened 2020 sea- son, returned to Michigan as the defensive run game coordinator and linebackers coach this offseason after two years with Tennessee. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL Brian Jean-Mary Is Back For His Second Stint