The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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MICHIGAN RECRUITING braska. No visit was scheduled as of Jan. 19, but it could happen. Rivals.com rates Simmons as a three-star prospect and the No. 3 player in Kansas. • Paramus (N.J.) Catholic wide re- ceiver Donald Stewart — Another New Jersey product with Michigan in- terest, Stewart will travel to Michigan for an official visit Jan. 22. The No. 13 player in the Garden State is deciding between the Wolverines and Stanford. RECRUITING STAFF CHANGES Following the 2015 season, Michi- gan lost director of player personnel Chris Partridge to … Michigan. The former head coach at Paramus (N.J.) Catholic High School was promoted to interim linebackers coach for bowl practices after defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin departed to become the head coach at Maryland. Although the Wolverines hired Boston College assistant Don Brown to lead the defense, Partridge earned a full-time promotion to guide the linebackers and special teams, after special teams coordinator John Bax- ter returned to USC, where he guided the Trojans' units prior to joining Jim Harbaugh's staff in Ann Arbor. Partridge's promotion means the recruiting staff will see some changes. The primary responsibility of the director of player personnel is to guide the recruiting efforts at Michigan, and he will no longer have those duties on his plate. The Wolverines already have re- cruiting coordinators Erik "Soup" Campbell and Matt Doherty on staff, and it's possible that one of them earns a promotion into Partridge's former post. However, that does mean the Maize and Blue will have an opening for one of the recruiting positions. Harbaugh may look to the same route he took in hiring Partridge: lur- ing in an up-and-coming high school head coach who wants to break into the college coaching circuit. That move previously paid off for both the Wolverines and Partridge, and gives Michigan a chance to build relation- ships in talent-rich areas (in his case, New Jersey). Pembroke Pines (Fla.) Flanagan head coach Devin Bush Sr. — who will send three players, including his son, Devin Jr., to Michigan in the 2016 class — has been one name rumored for a potential addition to the staff. ALL-STAR GAME RECAPS Three Wolverine pledges and top target defensive tackle Rashan Gary played in the Under Armour All- America Game Jan. 2 in Orlando, Fla., a pair of commits and a target played in the Semper Fidelis All-American Bowl Jan. 3 in Carson, Calif., and sev- eral commits and targets participated in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl Jan. 9 in San Antonio. The Under Armour Game featured linebacker Devin Bush and offen- sive lineman Ben Bredeson on Team Highlight, while running back Ka- reem Walker played for Team Ar- mour. Bush, who headed directly from the game to Ann Arbor to start his college career, made three to- tal tackles, including assisting on a