Michigan Football Showcase Observations and Recap: Part 1 - Coaches and Commits

Just about Michigan's entire staff was at Ferris State University on Thursday working drills, chopping it up with prospects and coaches and rubbing elbows with commits and targets.

Jim Harbaugh and nine of his assistants were in Big Rapids at Ferris State University on Thursday as a part of the massive Michigan Football Showcase put on by the prominent Detroit organization Sound Mind Sound Body. Harbaugh and his staff were involved in drills, communicated with high school coaches and college coaches alike and spent time with current Michigan commits and several big time targets. 

As a media member/spectator at a big event like that, it's always really cool to see everyone interact. It gives you a glimpse into what life is like on a daily basis as a college coach and as a top flight recruit. Here are all of the observations I came away with.

Coaches

Jim Harbaugh

Michigan's head coach was in attendance and appeared to have a really good time. He was smiling a lot and seemed pretty pumped up to give a speech during his scheduled time slot. I actually think his speech fell flat and the "Who's got it better than us?" trope seems forced and played out at this point. Still, he did a ton of interacting with recruits and I heard him mention several targets by name on sight. He also got a chance to spend a lot of time with commits Will Johnson, Tay'shawn Trent and Davonte Miles.

Ron Bellamy

As a former standout head coach in the state Ron Bellamy was obviously a pretty popular guy throughout the camp. He's very well respected and knows everybody so he's a very valuable asset on the staff at this point, even though it's just his first year coaching in college. He has an outstanding reputation among high school coaches in the state of Michigan and even if recruits don't know him personally they all know what he's about and seem to respond very well to him.

Steve Clinkscale

Clinkscale is simply the coolest guy in the room. He's got a slow, methodical walk, an aura of confidence and everyone flat out loves the guy. Every single person that he walked up to greeted him with a smile, a laugh, a bro hug and a bunch of conversation. He's had a strong presence in Michigan and the Detroit area for a long time and it's very, very noticeable. Every single recruit who has ever interacted with him has nothing but great things to say about him and most of them will call him their favorite coach. He spent a ton of time with top target Deone Walker and commit Will Johnson.

Josh Gattis

Gattis also has a certain level of cool to him. Everyone that talks to him seems to like him and seems to lock in on what he is saying. I honestly wasn't around him all that much throughout the day.

Jay Harbaugh

I also saw very little of Jay Harbaugh. The camp was spread out over three fields and I just didn't cross paths with him very much throughout the course of the day.

Mike Hart

If you watch Mike Hart interact with people for even a few minutes you can tell he's very about his business. There will be some moments of smiling and laughter, but for the most part he straight faced and really locked in on whatever he's doing. You can tell that Hart is a very respected guy as he spent a lot of time talking to other coaches that he obviously knew from his previous stops at places like Eastern Michigan, Syracuse and Indian. He spent a lot of time talking to running back recruit Dillon Bell who was getting a lot of attention from the Michigan coaching staff.

George Helow

I didn't really take much away from my observations of Helow. He's obviously a young guy and he's not very big, which surprised me a little bit. But he was around a lot of different recruits all day long and seemed to be pretty focused on what he was watching.

Mike Macdonald

Like Hart, Macdonald is about his business. You can tell by watching him that he's very focused, detail oriented and fixated on the job at hand. Of course he seemed to be having fun and smiling at different times, but for the most part he was arms crossed, straight faced and kept an eye on interesting prospects such as commit Davonte Miles.

Sherrone Moore

You can tell that Sharon Morris really starting to settle in as an experienced and confident coach. The way he carries and conducts himself makes it seem like he really knows what he's doing and he really knows what he's looking for. I have a pretty solid relationship with him and I jokingly asked who the starting five was on the offensive line and he just laughed and said, "You know I can't tell you that." I liked a lot about Ed Warinner, and I thought he got the most out of most of the players on the offensive line, but if anybody can step in and really hit the ground running it's a coach like Sherrone Moore.

Shaun Nua

Shaun Nua takes a lot of flak from some of the Michigan fanbase because he doesn't seem to recruit super well and his unit hasn't been overly productive, but man I love watching the guy coach. With all the changes to the defensive staff last year, Nua survived. There must be something that Jim Harbaugh and the rest of the staff really likes about him because he's still on board and when you watch him coach I think that shines through. He has phenomenal energy, a great knowledge for the game, a respectable background and the type of personality that kids gravitate towards. I do think he needs to do better on the recruiting trail and hopefully his unit will be more productive this fall, but he's a really likable coach.

*Quarterbacks coach Matt Weiss was the only assistant not in attendance.

Commits

Grosse Pointe (Mich.) South cornerback Will Johnson

Johnson was sporting Michigan gear on arrival knowing that a lot of eyeballs were going to be on him. He spent a ton of time with Jim Harbaugh and Steve Clinkscale and really seems to be bonding with his future coaches. He really looks the part at a legitimate 6-3 and moved extremely well during individual drill time. He didn't participate in one on ones, which was a bummer, but he used that time to talk with Harbaugh and the other Michigan coaches. Obviously he's committed, but he does have the upcoming official visit to USC that can't be ignored. USC cornerbacks coach Donte Williams was in attendance for Johnson alone and the two did seem really close when they were talking. Still, after talking with Johnson, I think he ends up at Michigan. He's saying all the right things and he's still out there recruiting other players to join him in Ann Arbor.

River Rouge (Mich.) High defensive tackle Davonte Miles

I will openly admit that when Miles first committed to Michigan, and I learned about him and watched some of his film, I didn't think he would stick in the class. But after watching him at the camp and seeing how he's reshaped his body, I am singing a completely different tune. He's down to a lean and athletic 270 pounds, and he moves extremely well. He's got a great build that could easily handle another 30 pounds and a little bit of dog in him, which you love to see you along the defensive line. He didn't exactly dominate during one-on-ones but I really like how he moves and with the proper coaching I think he could be a pretty big force on the line.

Eastpointe (Mich.) East Detroit wide receiver Tay'shawn Trent

Trent is a big-bodied receiver who moves very well. He does a good job of catching the ball away from his body with strong hands and he's pretty sudden for a big guy. He's the kind of player who will shine much more in a game setting with the pads on than in shorts and a T-shirt but he still looked good and definitely has the kind of skills you look for in a wide receiver.