New safeties coach Bob Shoop joined Jon Jansen on his In The Trenches podcast Wednesday to discuss his first weeks on the job, and to look at the safety position for the upcoming season. Cornerbacks coach Mike Zordich, in his sixth season, also joined the podcast, and talked about his position group as spring approaches.

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Shoop came from Mississippi State, where he was the defensive coordinator and safeties coach from 2018-19. He made previous stops at Tennessee, Penn State and Vanderbilt, among others.

"It’s been great," Shoop said of his experience so far at U-M. "I’ve been on the job a little over a month now, and I had the opportunity to finish recruiting and get to know some of the players on the roster and the coaches on the staff. So, it’s a great honor to be a part of such a prestigious program.

"In 2014, when I was at Penn State, we came here and played Michigan when Coach Hoke was here. And, that was my only other experience in the Big House. Twice now, we’ve had recruiting events where we’ve gone over there, and I feel like I’m one of the 2022 or 2023 recruits. I’m sitting there staring out the window, looking at the block ‘M’ and imagining running through the tunnel and touching the sign. Now, I’m in the press box on game day, so I may not have that experience to run through there, but when I think about it, like I said, I think about the tradition. I think about the history. Whether it’s being the winningest program in the history of college football. Whether it’s the largest stadium, whether it’s the largest indoor facility, largest weight room, just to be a part of something as special as this place, I just feel very, very fortunate to be a part of this family and a part of this university.

"I know it’s a long way off until we play Ohio State, but to be a part of that type of rivalry, and to be a part of [the Big Ten East] ... I came from the SEC West, but the SEC West and the Big Ten East are certainly the best two divisions in the best two conferences."

Shoop played for U-M defensive coordinator Don Brown at Yale, when Brown was running the defense and Shoop was an offensive player. He then was a graduate assistant at Yale in 1989, coaching alongside Brown. The two later met up, coaching together at UMass in 2006, when Shoop was the defensive backs coach and Brown coordinated the defense.

Brown has also coached with U-M offensive coordinator Josh Gattis at Vanderbilt and Penn State just several years back, and with offensive line coach Ed Warinner at Army in the late 90s.

"I’ve had a lot of unique experiences where I’ve changed jobs," Shoop said. "I’ve moved around a fair amount, and I’ve been at a lot of great historically traditional programs. I think the first thing you try to do is identify the culture of the program. It’s very clear that Coach [Jim] Harbaugh has set a great culture for this program, as an alumnus, as someone that’s very, very proud of the brand, proud of the block ‘M’.

"I played for Coach Brown, so I know the culture that Coach Brown’s trying to create on defense. It’s comfortable to me, a little bit, in that I’ve worked with Coach Brown, I’ve worked with Josh Gattis, I’ve worked with Coach Warinner. I’ve worked with some of the analysts, so I knew those guys. I consider this to be relationship-based industry, and trust, honesty and respect are words that mean a lot to me.

"The first week on the job, what I really tried to do was get to know the 10 players that I’ll be coaching at safety, and not just to get to know them as football players. I sure did watch the film, and I’ve watched a lot of practice film. I’ve watched them with [strength and conditioning coach] [Ben] Herb[ert] in the weight room and on the field, but more getting to know their families, their background, their journey of how they got to Ann Arbor. I’ve really enjoyed that as much as anything — developing relationships."

"At this stage, I’m trying to fit in and get a feel for my role. As a position coach, your role is different than a coordinator," Shoop said. "So, I’m looking forward to being involved with the big picture part of the program. As a Yale graduate, I truly believe in the combination of academics and athletics, and I think Michigan provides one of the most unique experiences in regard to that — the combination of academic achievement and athletic excellence. The tradition and history of the program, I’ve already read two books on the history of Michigan and Michigan football since I’ve been on the job here, so I’m excited and proud to be a part of that.

"And then, helping on Coach Brown’s side. I do have unique experience as a coordinator. I could bring some unique perspective and maybe help Coach Brown with any blind spots that he might have, which are very, very few. And then certainly as a teacher, leader and role model to the young men that I have an opportunity to coach and lead on a daily basis. Probably the biggest thing when you go from being a coordinator to a position coach is I think there’s a different level of expectation with regard to the recruiting aspect of things, too. I’m really looking forward to jumping in and competing with the guys on our staff and guys across the country to be one of the top recruiters, as well."

"There’s only three guys that played a lot at safety last year, and Josh Metellus obviously is gone," Shoop pointed out. "[Senior] Brad Hawkins is a guy that played a fair amount. He brings a tremendous amount of experience and obviously missed the end of the year against Indiana, Ohio State and Alabama. We need to get him back and healthy, because I think the expectations are that he’s going to be one of the leaders of this unit. And then, [sophomore] Dax Hill. I knew Dax a little bit from when I was at Mississippi State, because I had him in the 2019 recruiting class at the top safety in that class. I know he went back and forth between Alabama and Michigan in the recruiting process. To have the opportunity to work with him here, I’m very, very excited about watching his development, and hopefully taking him to the next level. But, the experience he gained last year was really, really valuable. And I thought he did a really solid job in both the Indiana game, where he got an interception, and the Ohio State and Alabama games, where he got thrown into the trenches against some explosive offenses.

"The issue, really, as we head into spring, is finding some depth there. I’ve gotten a chance this spring to work with some of the other guys. There are some guys who there are some expectations from. [redshirt sophomore] Sammy Faustin, [redshirt sophomore] German Green, [redshirt freshman] Caden Kolesar, [fifth-year senior] Tyler Cochran, those guys have played on special teams. We have an early enrollee in Makari Paige. I’m just really, really excited to work with those guys. Guys who I don’t know enough about, because I haven’t seen them on the field, but I have seen them work with Herb in the weight room. They seem to have a great work ethic. They seem to have great passion, great toughness. They seem to all have a team-first mindset. They encourage one another and have a great deal of pride as a position unit. I think there will be a tremendous amount of competition this spring."

Before last season, U-M senior cornerback Ambry Thomas was hospitalized with colitis, and was informed by doctors that he would likely not be able to play in his junior season. Thomas defied the odds, and played in the season opener. Thomas had a standout season, notching 38 tackles, 3.0 tackles for loss, four pass breakups and three interceptions, which was good enough to earn him All-Big Ten third-team honors.

"A remarkable recovery," Zordich said of Thomas' earlier than expected return to the field. "The kid was in a hospital for 34 days, and he’s playing in the Middle Tennessee State game. Hats off to him, number one. Love his attitude. Love his desire to be good. Think that he’s becoming a leader of this football team. And, quite frankly, we need guys that are vocal. We need guys that are not afraid to be uncomfortable telling their teammates to shape up or ship out. I think he’s one of those guys that can do that. I’m excited for him in that role. I really am. I think his ability is through the roof. Again, talking about the physical aspect of it, we know he can cover, we know he can run, but seeing him tackle people, putting his face on football players, is an important aspect of the game.

"He’s a little thinner than most, so it’s just building his strength, and our strength staff is one of the best in the country. They have done a tremendous job. You can see the bulk coming out on him now, so he did have a little thumb issue, which stopped him a little bit from working the upper body, but he is coming back from that. But yeah, I’d like to see him a little stronger."

Redshirt sophomore corner Vincent Gray surprised some in his 2019 campaign. He had 20 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and five pass breakups for the season. With LaVert Hill graduating, it's likely that Gray takes the starting spot opposite of Thomas.

"What Vincent has to do is mature," Zordich said. "And, when he realizes what he can do on the football field and in the classroom, as well, I think he’ll be a top notch player at his level. But, he definitely has to mature a little bit, understand that life isn’t all games all the time. But, he’s been working hard, and I’m looking for big things this spring from him."

"I think it’s there," Zordich said of the depth. "I really do. [redshirt sophomore] Gemon Green, [redshirt freshman] D.J. Turner, [redshirt freshman] Jalen Perry. There’s three guys, right there. And you take Gemon, I think Gemon the last two weeks of bowl prep, the light bulb started to go off. Another guy that needs to grow up, needs to mature, needs to understand that I’ve gotta go to class every day and then when I come into this building every day, it means something. I think he’s doing that. D.J. just got a fire under him. I think he’s naturally ready, built for this kinda thing. Jalen, I gotta build the fire under him. I gotta do that. [He’s a] gifted player, really gifted, talented guy, but he’s gotta pick up the pace."

"I’m really impressed with that guy," Zordich said. "Academically, I’m getting reports … through the roof. It’s like him on the field. He’s very competitive, and he’s competitive that way in the classroom, which is awesome. It’ll be fun coaching him this spring. The thing with him will obviously be learning the defense, learning the terminology and being comfortable making the calls. That slows a guy down. He’s competitive as hell now and he’s quick as hell."

"Bob and I have talked about it," Zordich began. "I said I don’t care if we meet every day together. I think it’s that important. There’s so much communication between the safeties and corners that I think we need to spend more time together, without a doubt, than we’ve done in the past. And, we’ve done really good in the past. We’ve done it. But, as I talk to him and as we go into spring, we’re going to get into a rhythm and into a system that hopefully we can work out in the fall where there is more time spent together, watching film."

Since Zordich arrived at U-M in 2015, the Wolverines have sent two corners, Jourdan Lewis and David Long to the NFL, with LaVert hill looking to be next in line to be picked in this year's draft. Zordich has garnered a reputation as being an elite talent developer.

"I really believe that our guys take the coaching," Zordich said. "They understand the importance of the coaching and the fundamentals and details of the game. And, we spend a lot of time on technique. We spend a lot of time on the fundamentals. We spend a lot of time on the board, in the classroom. So, they understand the game. And, they’re able to take a little bit of yelling and screaming. Not that that’s what I want to do, but they understand the passion behind me getting them ready for us here at Michigan, but also for their future."

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