Ron Bellamy has been reporting to Schembechler Hall — Michigan football's team headquarters — daily since January, but the former Wolverine wideout and first-year safeties coach still gets chills every time he walks through the building, he said Thursday, 16 days until the Maize and Blue's season opener against Western Michigan.
"I think about my freshman year, the first time walking into this building from Louisiana," Bellamy said. "It means something. It’s a special place."
Bellamy, who was the head coach at West Bloomfield (Mich.) High for 11 seasons prior to joining head coach Jim Harbaugh's staff, quipped that there are some mixed emotions when he's back in The Big House, where the squad held a Wednesday night scrimmage.
"I was joking yesterday, there are two ways you feel," Bellamy explained. "One, when you run through that tunnel, you get the goosebumps getting ready to touch the banner. The second one is, you just think about the [former U-M strength coach] Mike Gittleson days of running that stadium."
RELATED: Michigan Football ITF EXTRA: Wednesday Scrimmage, Practice Notes
RELATED: Ron Bellamy: Michigan Football's Defense 'Has Answers To Problems'
After being hired ahead of the 2015 season, Harbaugh said the Michigan job "exceeds being personal," for him. Bellamy — and new running backs coach Mike Hart, for that matter — feel the same way. All three in that former player trio have been a part of Big Ten championship-winning teams in Ann Arbor, and not only know what it takes to win at a high level, but know how to win at a high level at Michigan.
Some of Michigan's struggles over the last decade-plus pained Bellamy to watch from just up the road, roughly 35 miles away.
"There have been highs and lows and you’re just kind of kicking yourself like, man, I wish I was there to help make a difference," Bellamy said.
That's why, for Bellamy, it was a matter of not 'if' but 'when' he returned to the college game as a coach, he said. The stars aligned and allowed him to jump right to his alma mater.
"During COVID, I had a lot of opportunities to talk to head coaches. When you have some good players, you deal with a lot of head coaches at various universities," he said. "I remember [Alabama head coach] Nick Saban reached out to me and he asked, ‘When are you going to make that transition from high school to college?’ From there, my wife and I talked about it and prayed on it.
"Coach Harbaugh reached out, along with a couple other college coaches, and we said, 'Now or never.' We’re fortunate the opportunity presented itself here."
Bellamy has already gained the reputation for being a successful recruiter, especially in the state of Michigan, with all of his connections in the high school game certainly helping.
"I know what the kid likes and dislikes from that standpoint. They don’t like to be bombarded with text messages and phone calls," Bellamy said. "From a high school coaching standpoint, especially in the state of Michigan, I have a good rapport with many of the high school coaches out here in the state of Michigan.
"Being from Louisiana, I have a great relationship with coaches throughout the south. I actually did some work with USA Football, I was a master trainer there. Just teaching the game to youth-level coaches around the country. So I got a chance to work with some of the top high school coaches around the country, and still maintain relationships with those guys.
"That’s one of the benefits of taking a high school coach and bringing him along. I think I’m a little different being a high school coach because I was a former player as well. I kind of see it on both sides. Hopefully, it enhances my development in recruitment."
While he wasn't an in-state recruit himself back in the 1990s, Bellamy is intent on keeping the top talent from Michigan's own backyard home.
"You get great academics and great athletics here. That’s our selling point. We like to think the best players in Michigan, you want to go after them and you want them to come here and play football at Michigan," he said.
Bellamy's impact on the staff is already being felt, and come Sept. 4, he'll finally get to touch the banner once again and officially begin his second tour in Ann Arbor.
---
• Talk about this article inside The Fort
• Watch our videos and subscribe to our YouTube channel
• Listen and subscribe to our podcast on iTunes
• Learn more about our print and digital publication, The Wolverine
• Sign up for our daily newsletter and breaking news alerts
• Follow us on Twitter: @TheWolverineMag, @Balas_Wolverine, @EJHolland_TW,
@JB_ Wolverine, @Clayton Sayfie and @DrewCHallett
• Like us on Facebook
