Everything Ron Bellamy said on the In the Trenches podcast
On how different college athletics is since he was a player and the challenges it represents
It's very different. The kids have the name, image and likeness and the kids are able to partake in different things. For us at Michigan, it doesn't change. Our mentality is making sure that the kid is the right fit for Michigan. Make sure the kid is driven by academics, making sure the kid is driven by the culture that's been established here by Coach Harbaugh and the coaches before him. We're going to keep this thing rolling. We just gotta make sure it's the perfect fit for Michigan and the rest, in our eyes, will take care of itself.
On how he's been able to help Roman Wilson and Cornelius Johnson transition to the NFL
I think a lot of things that we do in our training and our development carries over to the NFL. I think it helps having a position coach who played the position at the same university and played in the NFL. I think it also helps that a guy like myself during the offseason, I'm going to different NFL teams from a professional development standpoint learning and bringing back some of those tools to our guys so not only to become better for Michigan but when their careers are over here and they're going to the NFL, guys are playing at a high level and exceeding expectations.
On replacing production from last year
Something we're excited about. We had a great spring with the guys. Here's a thing that a lot of people forget, they played a lot in a sense of Tyler Morris played over 300 snaps last year, Semaj Morgan played over 200. Fred Moore played just over 100 snaps last year, Peyton O'Leary came on at the end of the year. We do have the experience. Now the guys have to understand the production has to step up. They're ready, they're ready for the opportunity. They're smart, they're tough, they're Michigan. They're Michigan Men and these guys understand what the expectations are. They're perfecting their craft daily. The thing I love about our room is the next man is happy for the next man's success. They're happy for Roman and Cornelius and Ronnie the year before. Now those guys understand that the torch is passed to them and they gotta bring it. Spring ball was evident of that, the guys had a tremendous spring and we're just going to keep growing every single day.
On where he's seeing leadership develop
All the guys. Every guy brings something different to the table. I would say the alpha in our room right now is Tyler Morris. He comes in with the most experience, he's the oldest. He's a quiet leader. Doesn't say anything but when he does his voice is so loud and the guys understand that. T-Mo wants the best for everything. Just the way he attacks the game, attacks meetings, attacks practice. Everyone brings it. Semaj, he's a younger guy but I would say he's the vocal guy in our room, which is kind of cool to see a young guy do that. We really haven't had that since a young Ronnie leading the room like that. I don't mind a young guy having a voice in the room just because I've experienced it playing here with guys like David Terrell, Larry Foote's of the world. Those guys were young, they were dogs, though. The guys respected them just the way they approached the game.
On how he's seen his group step into different roles
All the guys are exceptional at what they do. Tyler has proven that, Semaj has proven that and you saw glimpses of Fred Moore last year and glimpses of Peyton O'Leary. A couple guys we're super excited about obviously Kendrick Bell. If you know anything about Kendrick, he's the younger brother of Ronnie. That's the one thing I wanna talk about, we gotta change the name. People know you as Ronnie's little brother, you need to be known as Kendrick Bell. Kendrick was a quarterback in high school that as we evaluated him we thought he was a phenomenal athlete. He was an All-State basketball player, he was a state champ in the high jump and state champ in the long jump in Kansas City in Missouri. We knew he had some of those traits that we look for in receivers. Can they jump? Can they run? Can they change direction? How explosive are they? He checked all those boxes. Last year, he played receiver in a reserve role as a scout team guy. This spring he had an opportunity with our numbers, he had a chance to go against the Will Johnsons of the world and Jyaire Hills of the world, Keshaun Harris — some of the older guys. And he held his own, did some good things. And then, in the spring game, he showed some flashes of what he’s capable of doing. We’re super excited about him. Amorion Walker came back to the family and he’s here. I had him freshman year as a receiver and moved to corner and now he’s coming back as a receiver. He gives us the length and speed that when we recruited him out of Ponchatoula, Louisiana, that’s what we were looking for — a 6'4 guy that can stretch the field. And he’s another one that can jump out the gym and extraordinary talent and we’re excited about him. C.J Charleston — older guy. I thought we needed an older guy in our room. Another guy who could be a leader with experience. Played at Youngstown State. But he’s also played Big Ten. He’s been in The Shoe, he’s played against Ohio State. He’s been in East Lansing. He’s played against the Spartans, so he’s played Big Ten competition. Past success, you can watch the game film, see him going in there. And he’s a perfect fit for us. We’re super excited about him. And obviously, our two incoming freshmen, Channing Goodwin — legacy kid, son of Jonathan Goodwin. Exceptional player coming from North Carolina. I’Marion Stewart, coming out right outside of Chicago. We’re excited about those guys, we recruited those guys for a couple of years. To get them, we’re fired up about them, too. They didn’t do spring ball, but we’re excited to get them on campus now and just watch those guys grow and develop.
On track-and-field skills translating to football
I think you find what a player's strengths are and you play to it. If you have a jumpball guy, be a jumpball guy. If you can stretch the field vertically and just the techniques that we're teaching to win the — we call them 80/20 balls, we don't call them 50/50 balls. You need guys who can win those. Play to your players strengths and put them in position that they're most capable of being successful. We're technicians, man. I'm fired up about this group because they're hungry, man. They're always willing to learn, asking questions, wanting to watch film. When you have that mindset, to me, it sets you up for success. Those guys aren't just phenomenal athletes, they're going to be phenomenal football players.
On how he can continue to push Semaj Morgan to develop
Semaj, he's awesome. I love Semaj. Obviously, we've been around each other since he was six-years-old, his dad was an assistant coach for me in high school. Obviously, we were at the same high school. Semaj is a dog. He's a guy that you show him how to do it once and he's going to perfect it and keep attacking it, keep attacking it. Semaj is 5'9 but he plays like he's 6'2. He's always been like that. He's a guy that he's perfected his route running, his overall understanding of the game. The how and why. How we do it and why we're doing it. The game slowed down tremendously for him during the spring. The great thing about going against this defense is the variations of coverages that you see and the fact that he's able to decipher that and see what the defense is trying to do to him, the game has slowed down and we all know, once the ball is in his hands, it could be explosive at any point. He's really honed in on that and I think his attention to detail with his route detail has been great and he's always been a great pass catcher. In the run game, he's as physical as anyone I've been around. I always call him, that's my Baby Steve Smith. Steve Smith wasn't the biggest guy but he played like he was a mountain lion and that's Semaj.
On how he gets his players to understand the importance of blocking as a receiver
It's the culture. It's the culture in our program and it's the culture in our room. Like I said, going back to my playing days, it was something that was established when I played. I have a sign in my room that says no block, no rock. The guys understand that and they take great pride in that blocking. They understand that's part of the game, whether you're blocking for a quarterback, running back or you're blocking for a receiver on the perimeter, we're going to take care of our brothers. We have a strong brotherhood and that's part of being a receiver at Michigan is whatever the gameplan or that particular play asks us to do, we're going to execute at a high level.
On developing chemistry between the receivers and quarterback
I think the guys do a good job of getting together and playing catch together. For me, mixing the receivers around. Sometimes you'll be in the first group, sometimes you'll be in the second group. Whoever the quarterback maybe that particular day, whoever is going to that rack, you make sure the receivers get a chance to go with every quarterback. Routs on air, one-on-ones, 7-on-7. You're building your chemistry through repetition. Just reps. The guys, to us, we have a lot of great options at quarterback and our job is to make the quarterbacks look good by getting open and making a play when the opportunity presents itself. I think the biggest thing is getting the opportunity to play pitch-and-catch with the quarterbacks on a daily basis and the boys do a good job with that.
On how he's seen the QB competition develop
It's fun. It's a fun competition. Since I've been apart of Michigan, I've been apart of the Tom Brady-Drew Henson competition, I was there for that. Also, my first year here, with Cade and J.J. and then obviously here for this competition. Me, personally, I think what it does is it makes everyone better. It makes the quarterbacks better, obviously, because they're all making sure that they're precise and detailed with everything they do. It makes the O-line understand, whoa, back there, you can't mess up because you don't want to screw this up for this quarterback. The running backs are the same way in pass pro and obviously with the receivers and tight ends, just being able to make sure they get open. You're detailed, right spot, right time and just go and make plays. Everyone is elevating their game. I feel like competition really exudes excellence among everyone. The guys, they're wired in that way.
On Colston Loveland
He's smooth, man. I love watching him play. Coach Newsome did a great job, has done a great job with him and Coach Casula is taking that over and he's expanding his game. It's fun to watch him, man. He's relentless. He's a warrior, he's a guy that you watch him in practice and sometimes you pause and are like, man, this is the best tight end in America and this is what he's doing. He may have a go route, he's clearing it out and he's busting his butt to get someone else open. If he's doing it, everyone else should do it. I think he sets a great example for this football team. We're lucky to have him.
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