Life has a way of coming full circle for people. For Michigan tight ends coach Grant Newsome, it appeared, at first, that life dealt him a cruel hand after a promising football career had been cut short due to a serious knee injury that forced him to retire from football.

Now, looking back, it could be looked at as a blessing in disguise for Newsome, who found his niche in coaching as a student assistant, then graduate transfer and, finally, becoming an assistant coach with the Wolverines this season.

Newsome could've easily walked away from the game and no one would've faulted him for it. Instead, something inside him made him stay. An itch he couldn't wait to scratch.

"Football is hard to walk away from," Newsome said on the Inside Michigan Football show this week. "Not to say this lightly, it's kind of addicting a little bit. There's something about being a player and just the sport itself. It's hard to leave. For me, I had a lot of coaches, Coach Harbaugh at the top of the list, who really impacted my life.

"When I got the position to stay in football and Coach gave me the opportunity to be a student coach and move my way up, it felt like it was not just an awesome opportunity but my responsibility, also, to try to pay that forward. Even if that's just a tiny bit."

Now, Newsome has his eyes set on the coaching path and isn't looking back. All the experiences he had as a player has culminated in a path he is blazing on his own terms.

From the recruited comes the recruiter.

His own experiences can help him recruit players to play for him, just like coaches did for him when he was a player.

"First of all, I was extremely fortunate. I have a lot of respect for Coach Hoke and was not happy that he was fired by any means. Selfishly, I was very fortunate that Coach Harbaugh got the job and he's changed my life. In terms of my recruiting, it's pretty easy. I said this the other day to the media, there's really no selling when it comes to Michigan.

"You have the world-class football. You have the world-class academics and you have the opportunity to play for the best head coach in America. It's easy for me, especially, with Coach Hart, Coach Bellamy and Coach Elston, et cetera who played here. It's something we lived. I just talk about my experiences."

With a second lease on life in the football world, Newsome is dreaming big. With goals as lofty as the expectations he's set for himself, those dreams are staying in Ann Arbor.

To repay what U-M has done for him, his loyalty to the football program is apparent and his dreams are high.

"There's no, oh, I'm here but if the job down the street opens up, maybe I won't be," Newsome said. "This is where I want to be. Obviously, the dream is to be the head coach here someday. I'm going to be here as long as Coach Harbaugh will have me."