Former Michigan assistant strength coach Kevin Tolbert has come home, only now he's the guy in charge. Head coach Jim Harbaugh named Tolbert the program's Director of Football Strength and Conditioning.

Tolbert was at Michigan from 2001-07 under Lloyd Carr. He was the assistant strength and conditioning coach under Harbaugh at Stanford 2009 before being promoted to head strength and conditioning coach for the 2010 season and spent three years as the asst. strength and conditioning coach for Harbaugh at San Francisco.

"Kevin is an outstanding leader who will immediately make an impact on the young men in our program as the director of strength and conditioning," Harbaugh said in a statement released by MgoBlue.com. "He brings tremendous experience from the NFL and collegiate ranks, and his knowledge of Michigan makes him a terrific addition. He is a competitor and a winner, and I couldn't be happier to have him here in Ann Arbor."

Prior to joining Harbaugh's staff at Stanford, Tolbert spent the 2008 season as an assistant strength and conditioning coach for the Detroit Lions. He joined the Michigan football staff prior to the 2001 Florida Citrus Bowl victory against Auburn and spent seven seasons with the program. Tolbert specialized in developing team speed under strength and conditioning coach Mike Gittleson.

"Having the opportunity to return to Michigan, and come here with Coach Harbaugh, is an opportunity that I know is the right fit," he said. "I spent many great years in Ann Arbor, and have had the good fortune to work with Jim for several years after that. I look forward to getting started again here. We want to be competitors and leaders in everything we do. That is the mission of Michigan, and I am excited to be a part of it."

Tolbert joined the Michigan staff after three years at the University of Miami (Florida) working with the football, basketball and soccer programs. Prior to working with the Hurricanes, Tolbert spent 10 years as a general manager and personal trainer at Mainline Health & Fitness (1988-1998). He worked as the head trainer/conditioning specialist at Ken Leistner's Training before joining the staff at Mainline Health and Fitness. While there, Tolbert directed the overall strength and conditioning of numerous athletes, including 1996 Olympic gold medalist in the 400-hurdles Derrick Adkins. He was a volunteer strength and conditioning coach with the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles (1996-97).

A native of St. Albans, New York, Tolbert earned his bachelor of sciences degree in 1981 from the United States Naval Academy. He was a three-year football letterman for the Midshipmen, helping the squad earn a pair of bowl victories.

"I am so excited … it's great to be back home," Tolbert said. "I raised my kids here. Michigan is where I've been a good many years in the past. God willing, hopefully I can be a part of bringing Michigan back in the national discussion of things."

Getting to know the kids and establishing relationships with them is step one, he said.

"There's no magic there with me," he said. "To me, the magic is what you do every day. You grab your hard hat, your lunch box and get to work. There are no secrets, no gurus in my view. It's just real simple. I used to watch my dad do that, get up at 4:00 and go to work, get up the next day and do it again. That's what I'm about.

"It's not what you say sometimes if you're raising kids - and these aren't my kids, but they are if you get what I'm saying. It's not what you say; it's what you do. It's not only talking the talk, but walking the walk."

It's about being committed to the process, he said, and everyone buying in, even when "linear" progress isn't made. It's also about "correcting the universe" as it pertains to Ohio State ruling the Big Ten since his absence, he added, something he's ready to tackle.

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