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First-year Michigan linebackers coach Al Washington has been a hit on the recruiting trail everywhere he’s been. There’s no secret to his success, he said Monday.
Washington came to U-M from Cincinnati after a long stint at Boston College. He was an outstanding recruiter at both spots, and he’s off to a great start at Michigan, often named by prospects as a guy they really connect with.
“My philosophy is, how would I treat like my younger brother?” Washington said. “My younger brother is 11 years younger than me. What I mean is you’ve got to be honest with people, but you’ve always got to try to appeal to them in a way that they feel you’re going to do what’s best for them, and you mean it. I think you have to mean it.
“I think any coach in college sports as an affection for kids, an appreciation for them. That’s why they do it. When I recruit I treat them like they’re my own.”
He’s done it the same way at Division III, IAA and Division II, he said, and the strategy has never failed him.
“It doesn’t mean I get them all, but I can tell you tons of kids I may not have gotten to commit to the school I’ve been at but I’m still in a relationship with them because of the relationship we built,” he said. “When you go about it that way, it makes it more pleasurable, because it does take a lot of time and energy. The other thing is it’s the right way to do it.
“In order to do your job you’ve got to do more than just wear the jersey logo and think going to connect with people. I learned young it’s about the person and connecting. That’s my philosophy on it.”
He’s not the only young recruiter on staff with a reputation. He and safeties/special teams coach Chris Partridge have already bonded in the short time they’ve been together.
“ I’ve known about CP from being at other schools,” he said. “He’s got a great reputation. Being around him, that’s one of the first things I asked him when I first got hired … we were on the road, and that is his philosophy (too). He is relentless in how he prepares for families when they come, how he interacts with them throughout the week.
“I’ve definitely learned a great deal from what he’s done. I feel he’s definitely an elite recruiter, and he’s an elite coach, too.”
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