The Michigan Wolverines’ football program has had a lot of connections to New Jersey during the Jim Harbaugh era (since 2015), with the Garden State having been a hotbed for high school talent.
Defensive end Rashan Gary (2016-18) and safety/linebacker Jabrill Peppers (2014-16) are two of the most prominent athletes to have left New Jersey for Michigan, with both of them having gone on to enjoy excellent careers at U-M before becoming first-round NFL draft picks.
The Michigan coaching staff actually has Garden State connections as well, in safeties/special teams coach Chris Partridge and first-year linebackers coach Anthony Campanile.
Partridge coached at Paramus Catholic High School from 2010-14, while Campanile played and coached at Rutgers, and has many more family coaching roots that run deep into New Jersey high school football.
In fact, his brother, Nunzio, is the current tight ends coach for Rutgers, though Saturday’s showdown will not be the first coaching duel between the two brothers.
“Yes, four times when we were in high school — I was at Don Bosco Prep and he was at Bergen Catholic,” Campanile said this afternoon when asked if the two had ever coached against one another.
“We coached together for a while and then he left and I stayed at Don Bosco. We also competed against each other every day growing up, and both of our programs will be trying to get a win on Saturday.
“I was 4-0 [against my brother, and remind him] just about every time we get together.”
Campanile was also asked if it will be strange in any sense facing his alma mater Black Knights on Saturday, but the 37-year old insisted he’s all Michigan now and is only interested in discussing the Wolverines.
“It’s not strange,” he noted. “We’re just ready to go play, whomever it is. Everybody was ready to get back to work by the time we got off the plane [from Madison].
“Any time you’re coming off a loss, you get back to work because Coach Harbaugh says playing and practicing football is good for you.”
Michigan’s linebackers have seen their share of ups and downs in Campanile’s first year on the job, with some surprising players having emerged while others have fallen out of the rotation.
Fifth-year senior Jordan Glasgow, for example, has developed into a surprising starter who seldom comes off the field, while redshirt junior Devin Gil, on the other hand, isn’t even a part of the rotation anymore after starting all 13 games last season.
The unit as a whole was embarrassed on Saturday at Wisconsin, however, playing a hand in allowing the Badgers to rush for 359 yards.
“I don’t think we’ve played as well as we’re capable of playing,” Campanile admitted. “We’re very capable of playing at an elite level.
“We’re just hopefully scratching the surface of how good we can possibly be. I’m excited to get them out there on Saturday and have them play to the best of their abilities.
“Players are going as hard as they can, and it’s our job as coaches to get them better. We teach them they can’t get frustrated, and just need to keep rolling, especially after a game like Saturday’s — you get back to work.
“We always coach as hard as we can, and we’re all fired up to get back out here. Any time you personally don’t get the result you wanted in life, you get right back up and go to work as hard as you can — that’s how I was raised.
“You don’t get discouraged, but keep teaching and keep playing to the best of your abilities.”
Notes
• Though New Jersey has long been known as a favorite of Michigan's to hit on the recruiting trail, Campanile was asked this afternoon to explain why that's been the case.
"I coached there for a long time, and so did my father and two of my brothers," he began. "We’ve had a lot of success with New Jersey high school athletes, and that speaks volumes to the success they’ve gone on to have.
"It’s about as good of football as there is. It’s kind of a backyard place for us — I’m obviously from there and so is Chris Partridge. We want to keep doing our due diligence there and recruiting the best talent out of the state of New Jersey.”
---
• Talk about this article inside The Fort
• Subscribe to our podcast on iTunes
• Learn more about our print and digital publication, The Wolverine
• Sign up for our newsletter, The Wolverine Now
• Follow us on Twitter: @TheWolverineMag, @Balas_Wolverine, @EJHolland_TW, @AustinFox42, @JB_ Wolverine and @DrewCHallett
• Like us on Facebook
