STEVE CLINKSCALE

Dallas South Oak Cliff four-star cornerback Malik Muhammad released his list of top six schools on Wednesday night, and Michigan made the cut. “I love the way they play,” Muhammad said of Michigan. Texas A&M holds the lone 247Sports Crystal Ball prediction for Muhammad, but Michigan will be looking to get him on campus for a visit. Demonstrates good play speed and read and react ability at multiple positions in the secondary. Muhammad would be a huge get, but Michigan will have to beat out several national powers in the south to do so.

ANN ARBOR – Michigan football gave fans a sneak peek of its 2022 team Saturday, showing off a split roster scrimmage for the annual Spring Game. The Blue team, led by co-offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore, defeated the Maize team, led by co-defensive coordinator Steve Clinkscale, 20-12. Warren Davis and Alex Orji saw time for the Maize team, while Alan Bowman led the blue team, with J.J. McCarthy in uniform but remaining the sidelines after arm injury limited his spring practice. Former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick was named honorary captain for the game, and led the coin toss and a throwing exhibition at halftime. Check out the gallery above or click the link here to see all our photos.

Nearly three months to the day Michigan last took the field for a game, Jim Harbaugh’s team is ready to do it again. The Wolverines will host their annual spring football game on Saturday in Ann Arbor, the unofficial end to Michigan’s offseason practice schedule. Offensive line coach and co-coordinator Sherrone Moore has been tapped as the head coach of the Blue team, while defensive backs coach and co-coordinator Steve Clinkscale will head the Maize. Henning looks to emerge in crowded receiver roomColin Kaepernick named honorary captain for Michigan spring gameWhere’s the pass rush going to come from? Michigan looks inside for helpU-M has new DC, but expect similar-looking defense in 2022

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Jim Harbaugh’s assistant coaches at Michigan all received new contracts with pay raises in recent months, making Sherrone Moore and first-year defensive coordinator Jesse Minter the highest-paid on staff. Weiss, meanwhile, signed a new three-year contract on Feb. 24 that boosted his pay from $600,000 to $850,000 per year, with identical performance bonuses. The duo have a tall task ahead of them following the abrupt departure of Michigan offensive coordinator Josh Gattis, whose pay topped $1 million annually. • Running backs coach Mike Hart signed a new two-year contract on Feb. 22 that will pay him $550,000, up from the $430,000 in 2021. Michigan is coming off a successful 2021 season in which it finished 12-2, won the Big Ten championship and earned a College Football Playoff berth.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Michigan football has set a date for its annual spring game — and Jim Harbaugh says it will be open to the public this year. “Even if we have to pause before that, we’ll do the spring game April 2.”The annual game was held last April at Michigan Stadium, but limited to family of parents and staff due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Practice will resume on Monday, March 7, with the schedule leading right into the spring game on April 2. And it’ll be a football game. We’ll make it as much like a football game as can be made.

Jim Harbaugh has announced two new hires and several role adjustments for the 2022 Michigan football coaching staff.

Michigan football received five new commitments in one day Wednesday, boosting its 2022 recruiting class into the top 10 during the early signing period.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — No position on Michigan’s team has benefitted more from the change in defensive scheme this season than the secondary. 6 Michigan (6-0) has the third-best passing defense in the Big Ten when measured by passing yards allowed (185.7 per game). “We’re doing a lot of different coverages, so they’re not isolated as much as they have been. Cornhuskers quarterback Adrian Martinez was able to spread the field and open up holes, putting Michigan’s defense in conflict at times. Nebraska’s explosive offense tested the Michigan secondary later on, in what Clinkscale called their toughest test yet.

But with a new coordinator and scheme that emphasizes keeping the ball in front of the defense, turnovers are a crucial part of having success. It’s not that players have been out of position; they’ve just had trouble holding on to the ball. Michigan likes to flash man-coverage, disguise blitzes at the line of scrimmage and mix in zone to keep opposing quarterbacks thinking. Last season, despite his career day against Michigan, Lombardi finished the six-game schedule with more interceptions thrown (nine) than touchdowns (eight). “To be a great secondary, you’ve got to be loud, you’ve got to communicate, you’ve got to work as one,” Macdonald said.

Even Michigan’s last defensive coordinator, Don Brown, called Hill one of the best cover players in the Big Ten. More: Michigan’s new-look defense: Different fronts, disguises in Week 1“I thought Dax played well,” Michigan defensive backs coach and passing game coordinator Steve Clinkscale said. “Really, I can just fly around hustling to the ball,” Hill said. “Whether he’s blitzing or whether he’s not blitzing; the coverage he’s playing or not playing. If he plays well, dominates the cat-and-mouse game at the line of scrimmage and becomes feared in coverage over the middle of the field, Hill becomes Michigan’s secret weapon defensively.

ANN ARBOR – Saturday’s game against Washington will affect more than just Michigan’s record. The Wolverines are scheduled to host dozens of recruits at Michigan Stadium for a prime-time showdown against a Huskies team that entered the year ranked No. Your best recruiting tool is preparing, going out there and executing. The defensive backs want to see how much man we’re gonna play; we’re gonna blitz them. “That’s gonna be the Super Bowl of all recruiting events,” The Michigan Insider’s Brice Marich told MLive.

New Michigan defensive backs coach Steve Clinkscale has never been afraid of a recruiting battle. “He comes in and he’s not really serious, he’s not pressing them to commit to schools or anything. Recruiting is recruiting, but that’s not what gets people and players to want to come play for you. “He’s really close to my trainer and he’s starting to feel like family for me as well.”Clinkscale also has a stout track record of developing talent. That is infectious.”Michigan College Football Season Kickoff Event: Kickoff the Michigan Football season with MLive’s football insiders Ryan Zuke, Aaron McMann, and Andrew Kahn.

First-year defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald has said he plans to dispatch multiple-looking fronts and alignments in order to keep opposing teams guessing. Really just learning my plays every day.”To do that, Hill says, he’s spending extra around the football facility after meetings. More: Michigan plans to play Dax Hill over the field“It’s not like I’m a play here, play there,” Hill said. While successful for a while, Hill called it “one dimensional.”“We just have a lot more calls,” Hill said. I’m really, really excited about all the plays he can make.

Ten players saw playing time as the coaching staff’s options became limited as the season went on. “I think what that did to a lot of people is realize you have to be able and you have to be ready to play at all times. I think now everyone takes meetings and being the second up, I think that’s a lot more serious role taken. Even though Clinkscale, who spent the previous five seasons at Kentucky, wasn’t at Michigan last season, he knows the importance of depth. I think in that aspect, I think everybody has the opportunity to show what they have.”Michigan College Football Season Kickoff Event: Kickoff the Michigan Football season with MLive’s football insiders Ryan Zuke, Aaron McMann, and Andrew Kahn.

Get ready to finally see Daxton Hill utilized all over the football field this fall. In 19 career games at Michigan, Hill has six starts at free safety and 82 tackles (three for a loss), two interceptions and nine pass deflections. To help illustrate his point, Harbaugh pointed to a plyometric stair workout that Michigan had its players do over the summer. It also signals that the 6-foot, 192-pound Hill hasn’t lost his speed, one of his biggest weapons on the football field. What if Macdonald elects to go with a five-man defensive backfield and sticks Hill on the outside as a cover-corner?

More: Michigan football’s new-look D keeps players guessing in practice“You’re either going to fight and prove people wrong, or you’re just going to give up,” Clinkscale said. “We want guys to go out there and really have a chip on their shoulder, (and) prove everybody wrong,” Clinkscale said. And to get Michigan going again on the back end, the first step is to still confidence. “If DBs don’t play with confidence, they’re not very good,” Clinkscale. They’re going to know what they need to improve on.

A committee proposed that Michigan remove Fielding Yost’s name from the ice arena after he refused to let a Black player play vs. Georgia Tech in 1934.

New assistant football coach Steve Clinkscale signed a three-year deal with Michigan earlier this month that will pay him an annual salary of at least $600,000, making him one of Jim Harbaugh’s highest paid assistants. Clinkscale is also eligible for the pay raise and new title in 2023, if Michigan does not achieve the top-25 defensive ranking benchmark until 2022. His predecessor, Maurice Linguist, already had the co-defensive coordinator title and was set to earn a base salary of $680,000 at Michigan. The deal also includes a hefty buyout figure, $600,000, if Clinkscale leaves Michigan before the final game of the 2022 season. Like Linguist, Clinkscale would not owe Michigan a dime if he was to leave for a head-coaching job at another Football Bowl Subdivision school, or the NFL.

The details of the three-year contract Steve Clinkscale signed with Michigan football.

The timeline of Maurice Linguist’s departure was not ideal, but Jim Harbaugh made the best of a hairy situation. Michigan formally named Steve Clinkscale defensive backs coach and passing game coordinator on Wednesday, bringing a quick end to the search for a replacement. On the latest episode of MLive’s “Wolverine Confidential” podcast, beat writers Aaron McMann and Ryan Zuke discuss the hire, Clinkscale’s long, impressive resume and its impact on recruiting. Spoiler alert: Both of them like the move. Listen via the embedded player below (click here if you can’t see it), or search for “Wolverine Confidential” on your preferred podcasting platform.

Harbaugh’s latest coaching hire should also further bolster the Wolverines’ recruiting efforts in the state. With assistant Maurice Linguist leaving for the head coaching job at Buffalo, Michigan has hired Kentucky defensive backs coach Steve Clinkscale for the same role in Ann Arbor. With Bellamy and Clinkscale’s strong recruiting ties to Michigan, the Wolverines should be able to put a stranglehold on recruiting their backyard. You’re gonna see an immediate impact with his (Clinkscale’s) presence now on staff in the state of Michigan and outside the region. He’s well-respected; he’s got many connections, he’s got plenty of ties to coaches, families, mentors, seven-on-seven coaches -- everyone you want to be connected to.

In a statement, Harbaugh called Clinkscale “a highly-respected and talented football coach” and touted his history of developing defensive backs at the college level. “I have followed and admired Steve’s coaching for years, tried to hire him a few times, and I’m glad that it all came together where we could bring Steve to Michigan,” Harbaugh said. Info » https://t.co/Nywy43uevS#GoBlue 〽 pic.twitter.com/otG3vZuPSK — Michigan Football (@UMichFootball) May 12, 2021Clinkscale spent the past five seasons at the University of Kentucky, known for its aggressive, play-making secondary. “Coach Harbaugh and I have developed a relationship over the years, and this will be a great opportunity to work together,” Clinkscale said in a statement. Clinkscale joins an already revamped Michigan coaching staff, especially on the defensive side.

Jim Harbaugh made a strong hire to replace Maurice Linguist.

Steve Clinkscale, an assistant at the University of Kentucky with extensive experience coaching defensive backs, is expected to accept an offer to join the Michigan coaching staff on Tuesday, according to The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman. A separate report from The Michigan Insider said Clinkscale, widely considered to be Michigan’s top target for the vacancy, has signed on to become passing game coordinator and defensive backs coach. SOURCES: Kentucky defensive backs coach Steve Clinkscale is expected to join the #Michigan staff, coaching DBs. Two Kentucky defensive backs were drafted by NFL teams under Clinkscale, who was recently promoted to defensive passing-game coordinator. Clinkscale will work alongside Ron Bellamy, the former head coach at West Bloomfield High School who is now coaching safeties at Michigan.