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Chris Partridge on NIL, Michigan recruiting, the 'New Jersey pipeline' - 'we're going to revive it'

Chris Balasby:Chris Balas•08/30/23•

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Michigan Coaches Chris Partridge (Left) and Kirk Campbell (Right). Partridge is back in his second stint at Michigan assistant.(Zach Libby/The Wolverine)

Michigan linebackers coach Chris Partridge was one of the coaches who hit the road with Jim Harbaugh this summer to promote MPower, the football program’s vision for NIL at the school. While there’s still a long way to go to drum up the needed support, Partridge believes they got the message out … and that it was received. 

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Programs that do not embrace it likely won’t be competitive in the future. Not only is Harbaugh trying to drum up support for that, but he’s also advocating for all players to share revenue they help generate from the support. Partridge agreed wholeheartedly Wednesday.

“I think people know, recognize the importance [of NIL],” he said of Michigan boosters targeted to help fund MPower. “They just needed to hear the support of it, right? It’s something you can’t turn your eye to. You heard Jim come out here Monday and give his statement. It’s what needs to happen — it’s what should happen. 

“We support it fully in this program and this university. We just had to get out there and make sure our alumni, our supporters, heard it from us, and know that they support it. Our plan to execute it we feel like is best in the country, too. We just had to get our voice out there. But I feel like people are hearing it for sure.”

Time will tell, of course. While Michigan got a late start on the NIL front, Harbaugh, Partridge and Co. are trying to get it where it needs to be. Partridge was at Ole Miss the last several years and saw up close the support an SEC school has in raising funds for its football program. It was impressive, several have said, and the fanbase and donors rabid about it, too.

In some ways, Partridge added, it was easier to land kids for other reasons, as well. For one, they didn’t have to go too far. A lot of the top talent is from the south so getting them on campus isn’t as tough. They didn’t have to recruit as much nationally as they do at Michigan, he added, calling U-M “obviously a national program.”

“You’ve got to go all over the country to find the guys that fit,” Partridge continued. “In an SEC school, the players kind of fit all the SEC schools, if that makes sense, whereas here at Michigan … we look for a certain type of guy. You’ve got to do a little more homework to find the guy, whereas in the SEC the athletic traits are the things you mostly focus on. 

“Here, we need guys that can process, think, want an education. Guys that value being a Michigan man. We’re looking for those guys around the country. I think you’ve kind of got to do your homework there to find the right players that are able athletically to play for us, as well.”

Michigan hasn’t recruited New Jersey as well since Partridge left, though Partridge was hesitant to say it “dried up.” He is excited to get back to his old stomping grounds, however — he was an elite high school coach when Harbaugh plucked him to join his staff — and see what he can do. 

“We’re going to revive it,” Partridge said. “We’re going to go after the best players anywhere in the country. I have ties in New Jersey and there are some really good players in this class coming up, so we’re going to go and try to get them, for sure. 

“It’s like anywhere I recruit or anyone I recruit … we’re going to try to get the best players. Hopefully, some of them are from New Jersey.”

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