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WATCH: Grant Newsome, Brian Jean-Mary talk Michigan spring practice standouts, more

clayton-sayfieby:Clayton Sayfie•04/01/24•

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Grant Newsome
(Photo by Clayton Sayfie / TheWolverine.com)

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Michigan Wolverines football offensive line coach Grant Newsome and linebackers coach Brian Jean-Mary met with the media Monday afternoon to discuss the team’s spring practices. Watch video of Newsome in the player at the top of the screen and Jean-Mary in the embed below. Also view all of our video content on The Wolverine’s YouTube channel.

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Newsome was an offensive lineman, student assistant, graduate assistant and tight ends coach at Michigan under Jim Harbaugh, before assuming the role of offensive line coach under Sherrone Moore this offseason. Harbaugh has long said he was grooming Newsome to become the offensive line coach (and eventually coordinator). He provided some insight on how those conversations went behind the scenes.

“Obviously, I’ve been blessed with a lot of incredible opportunities here,” Newsome began. “It’s something that Coach [Harbaugh] and I had talked about, that if Coach Moore was to get a head coach opportunity — here or somewhere else — would becoming the offensive line coach be something I’d be interested in? So, we’ve had those discussions, but very, very happy how it worked out. Obviously, very excited and fortunate to have the opportunity I do here.”

Michigan senior center Greg Crippen has waited his turn, never starting any games, but appears ready to seize a starting job this coming season.

“Crippen has done a great job of learning and maturing,” the Michigan assistant said. “And he’s one of those guys who’s really a technician of the craft. I see him here sometimes as much as us coaches, watching film and studying, trying to be mentally as sharp as he possibly can be — which is obviously huge at that center position. I also think it’s awesome that he was patient and took his time. In today’s day in age, it’s not that common — especially if you’re bringing in transfers at a position — for a guy as talented as he is to stick around. We’re very, very happy he did that. I’m excited to see what he does with this opportunity, to go out and win that starting center job.”

Jean-Mary coached Michigan’s linebackers in 2020, before leaving for Tennessee, where he worked the last three seasons. He had kept in contact with Moore, though, and jumped at the opportunity to return to Ann Arbor.

“Even when I left, I told the guys it felt like the 2020 season was an incomplete part of my coaching career, just because of COVID and the way things went,” Jean-Mary said. “So, even though leaving and going to another program, I still felt a little bit of an attachment to University of Michigan and was an admirer from afar. Watching the success that they had, there was not a happier person than myself and my family. When the opportunity came up, when Coach Moore called me, it felt like it was too good of an opportunity to pass up, just because — like I said — there was a lot of attachment, a lot of good things that happened here, even though the year didn’t go as we wanted in 2020. But I felt like it was where I needed to be.”

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