WATCH: Michigan RBs coach Tony Alford, LBs coach Brian Jean-Mary talk pre-Texas
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Michigan Wolverines football running backs coach Tony Alford and linebackers coach Brian Jean-Mary met with the media Wednesday afternoon ahead of their team’s matchup with Texas. Watch video of Alford in the player at the top of the screen and Jean-Mary in the embed below. Check out all of The Wolverine’s video content on our YouTube channel.
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Alford talked about Michigan graduate running back Kalel Mullings and if he’s earned more carries.
“I thought the split was pretty good, but he has earned those carries,” Alford said of Mullings. “He started earning those carries last spring. Kalel has proven to be a very accountable guy, not just within our room but special teams. There’s not a coach in this building that doesn’t respect what he’s doing and what he has done. He’s obviously a team player, moving over from defense … and he’s obviously earned the opportunities he’s gotten.
“I think a lot of [the split] is just game situation, how it’s going. If someone gets hot, I’m going to let him keep going. He’d kind of gotten in that groove, so just let him eat. On that four-play drive he had, obviously the two big runs, but people fail to realize one of things Kalel does … go back to the play [Alex] Orji kept the ball, a 10 to 15-yard run. Watch how many people ran after Kalel because he carried out the fake. That’s something people aren’t really watching.”
Jean-Mary, meanwhile, discussed Michigan junior linebacker Jaishawn Barham and what his ceiling is.
“I’ve been doing this for a long time,” Jean-Mary began. “I think he’s got a skill set that could be one of the best I’ve been around. Obviously, he’s still a work in progress, still young. He’s still learning. He has a great skill set as a pass rusher. He doesn’t know how strong he is.
“Physically gifted, but it’s gonna be the little things that are gonna take him to the level that I think we all expect him to get to — how he studies film, how he is able to break down the opponent in his mind and use some of the natural skills that he has as a blitzer, pass rusher and as a run defender. The last part, obviously, is being above adequate in pass coverage to make sure he can affect the game in that way.
“As far as his physical talent, he’s probably one of the best I’ve been around.”
