Former Michigan, NFL standout joins UMass coaching staff

The former Wolverines standout is moving up in the college football coaching ranks.

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Former Michigan players have been on the move in the coaching ranks this week, taking big steps forward.

First, the move that chagrined ardent maize and blue fans, as former team captain Joe Bolden got hired as a quality control coach at rival Ohio State after moving from Washington State to USC and finally Columbus.

Then, the next day, his linebacker teammate Desmond Morgan moved up from the grad assistant ranks — he went from Wayne State to Maryland to Minnesota — to FCS program Indiana State, where he’ll have an on-field coaching role.

Quietly, former Michigan safety Cato June, who made the Pro Bowl in 2005 as a member of the Indianapolis Colts, has been making coaching moves of his own.

Since retiring from the NFL, June started in the high school ranks, coaching at Washington (DC) Anacostia, first as defensive coordinator then head coach, from 2011-14. He then transitioned to Prince George’s County (MD) Charles Herbert Flowers in 2015, which allowed him the opportunity to move to college, where he became the running backs coach for FCS program Howard for four years.

But now, June is back in the FBS-level, having accepted a position coaching outside linebackers for independent UMass.

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June joins several accomplished former Wolverines coaching at the FBS level, such as Northwestern defensive coordinator Mike Hankwitz, Oklahoma cornerbacks coach Roy Manning and Indiana running backs coach Mike Hart.