ANN ARBOR, Mich. — For Michael Barrett, his Michigan football career will end working with a face that got it to begin as it was.
As a quarterback at Valdosta (Ga.) Lowndes, Barrett’s primary recruiter to Ann Arbor was Chris Partridge, the Wolverines’ ace recruiter for a time, who handled the region. Barrett was thought to be coming to Michigan as an offensive weapon, but quickly transitioned to the defensive side of the ball, first as a defensive back, then as a linebacker.
Last year, he blossomed playing the linebacker role after having been a VIPER under Don Brown’s previous scheme, and with Partridge coming back to the staff to coach linebackers again, as he did in 2016-17, Barrett is finally playing directly under his primary recruiter — something that didn’t look feasible since Partridge left the program after the 2019 season to be the co-defensive coordinator at Ole Miss.
So, when Barrett heard that his recruiter was coming back to town, he was very enthusiastic about the opportunity.
“Oh, I was excited. He was the guy, he recruited me here. He got me here,” Barrett said. “(On) special teams, (he) got me on the field for special teams. When I first got here. He was a great coach when he was here. I got really close to him with his time here. I was excited when I heard he was coming back.”
The maize and blue world has been abuzz since the news of Partridge’s prodigal return, but what does he bring to the table that has everyone all excited? What is his coaching style behind closed doors that aids the team?
Barrett says that just his attitude and his fresh set of eyes should aid the linebacking corps.
“Different outlook, just enthusiasm,” Barrett said. “And he just has a way to get everybody fired up and everybody ready to go.”
Fans will get an opportunity to see the linebackers in action on April 1 in the annual spring game at The Big House.
[lawrence-auto-related count=3]
[mm-video type=video id=01gv8grjh22dtmayh8p5 playlist_id=01eqbzardvge799bm2 player_id=01f5k5y2jb3twsvdg4 image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01gv8grjh22dtmayh8p5/01gv8grjh22dtmayh8p5-641973b20c8b86ad52bf90475eec32f5.jpg]