Michigan Football: 3 reasons to love hire of Steve Clinkscale

Michigan football was dealt a rough hand with the loss of Maurice Linguist to Buffalo, but Jim Harbaugh made a great hire in Steve Clinkscale, and here’s why you should love it.

Now that the dust has settled and Michigan football has officially hired Steve Clinkscale, it’s time to really look at the impact he’s going to have on the program.

It’s a huge addition for the Wolverines though, especially under the circumstances. No one expected the Buffalo job to come open as it did, at least when Linguist was hired, so his departure could hardly be anticipated.

But Jim Harbaugh took it in stride. He acted quickly and legitimately landed the No. 1 target for that coaching position. There were some other quality candidates, yet no one checked all the boxes the way Clinkscale does, and here are three reasons why it will be a home run for U-M.

Getting back into Ohio

When Don Brown was let go, I was pounding the table for a defensive hire with ties to the state of Ohio. It didn’t happen the first time around, but in the end, the Wolverines got an Ohio guy in Clink, who is from Youngstown.

For Michigan football, that could be huge going forward as the Wolverines try to re-establish themselves in the state. Clink will certainly help with that and even at Kentucky, he’s done a heck of a job recruiting the midwest.

He’s certainly been a thorn in the side of Michigan and Michigan State. Clink was huge in Kentucky getting Justin Rogers a couple of years ago and just landed a commitment from 2022 Belleville linebacker Jeremiah Caldwell, who was just offered by the Wolverines.

Fans have been clamoring for Michigan to do a better job of in-state recruiting and the addition of Clink is only going to improve that.