In the Trenches 592 - Ron Bellamy & Fred Jackson Transcript
6/24/2026 7:32:00 AM | MGoBlue Podcasts
[music builds]
Jeff Laurence • 00:06
Welcome to the official podcast of Michigan Football in the Trenches with Jon Jansen. Presented by Meijer. Presenting sponsor of the twenty twenty six Michigan football season and proud supporter of hundreds of local sports teams across the Midwest. Nobody covers Michigan football better than the two time captain, national champion and Michigan athletics Hall of Honor inductee.
Fred Jackson • 00:28
As a freshman, he's probably the most talented, talented guy I've seen that I brought in here. As a true freshman. He's already beyond what I think a freshman is capable of doing and the guys that I have history in bringing in, he is such a tremendous competitor.
Jeff Laurence • 00:47
This is in the Trenches presented by Meijer. Once again, here's Jon Jansen.
Jon Jansen • 00:53
Joined now by one of my old time friends, Ron Bellamy, a guy that's been around Michigan football for a long time in a brand new role and that is the senior director of recruiting relations. Ron, thanks for joining me. And I'm just going to start off with how do you like the new role?
Ron Bellamy • 01:09
I love it, love it. First and foremost. Thanks for having me on. But I, but I love the new role. You know, it's a different way for me to impact the team, impact the football program. And you know, what's unique about it is, you know, came in as a football player, you know, had the coaching, you know, had a successful time here coaching at Michigan and now, you know, being part of the front office now. So if you feel like you've touched the program in different facets.
Jon Jansen • 01:35
What, what do you see as the number one thing that you are doing right now?
Ron Bellamy • 01:40
I think right now just being a guy that's familiar with the football program and understanding the importance of protecting the state of Michigan, you know, just, just making sure my relationships, being a former longtime high school football coach, just, you know, those relationships that I have, sharing it with the staff, making sure those guys understand the importance of the state of Michigan and just the landscape of recruiting at Michigan in general, just doing that, just making sure we get not only the best players but the best fits for Michigan. So, you know, just having experience here, just, you know, being an extension of
Jon Jansen • 02:14
the coaching staff, what does, because we always hear it right, hey, the recruiting footprint and that, that footprint, honestly from Michigan is coast to coast. It's, it's, it's global. But talking about protecting the state of Michigan, you mentioned it already. You were a high school football coach. What does it take to maintain relationships with longtime high school football coaches? But also, hey, there's turnover in the high school world as well. What does it take to build new relationships in the state of Michigan.
Ron Bellamy • 02:41
Not just thinking, you know, just making sure the guys understand the brand, you know, the Michigan football brand. But most importantly, understanding the guys that are now, it's a new regime, you know, making sure they understand, you know, who coach Whittingham is, who the staff is. This been a blast.
Jon Jansen • 02:57
I don't want to dwell on what we were doing when the last staff was here, but it was a huge challenge. Nobody thought that last season would end the way it did. What were some of the challenges that you had when the season ended and everything was kind of left up in the air for the staff that was here?
Ron Bellamy • 03:13
Yeah, I think first and foremost being a Michigan man, you know, just, you know, you, you love this place. You know, we come here as seventeen, eighteen year old young men and this is, this is our forever home, you know. You know, being here, being an alum here, playing football and just, you know, it was sad, you know, it was sad, but just the understanding that you may have to uproot your family, you know, and I'm a big time, you know, big time football family. For us, you know, having my wife, you know, is a Michigan grad, my sister in law is a Michigan grad. My kids were born in Ann Arbor. So this is home for us. You know, we love Michigan and it was tough, it was tough times and part of me coming back was my love for Michigan, you know, prayed on it, my family, we prayed on it and you know, decided when Coach Whittingham offered me an opportunity to, you know, pivot out of coaching and do some front office stuff, it was a no brainer for us.
Ron Bellamy • 04:02
And you know, the cool thing was just getting congratulatory text messages from, you know, NFL guys and former teammates and, you know, friends of the program. It meant a lot and it told me that I made the right decision.
Jon Jansen • 04:14
It meant a lot to me. The moment that I walked in the building, I had heard the news, but then I saw you, we were right outside the commons and to know that there was a familiar face because there's not a lot of us around that have been here for a long time. So it was nice to see a familiar face. And what's the reception been by like for the recruits? Because recruiting starts so early now and this is a brand new staff to be able to have a commonality, somebody that they were familiar with how, what's the benefit of that? For those kids that were already being
Ron Bellamy • 04:45
recruited, it's big time. You know, one of the things that you said, it, you know, it's a familiar face. So when the kids, you know, they see the phone number come across the screen or soon as they walk in the building, it's a familiar face and it's like, oh, coach, you know, so, you know, you know, giving big hugs. So it's, you know, that, that part is just connecting the kids that we've had relationships with in the past and now just having a familiar face that they're like, oh, yeah, coach, you know, I'm glad you're back. So that's been pretty cool, going from
Jon Jansen • 05:15
coaching to front office. It's. I mean, there's still a bunch of film study, you're doing recruiting, doing all that stuff. But who did lean on as to how to make the decision of going from coaching to front office? Who did you look forward to for advice?
Ron Bellamy • 05:31
Yeah, I talked to, you know, one of my best friends in Michigan, man, Courtney Morgan. You know, talk to him about it. You know, obviously he's never gotten to the coaching world, but, you know, he's a front office guy and just kind of, you know, poking and asking him, like, what are some of the things that, you know, I need to look out for some of the things that, you know, I can grow from it. Just talking to some of, you know, former teammates and, you know, guys that have. Not many people have done it, you know, but just talking to front office guys in the NFL, talking to some of my mentors there, talking to some other guys that's in the front office, you know, within college football. So just picking everyone's brain and, you know, wanting to gather as much information as possible. And like I said, I gathered enough information, I felt confident and comfortable to make this decision.
Jon Jansen • 06:14
What are some of the challenges that you face? We've talked about all the benefits of being back here, the familiar surroundings, you didn't have to move at all. But what are some of the challenges you faced of learning a new role?
Ron Bellamy • 06:24
Yeah, I think that's it. Just learning a new role. I mean, the cool thing about it is I wouldn't necessarily say a challenge is, you know, as a coach, you do. A lot of the things that I'm doing now, from, you know, working in recruiting to eval to, you know, having relations with, you know, like, you know, whether it's your alumni, you know, being a, you know, former player here or, you know, just, you know, donor relationship, whatever, whatever it may be, just having relationships with everyone now, it's, you know, different magnitude. You know, this is extensively the job as opposed to coaching. So I would say that's the biggest challenge for me has been, you know, off the field because, you know, you. You know, your player, you're a coach, you still want to feel like you have that impact on the football field, but you do, but it's just in a different light.
Jon Jansen • 07:07
So I was going to ask you that because I went from playing for a long time to now just watching and talking about it. You went from playing to coaching. And now Saturdays are going to be, I think, a little bit of a challenge. How. How do you. How do you anticipate taking in college football Saturdays?
Ron Bellamy • 07:25
It'd be a lot less stressful, right? A lot less stressful. But no, you know, we have it in our blood, right? This. It'll never. The feeling will never go away because we're competitors. That's why we played at the levels we have. And, you know, you know, went from playing to coaching because, you know, you're so competitive, you want to kind of keep that going. But, you know, just the Saturdays is, you know, essentially, you won't have an impact on the plays being called or the development of the guys, you know, from X's and O standpoint, but just knowing that, you know, you had a piece of, you know, being able to help shape the team, you know, and the cool thing about it is, you know, some of the coaches, like, hey, you know, the guys and I have relationships with not only the receivers, but just a lot of the guys on the team I recruited, you know, they came from the areas that I recruited.
Ron Bellamy • 08:13
So I have relationships with the kids and their families. So, like I said, being a familiar face, but also a confidant, that someone that. Who sat in those meetings, someone who has, you know, gone through, you know, taking classes on campus and, you know, done some of the things that they're doing, and they still, you know, like, hey, coach, how you doing? How's the family? So just having those relationships.
Jon Jansen • 08:33
You mentioned it already in terms of donor relations. I think when. When the. The news came out that you were going to be back and in this, you know, I heard from a lot of donors, hey, I'm really glad Ron's around. You know, we love him. You know, he's such a personable guy, and we know his love of Michigan. The. I don't know how best to phrase this question, but is how big has those relationships become in the new business of college football?
Ron Bellamy • 09:02
They're huge. They're huge. You know, now. Now in this role, you know, it's like, hey, like, what is your insight on it? You know, what. What Is what are some other schools doing or what it is, you know, how can we help? You know, and. And now you can actually talk about it, you know, just like, hey, this is. This is how you can be helpful, you know, to the football program. And these are some of the gaps that need to be filled. So, you know, and those guys haven't been around them for such a long time. You know, just. Just having a relationship with them, you know, just finding guys that can help
Jon Jansen • 09:33
the program in regards to developing new relationships. How do you develop a new relationship, make a new contact? How do you develop those things for the program?
Ron Bellamy • 09:44
It's. You know, people want to. Our donors are such big football fans. You know, some of them played. Some of them never played the game, and they're big fans of the program. And just having, you know, I feel like having someone like myself that, you know, like, they want to talk about the experiences. That's what makes Michigan special is, one, the culture and two, the history of our football program. And, you know, fortunately for me, I've been a part of a lot of eras of Michigan football. You know, Lloyd Carr being my head coach and then, you know, being a high school coach, being around Rich Rod and Brady and Coach Harbaugh, bringing me from the high school world to here. And so, you know, I have a lot of, you know, eras of Michigan football, and guys want to talk about that. And as you know, you know, being a former player and a Michigan man, despite what era you played in, we all brothers.
Ron Bellamy • 10:28
You know, you could talk to someone that played in the sixties and seventies and, you know, share some of the same stories. Maybe different coaches, but you share some of the same stories. So, you know, I think that's a big piece of it because really, you know, the donor relationship with the football program is basically like storytelling. You know, be authentic, be real. You know, just. Just laugh and smile and just reminisce about, you know, things in the past.
Jon Jansen • 10:51
I'm curious your take on this because you mentioned Coach Carr, and you and I both think the world of them, and so many Michigan fans do, so many former players do. And we've both had the opportunity where we've had teammates who now their kids are coming through the program. How old does it make you feel that Tommy Carr, grandson of Lloyd Carr, what was it like when you first saw him walk through the door? And how old does it make us that now we have grandkids that are not ours, but grandkids that are coming through, people that we were here with?
Ron Bellamy • 11:23
Yeah, it's surreal, you know, just to watch, you know. And obviously, you know, had had some experience with that with, you know, with his older brother cj but with Tommy, you know, it was when we recruited him and you know, he would come here with, you know, father Jason and mom Tammy and they would walk through the buildings and it's like this is real right now. Like you just, you know, remember him as an infant, you know, just you know, coming around Schembechler and now you have this, you know, seventeen, eighteen year old young man that should still be in high school. He's out there playing football at Michigan under center. It's surreal. And then I look at Blake Frazier. You know, I played with his dad Steve and Channing Goodwin. They recruited both those guys, you know, I played with his dad Jonathan. And you know, you just, the list goes on and on for, you know, guys that we play with, you know, can't mention some names but you know, some of our former teammate, two kids.
Ron Bellamy • 12:13
So we were recruiting. It's crazy times for sure.
Jon Jansen • 12:16
Well Ron, I appreciate it. Congratulations on the new role.
Ron Bellamy • 12:18
Glad you're here.
Jon Jansen • 12:19
Can't say that enough. So glad that you're here and we'll catch up with you again.
Ron Bellamy • 12:23
Thank you. And go blue.
Brian Boesch • 12:25
Before we continue here on in the Trenches presented by Meyer, a reminder that the on sale date for single game football tickets is quickly approaching. The process begins Tuesday, july seventh and stretches into that weekend while inventory lasts. And we all know it's not going to last all that long. As we talked about all off season, the home slate is loaded. Oklahoma, Indiana, Michigan State, Penn State, Iowa. Part of an eight game home slate for twenty twenty six. For the full breakdown, head over to MGO blue dot com FOOTBALL tickets. That's mgoblue dot com FOOTBALL tickets. And simply being a member of the Michigan athletics digital community moves you up a day in the process. So head over MGO blue dot com football tickets.
[music builds]
Jon Jansen • 13:16
Joined now by one of my favorite all time coaches, Fred Jackson. Everybody else knows him as Freddie J. Coach. Thanks for joining me. And I want to start with something that probably a lot of people listening don't know.
Fred Jackson • 13:29
Okay.
Jon Jansen • 13:30
You are now a grandpa.
Fred Jackson • 13:33
Yes.
Jon Jansen • 13:35
What's it like? What's it like for you?
Fred Jackson • 13:37
Oh man, it's like you start your life all over again as a parent. Like you feel like you're in your thirties, twenties, however you want to look at it. And it just keeps you excited every time just to see him and just to hear his voice and just to hear him cry. It's so special, Jon. I can't really. It's too hard to describe. It's one of the greatest feelings I've ever had in my life.
Jon Jansen • 14:05
So Jeremy and his wife.
Ron Bellamy • 14:06
Yes.
Jon Jansen • 14:07
Is it different hearing a grandchild cry versus your own kid?
Fred Jackson • 14:13
I tell you what, when your own kid cry, you want to. You want this kid to probably go to sleep or give him to Teresa, give him to my wife. But when your grandkid cry, you like hearing it. I don't care how long it is.
Jeff Laurence • 14:27
Just.
Fred Jackson • 14:28
It's not the same. It's like you love hearing him cry as opposed to tolerating hearing him cry. Two different things. Totally. But I love hearing. Yes, it's different.
Jon Jansen • 14:40
So there's obviously a lot of landmarks. You see your kids do, right?
Fred Jackson • 14:43
Oh, yeah.
Jon Jansen • 14:44
They smile. Having a young child myself, you know, and five of them, but getting out of diapers, feeding themselves, all of those different things. But as you look into the future, what is the one thing maybe you are most looking forward to doing with your grandchild?
Fred Jackson • 15:02
Playing ball. Throwing him a little ball. Having him catch it. Helping him ride the bike. Helping him. Just understanding what his father, what his uncle, what his dad did, and putting him around things that we've done just to let him see some of his heritage. And it's just the things that I always did with my kids, I want to do it even more with my grandson.
Jon Jansen • 15:29
Well, that's the biggest change in your life since last football season. But there's been a lot of changes. Yes, yes. In the football staff. You're still here. What's your take on the new staff and the relationships you're building with them?
Fred Jackson • 15:41
Great people on both sides of the ball. I know, probably. And the strength staff, I know them all. They're great people. Most of them that I know of are all men of God, which means a lot to me and my family. And just the way that Coach Whitt, his sternness and his discipline and his belief system and his toughness, all those things seem to be just a positive impact on this program, and I really enjoy that.
Jon Jansen • 16:12
What did it mean for you to be able to still be a part of this program?
Fred Jackson • 16:18
I guess I don't feel like I'm a part of nothing else. By that, I mean, I've been around Michigan so long. I've loved it so long, even before I got here. It's just like it's something. A part of my life that I feel that without it, I'll be missing so much.
Jon Jansen • 16:35
A lot of people talk about the traditions at Michigan the rivalries at Michigan and with yourself, Ron Bellamy, myself, there's still enough here. Have you had conversations about what the Michigan State game means, what Ohio State means?
Fred Jackson • 16:54
I just had a conversation last week with Alfie Burch, who played DB here the first year I got here in nineteen ninety two, and we were talking about the Michigan State game and Ohio State game his senior year. And then he asked the question. He said, do they still have that same grind in them that week for the Michigan State game as they do the Ohio State game? I said they both were tremendous rivalries. I said people are probably putting more on the Ohio State game because they've been good a little bit more than Michigan State has in some terms. But I said the grind is still there. And by that I mean the tradition is so strongly embedded within me. I try to give it to other people. I've tried to give it to the new staff guys that I've talked to and letting them know it's not just another game and you have to prepare for it mentally that way.
Jon Jansen • 17:51
Let's talk about the running back room a little bit. Jordan Marshall's back.
Fred Jackson • 17:54
Yes.
Jon Jansen • 17:54
What is it that he are you looking to see him improve upon from what we saw last year to what you want to see when the season kicks off?
Fred Jackson • 18:03
One thing we just talked about, he and I and Tony talked about the other day is just him being a better outside runner, being able to set those blocks better when the ball's on the perimeter. That's one thing I'd like to see him improve on. He's gotten faster so that is a thing right now that's going to help him with that. But the overall vision of setting the blocks on the perimeters is something that we're really going to work with. And also some of his strengths and pass protection need to be some of the things that he do well. We need to improve him in pass protection to make sure he's more of a force that way so that when he hit a backer in the A gap or the B gap, that's as far as they go. They're not going to be knocking him back near the quarterback, those types of things.
Jon Jansen • 18:47
He's now a third year guy. When you get to that level, right you are leaned on as one of the leaders on the team. One of the things that I like about him, I've seen it in him, I know you have as well, is his leadership capabilities as a coach. How do you develop those and nurture those so that when they do reach junior senior level they're ready to lead the team.
Fred Jackson • 19:09
Some guys like Jordan, you knew when he first came in he had certain qualities. But what you do is you talk to him about what a leader is, how a leader has to go to lead in order to make people not mind following you. And I told Jordan just a few days ago, everybody, when you're trying to cultivate a leader, you gotta understand that everyone's not gonna like you, but you gotta always stand by and have a conviction of what's right for the team first, the team first. And then you think about the people that you're dealing with and what can you do with those guys to make them see through your eyes what you've been through and what it means to you as trying to be a leader for this football team. And I think he does a great job at it.
Jon Jansen • 19:58
How have you seen, I mean him along with Kuz, along with O'Meara. There are some freshmen in that room now and we'll talk about Savion Hiter in just a moment, but he's one of them. Jonathan Brown, another one. How have you seen the veterans in your room welcome those guys and then teach them what it means to to be a Wolverine, but also how to practice and how to prepare.
Fred Jackson • 20:24
I think that when I was a running back coach per se, we developed a culture in that room, how to practice what I expected in practice. What are you doing on film every day to show me that you are trying to self improve and that development and thinking about the culture of it, of how we practice, we are trying to set the stage for the rest of the team. And if you follow what we're asking you to do daily, you're going to get better. The key is you got to believe in what we're teaching, you got to believe in the system, you got to believe in the things we're telling you. And as older players, Jordan has been a leader in going out and running runs out, doing things in pass protection or catching the ball, doing things and turning the ball up the field. Things that you need to be doing all the time. It's like a game rep. And I think that's what been the culture for a long, long time here.
Fred Jackson • 21:20
And he is one of the guys who goes in that position, Kuz and even told my tell the younger guys, hey, this is what we do, this is how we become better. This is what we want our teammates to see. And this has been a culture develop and I think it's right now it's on a high note.
Jon Jansen • 21:38
So let's talk about Savion just a little bit. You've been around here, you've recruited a lot of top end talent. You've had a lot of guys come in with high expectations, others not so much, and then all of a sudden they burst on the scene. What have you seen from Savion, talent wise?
Fred Jackson • 21:53
And I told him this yesterday, I brought in a lot of good football players over the years, but as a freshman, he's probably the most talented guy I've seen that I brought in here. As a true freshman. He's already beyond what I think a freshman is capable of doing. And the guys that I have history in bringing in, he is such a tremendous competitor, worker, tremendous talent, can run, can catch, can block. I mean, he's got it all at a young age. I've had to develop guys to get him there, maybe in his sophomore year, he's there now and that's very unique to me. And I wanted him to know that because he really knows a lot of the guys who played before him here and he understands where they ended up somewhere in the first round, some in the second. However you look at it in the NFL drafts and for me to say that to him, I was just saying it to let him know, son, your expectation level going to be very high here and you've got some shoes that try to feel that has gone before.
Fred Jackson • 23:00
You have been highly, highly successful. But here's, hey, here's the things you gotta do to get better even now. So. But as a talent, he's special, as a talent, very special.
Jon Jansen • 23:10
How do you help a guy like that manage those types of expectations?
Fred Jackson • 23:17
You gotta daily have a plan for what you expect him to do, the things that he may think he's good at. You always gotta find something and sometimes it's hard. You gotta find something and say, hey man, you're not doing this. You can do this better. If you do this, you will be better at that kind of deal. You gotta always every day find something. Because you can't let his mind wander and think, hey, man, I've arrived. I would never as a football coach let a kid think he's arrived. As a background, even the guys in their senior year, I'm still trying to find things daily to make them better. And I think that's what you do with a guy like him.
Jon Jansen • 23:56
Jonathan Brown, what does he bring to the program?
Fred Jackson • 23:59
He's a developmental guy who, the start of spring, he wasn't exactly where he wanted him to be. But as the spring went on, the last couple of weeks of the spring, he's starting to get the idea what he should be like, what we expect in that room. What, what are some of the things that he got to show on the field that he showed in high school? We got to show he's got to be able to put himself in a position to still do those things and quit thinking so much. And I think that made him better at the end of the spring when he started to collect things. What he brings to the table is a rangy guy who got excellent, I told Tony this other day, got excellent vision. And I really believe that maybe not this year, but the next year he'll be able to come step up and help this program.
Jon Jansen • 24:46
We've seen it for a number of years now and it seems to be that way, especially in college football. You got to have two backs.
Fred Jackson • 24:51
Yes.
Jon Jansen • 24:51
How does Jordan Marshall and Savion Hiter complement each other and how do you anticipate both of them being used and being productive in the coming year?
Fred Jackson • 25:02
Here's the thing. Bryson Kuzdzal is a guy who I think a lot of people sort of forget about, but he's more of the, he's more the change of pace back, so he's going to fit in there somewhere as well. So the thing about Sabeon and Jordan, they're so different as runners. So if defense get used to hitting Jordan, who's going, who's a bruiser and Savion looked like a bruiser, but maybe he's not. So you can always play them in the same quarter and get a feel for what you think the linebackers are capable of, the, what the secondary is capable of and you can play them both and you can mix Kuzdzal in there. Now you got a speed guy who's a smooth runner, as I would call him, as opposed to a vicious runner and. Or a guy who's just going to make you miss him. I think the combination of those two and three guys will be better than what we've seen around here in a very, very long time because of those difference of abilities within those three.
Jon Jansen • 26:04
So the last thing I want to ask you about Savion is you need to develop a certain level of trust so that on Saturdays, hey, the coaches, whether it's Coach Beck, it's Coach Alford, yourself, as you guys talk about it, you get enough trust to hand them the football because that's the program.
Fred Jackson • 26:23
Yes.
Jon Jansen • 26:24
What does a young back need to show before you give them that opportunity in the game?
Fred Jackson • 26:31
First of all, you mentioned it already, I don't care how good the running back is, if he can't hold onto that football, you can't play him. So that's number one. So you talk about development. You know, you think about the drills you do. I would not do one drill without having the emphasis on letting them know the value of that football. So you got to train them to understand that that's the number one thing. The ball is the issue. And after that, you just got to make sure his body is in position to protect that ball. So therefore, every time you see him run a drill, you make sure his body is in the right position. Every time he gets hit, and you go back and show it on film, let's see if the body is in the right position, are you attacking or being attacked? And as you do those things, he developed the mentality that you know that he has to have and he knows that he has to have for him to be successful.
Fred Jackson • 27:28
And I can trust him on a Saturday.
Jon Jansen • 27:30
Well, Coach, thanks for your time. Congratulations on being a grandpa.
Fred Jackson • 27:34
Oh, man.
Jon Jansen • 27:35
And we'll look forward to catching up with you again.
Fred Jackson • 27:37
Thanks, Jon. I appreciate you, man.
[music builds]
Jeff Laurence • 27:39
Thanks for listening to this edition of in the Trenches with Jon Jansen, presented by Meijer, presenting sponsor of the twenty twenty six Michigan football season, and proud supporter of hundreds of local sports teams across the Midwest. In the Trenches is part of our Michigan Athletics podcast, M Go Blue Podcasts. The preceding is a Learfield presentation of the Michigan Sports Network.
