Ben McDaniels officially named QB coach at Michigan

It didn’t take long after the initial report of Pep Hamilton moving on from Michigan to explore other opportunities for the news to become official.

The Michigan athletic’s department put out a press release Tuesday evening with the official news that former wide receivers coach Ben McDaniels is the new quarterbacks coach.

“Ben has been an excellent addition to our football staff and we look forward to his elevated role as our quarterbacks coach this year,” head coach Jim Harbaugh said in the release. “Ben is a talented, experienced coach who brings great knowledge and enthusiasm to our offensive coaching staff and the quarterback room. Michigan football appreciates the contributions that Ben and his wife, Kyle, as well as their children, Kinley and Brooks, have made and will continue to make as members of our university family.”

The press release made no mention of Hamilton.

McDaniels is everything Harbaugh could possibly want in an assistant coach — he is a young, up-and-coming coach who is solid on the recruiting trail and has a deep football background. His brother, Josh, is the offensive coordinator of the New England Patriots and his father, Thom, is a high school coaching legend in the state of Ohio.

All of that will certainly help Michigan in recruiting. Losing Al Washington to Ohio State instantly hurt Michigan’s recruiting efforts in the state of Ohio, but McDaniels may be able to mitigate that a bit with his family background and familiarity with the state.

In short, McDaniels is a great fit for the position and one that should instantly help Michigan both on and off the field.