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It wasn’t incredibly surprising to see the report come out yesterday from Bruce Feldman that Michigan defensive coordinator Don Brown was fired. Well, not surprising to us as fans of college football, but it was to some of the recruits the now-former coach for the Wolverines took the time to grow bonds with.
Junior Colson is a top 100 prospect in the class of 2021 who just signed his letter of intent to Michigan seven days ago. This was his reaction when the news broke.
WOW
— 5 (@JuniorColson) December 22, 2020
Orion Sang over at The Detroit Free Press spoke with Colson about his reaction even further, and Colson couldn’t have been more clear about his feelings.
“I was not pleased with the news about (Michigan) firing (Brown),” Colson said. ”I didn’t know anything about it, but I already signed so there is nothing I can do.”
Thankfully, Sam Webb over at The Michigan Insider ($) said linebackers coach Brian Jean-Mary had a conversation with Colson and everything is all good as of now.
Another recruit who had a solid relationship with Brown is 2021 DL signee TJ Guy. The three-star prospect from Massachusetts committed to U-M in large part due to Brown. He told TMI’s Marich ($) the firing “definitely impacts me,” and he is “kind of hurt by it.”
“He’s a real good dude and I’m going to miss him,” Guy said. “I hope we stay in touch. I have faith however the school will hire someone fitting to take the job and good luck to him in what is next.”
Three-star linebacker signee Tyler McLaurin showed his appreciate for Brown with this tweet, calling him “one of the best defensive coaches to watch in all of college football.”
Regardless of what anyone says, one of the best defensive coaches to watch in all of College Football. All love for Coach Brown〽️ https://t.co/glCWFGpOPn
— Tyler McLaurin ❄️ (@TMcLaurin21) December 22, 2020
None of the other 2021 defensive signees chimed in on social media, but four-star defensive lineman Kechaun Bennett did retweet a tweet stating Brown had been fired, so he was at least made aware of the situation.
It’s unfortunate for some of the 2021 signees who were hoping to play for Brown at U-M, but that is the nature of the business. Hopefully the players are able to form a good relationship with whoever the next defensive coordinator may be.