Chris Partridge – Michael Barrett relationship strengthening the Michigan linebacker room

Michigan linebacker Michael Barrett hears about it sometimes when he walks into the locker room, or especially if he makes a misstep in practice — “pick it up, old timer!” As the sixth-year senior in a locker room of younger players, he’s come to expect it from his coaches and teammates, knowing it’s all in good fun.

But there’s no doubt about the respect they all have for a guy who has proven to be an “anything for the team” guy. He’s gone from high school quarterback to safety, viper to linebacker in his career, and now he’ll be called upon to lead the linebackers in his final year in a Michigan uniform. He had to think long and hard about returning, but when head coach Jim Harbaugh planted the thought in his mind after Barrett’s second big game in a win at Ohio State, he knew it was an option — and he had one thing in mind when he decided to return.

“Go win a natty. Go get all my dreams,” the Michigan veteran said. “Go get all the goals I put for myself I have yet to achieve. I feel like last year, kind of toward the end of the year, I was at my peak with how I was playing. So, I felt like coming back and building off that. The more factors I put into my decision, there wasn’t really a con of coming back.”

Other than “being old,” he said with a chuckle. But his NFL shot can wait, he noted, especially now that linebackers coach Chris Partridge is back to tutor him at the position. Partridge left for Ole Miss to become defensive coordinator, but he left on great terms and remained close with Harbaugh. The assistant who got his start at Michigan was instrumental in bringing Barrett to U-M several years ago, and Barrett is ecstatic to have him back.

“It’s great. That’s my guy,” Barrett said. “He recruited me here. He’s one of the reasons I came to Michigan. It’s been great fun to have him back, especially having him in my room. He wasn’t with us, but he was my special teams coach. But now that he’s in my room we’ve been able to talk, build that connection more. It’s been great.

“He’s always going to be hard on me because he has big expectations for me. At the end of the day, I know it’s love. I know he’s always doing it to make me better. Whatever he says, whatever he does, is for the benefit of myself as well as us as a team.”

Michigan Buckeye killer excited for one last run

He’s gotten better as a result. Every now and then he’ll hear a “hey man, you’re old as hell!” when he’s not on his game, he said with a laugh, but he takes it in stride. There’s a good chance he’ll be a captain this year — if not, he’ll still be one of the team’s leaders — and he knows all eyes are on him when it comes to practicing hard and with a purpose.

At this point, though, he really has nothing left to prove. His last two games against the Buckeyes were two of his best in a Michigan uniform. He made huge plays in both, especially last year in blowing up a flat pass and bringing the pain with him. He’s watched the play dozens of times, he admitted.

“That was my first time ever there [in Columbus,” Barrett said. “The only other time we traveled there was my freshman year, and freshmen didn’t really travel much. That was my first time in the ‘Shoe, first time seeing it. It felt great, man. Felt great. I kept saying I felt like a villain walking into it, like the whole city was all over you.

“Being able to come out of there with a win, silence that crowd I knew was ready to explode … it felt great. They say big time players make big time plays in big time games. You’ve got to be able to step up and when your time comes, when those big games come, you’ve got to be able to step up and make plays.”

He did that and more the last two years, and in doing so has helped lead the Wolverines to new heights. Like his Michigan teammates, he’s ready to take the program to the next level. That means winning a playoff game and, if all goes well, the program’s first national title since 1997. Those were the expectations he had when he came to Michigan, and now his dreams are coming true.

“You come from where I come [Valdosta, Ga.] — it’s called “Winnersville.” Coming from someplace like that, you’ve got to go someplace that wins. You have to go to somebody that wins something. Now, we’re going to try to win it all.”

He and his Michigan teammates will get their chance this fall.

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