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How new coach Steve Clinkscale may fill some of Michigan football's local recruiting gaps

When Steve Clinkscale visited Detroit Cass Tech, Thomas Wilcher would present Clinkscale with a challenge.

Wilcher, the head coach of Cass Tech's famed football program, wouldn't tell Clinkscale which of his players were worthy of scholarship offers.Clinkscale had to pick those players out on his own.

And every time, Wilcher recalls, Clinkscale would pick out the best players — even when they were just freshmen.

“We would sit there and laugh because he would get it right,” Wilcher said.

That was when Clinkscale recruited for colleges such as Toledo, Cincinnati and Kentucky. Now, he is at Michigan as a defensive backs coach and passing game coordinator, accepting a three-year deal earlier this month after Maurice Linguist left to become Buffalo's head coach.