Michigan RBs adjusting from Tyrone Wheatley to Jay Harbaugh

The Michigan football team had more than a running backs coach in Tyrone Wheatley.

Beyond that, Wheatley was also a star running back at Michigan in the early 1990s — the only former U-M player other than Jim Harbaugh on the coaching staff — a strong mentor to the running backs and a terrific recruiter. Various members of the program spoke to all of those influences during Wheatley’s two-year coaching tenure in Ann Arbor.

When Wheatley left to take the same position for the Jacksonville Jaguars on Jan. 16, Harbaugh hired a replacement from within, moving his son Jay from tight ends coach to running backs coach.

In the time Wheatley coached U-M’s running backs, he became a trusted counselor to…