College football: Michigan's Milan Bolden-Morris becomes first female grad assistant to coach for a Big Ten school
Seven months ago, Michigan made history when the school hired former Boston College and Georgetown basketball player Milan Bolden-Morris as a grad assistant.
She became the first female assistant on a Power Five team since Georgia Tech hired kicking assistant Carol White in 1985 and the first ever for a school in the Big Ten conference. That history continued Saturday when the Wolverines took the field against Colorado State in Bolden-Morris' first game as an assistant.
Bolden-Morris, whose brother is Michigan defensive end Mike Morris, is working specifically with the quarterbacks this season while she pursues a master's degree in public policy. She recently earned a master's in sports management from Georgetown this past spring.
“Growing up watching my dad coach my brother, it has always been my dream to be a part of a football team in some form, so this opportunity is allowing me to live out a dream of mine, especially working with quarterbacks," Bolden-Morris said in March. "Coming from the basketball world, guards and quarterbacks are one in the same. Both have the ability to make decisions under duress, read defenses, take care of the ball, and execute with precision and accuracy."
Bolden-Morris told the Michigan Wolverines website that she grew up playing both girls and co-ed basketball, baseball, softball and flag football. She added that she typically played the positions that kept the ball in her hands — quarterback, receiver, point guard, pitcher, catcher, etc.
"Exposure to so many different sports helped me, especially mentally," she said. "The majority of sports I played, I was in a position that was pretty high IQ. ... I was always in a position to have to understand what my opponent might be doing so I could manipulate them in ways."
Now, it sounds like she'll play an active role in helping Michigan's quarterbacks.
