Michigan coach Lewis Powell reveals his secret to success

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The strength of the Michigan football team in 2026 is expected to be the defensive line. And with Larry Black, formerly of Vanderbilt, overseeing the tackles, Lewis Powell is working with the edge rushers.

Powell followed Kyle Whittingham from Utah, where he was originally a grad assistant under Whittingham before returning to the program in 2015, originally as the tight ends coach. Two players he worked with in Salt Lake City — John Henry Daley and Jonah Lea'ea — followed him and the head coach to Ann Arbor, as well.

When it comes to doing more with less, Powell might be among the most prominent of the coaches from the Utes who exemplified that idiom. In a video released by Michigan football, he shared more about his philosophy and how he wrings the most out of his players.

"I'm a coach that is going to maximize and squeeze all your potential. I'm a coach that's going to hold you accountable to the little things, not only the big things, right?" Powell said. "I'm a coach that's going to also love you like as if you're my own son. The only thing that you've learned after your three, four, or five years here at Michigan is football, and I've failed you as a coach. The biggest thing to me is not only you're leaving here with championships and winning a lot of games, but you're also a great person, a great father, and a great son. That's what it's about."

A lot of the work done doesn't happen in-season as much as it happens in a moment such as now.

As the summer days wear down, the players could partake in vacations or loafing amid summer conditioning. But it's moments like now that teams are built, Powell says, noting that the work put in now will show whether or not players are happy with or regret where they are come late November, early December.

"It's summer, right? You got to make some sacrifices," Powell said. "You better yourself, and it's either you make those sacrifices now, or later on in the championship, you're going to be regretting it, and you're going to be saying, man, I wish I would have done this. I know I've done that. We're all big-time elite athletes. The difference is how much you're working and how much you're preparing yourself for the big moments."

Michigan will wrap up summer conditioning this week and will begin fall camp on August 1.

This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: Michigan coach Lewis Powell reveals his secret to success

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