Michigan adds SMU Director of HS Relations James Brown to staff

Michigan has hired James Brown as a senior analyst with a focus on special teams and safeties.

Brown previously served as the Director of High School relations at SMU, where he played a key role with recruiting thanks to his vast network in the Lone Star State.

Brown was at SMU for a year before leaving for Ann Arbor to join his son, JB Brown, who is now Michigan’s new special teams coordinator. JB was promoted this offseason after previously serving as an analyst under former U-M head coach Jim Harbaugh.

James is a veteran of the game but relatively new to the world of college football. Prior to joining the staff at SMU, James was a long-time Texas high school coach, compiling a 113-80 record over the course of 17 years.

An El Paso native, James coached in both the Houston and Dallas-areas, which are obviously loaded with some of the best recruiting talent in the country. James’ ties to the two high school football meccas could help the Wolverines find more success in Texas on the recruiting trail.

James spent 11 of his 17 years as head coach at Mansfield Timberview in the Dallas-area and led the program to a 13-1 record and an appearance in the Class 5A Division I regional finals in his final year (2022).

Timberview is home to three-star 2025 defensive line target Dilan Battle, who visited Michigan in the fall and is a priority target.

Michigan’s off the field staff has continued to expand and evolve under new head coach Sherrone Moore.

Former Director of Recruiting, Albert Karschnia, is now the Director of Player Personnel, while Sam Popper, who previously served as Assistant Director of Recruiting, has moved into Karschnia’s former role. U-M also hired John Collins and Jack Dunaway as Assistant Directors of Recruiting.

Michigan recently hired a new Director of On-Campus Recruiting in Kayli Johnson. She replaces former Michigan Director of On-Campus Recruiting Christina DeRuyter, who will remain with the program in an operations role. 

Paige Shiver, who worked under DeRuyter as an on-campus recruiting and operations assistant, is now the Executive Assistant to the Head Coach.

Michigan now has a General Manager in Sean Magee, who will oversee all aspects of the recruiting and player personnel departments as well as coordinate the program’s NIL initiatives. He will handle the identification, evaluation and recruitment of prospective student-athletes in conjunction with the head coach and staff and manage the roster of current student-athletes while identifying future needs for the program.