Some argue that it was Bo who made the player’s successful. There are others who feel that the players, recruited by Bump made Bo successful. After all, Bump Elliott was a football legend at the University of Michigan. They handsome former Marine Lieutenant was likely one of the most respected of Michigan’s many living legends. He was a well- spoken, intelligent, meticulously dressed, and caring individual with great interpersonal skills. He knew football from a player’s perspective-as a student from the University of Michigan-and was at ease with himself and his national recognition. If there was ever a spokesman for the University of Michigan, it was the unpretentious Elliott. Not only that, but his players loved him.
Thomas Darden remembered, the coach coming to his Sandusky, Ohio, home for a recruitment visit. The soft-spoken Elliott had such a great presence that Darden’s mother fell in love with him right away. Elliott referred to Thomas’ parents, as Mr. and Mrs. Darden. They told Thomas, “He’s not like the other coaches.” Thom felt Bump was “a kind man, someone you can trust. If he said something to you, you knew that he was telling the truth. I liked Bump and he made me feel that I was part of the Michigan experience. I also wanted to play for him, that he was fired.”
Darden continued, “Bump was responsible for my six teammates and I leasing our house, in my Junior year. That house became the -Den of the Mellow Men. Mike Oldham and Glenn Doughty brought Bump the house listing. He took care of it from there. When I moved to Iowa, I looked Bump up, and continue to have contact with him.”