Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez in no rush to fill staff opening, more notes

Rodriguez had dinner with former Marshall coach Mark Snyder at the American Football Coaches Association convention last week in Orlando, and according to a report on Rivals.com he also interviewed South Florida co-defensive coordinator David Blackwell.

Linebackers coach Jay Hopson left to become defensive coordinator at Memphis last month, and Rodriguez said he’ll hire a defensive assistant as a replacement.

He declined to identify individual candidates and joked there's “between 5 and 15” possible replacements in the mix.

“Really, I’m really haven’t got into the details of it yet,” he said. “I’ve been pretty busy.”

Michigan welcomed 10 prospects for official visits this weekend, and about 30 juniors were on campus for a junior recruiting day.

Rodriguez said recruiting is going "very well."

"We had to meet our needs, obviously, especially defensively," he said. "I think we’re doing that. We’re in pretty good shape. We only have a couple spots open, so now we’re just trying to fill it with the best student-athletes we can find in the next couple weeks. But we’re in good shape."

Also Sunday:

• Rodriguez said defensive tackle Mike Martin will miss spring practice after undergoing shoulder surgery. "He should be fine by summertime," Rodriguez said.

• Defensive back Floyd Simmons also is recovering from a sports hernia surgery, Rodriguez said.

• Rodriguez said he doesn't know where linebacker Brandon Smith has transferred.

• On new athletic David Brandon, Rodriguez said, "I’ve talked to him. We’ve met several times before. I’m really excited about him. He’s a terrific person, has a great love for Michigan and he’s proven to have great success in the business world. So we’ll get together probably after recruiting and when he gets on campus full time. But I think it’s going to be very exciting for us."