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Michigan defensive line coach Greg Mattison shares a laugh with Michigan basketball coach John Beilein at the Crisler Center.

(Melanie Maxwell | MLive.com)

ANN ARBOR -- NCAA rule prohibits Greg Mattison -- and any college football coach -- from speaking publicly about an unsigned prospect.

So when Nebraska commit DaiShon Neal and his father spoke on an Omaha radio station Tuesday about how they took offense to Mattison's recruiting pitch relating to academics, Michigan's defensive line coach was unable to publicly defend himself.

However, there isn't a shortage of others who are willing to do that for him.

"Greg Mattison has always came with the approach of 'we need your child, we need him at our school and we would like to do whatever it takes to get the young man to mature to be a man and grow as a person in our football program,'" Cass Tech coach Thomas Wilcher said Wednesday. "Michigan is a school that isn't just about football, it's about culture, social experiences and the education that makes you become a contributor to society. And coach Mattison cares about all of that.

"Coach Mattison is caring, he's like a loving father to players who can put his arm around guys and help push them in the right direction. He wants to know you as a person and help you as a person. That's him."

Reached by phone Wednesday, Neal's high school coach Jay Ball (Omaha Central) said he spoke with Mattison on Tuesday, and has a great deal of respect for Michigan's defensive line coach.

"First of all, DaiShon Neal is a great kid and coach Mattison is a guy that I have a lot of respect for, he's been in the coaching business for 40 years and deserves every amount of respect that he gets," Ball said. "It sounds to me like there's two sides to the story, and maybe things were misinterpreted.

"And that's about all I'm really going to say."

Wilcher, of course, had a number of players head to Michigan to play for Mattison while he coached under now former Michigan coach Brady Hoke.

At the moment, Michigan has six players from Cass Tech on its roster.

And even while not every Cass Tech player goes to Michigan, Wilcher says Mattison typically leaves a strong impression on his own prospects -- usually talking with them about the importance of an education, and how "special" an education at Michigan can be.

"With coach Mattison, it's about knowing you as a person and helping uplift you so he can coach you based upon the needs you need as a person so you can grow as a man," Wilcher said. "He's come to my school several times, talked with young men about growth. About personal growth. How he'd like to see them become a better person and a student, and he always brings a warm feeling, a bright smile and the nicest laugh.

"He just brings a great personality, and that personality probably got him into the household of that recruit in the first place."

Oak Park High School coach/athletic director Greg Carter also has had a long-standing relationship with Mattison, as he's had former players such as Cam Gordon and Devin Gardner play at Michigan.

Carter said he, too, was surprised to hear the comments made by Neal and his father, stating that every experience he's ever had with Mattison during a recruiting trip has been a positive one.

So much so that whenever Mattison visits his school, he often asks him to speak with younger football players who aren't currently being recruited, to discuss the role of academics relating to college football.

"He's always very helpful with kids, with football and school, I've never, ever had any issue with coach Mattison," Carter said. "He's a straightforward guy. He tells the kids what they need and what's required to go to Michigan, and it gives them motivation to have them work hard to get there.

"Everybody speaks highly of him."

Mattison's track record as a defensive coach has been the thing that garners him the most notoriety. But at the same time, he's been a highly-respected recruiter as well, and not just at Michigan.

Mattison's also been a college coach at Northwestern, Western Michigan, Navy, Texas A&M, Notre Dame and Florida. In 2013, he was recognized as one of the top recruiters in the country.

In most recruiting circles, Mattison's about as well-respected as it gets.

"He cares a great deal about players growing up and becoming fine young men," Carter added. "He's a great person."

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