Mike Bellamy is in his second season as the Rockets’ wide receivers coach.
Bellamy mentored a pair of first-team All-MAC wide receivers in 2018. Senior Cody Thompson and junior Diontae Johnson each earned first-team honors for the second consecutive season, sparking an offense that finished the regular season ranked second in the MAC in scoring offense (41.1), total offense (448.5) and rushing offense (223.6). Toledo also set a school record by scoring 50 or more points in six games on its way to a 7-5 record and an appearance in the Makers Wanted Bahamas Bowl.
Thompson and Johnson were part of trio, along with senior and third-team All-MAC honoree Jon'Vea Johnson, that each caught at least 100 passes, gained 2,000 yards receiving and grabbed at least 20 TD passes in their careers.
In his debut season at Toledo, Bellamy’s receiving corps was a key component to the Rockets’ Mid-American Conference Championship.
Bellamy faced a challenge in 2017 when Thompson, a pre-season All-America candidate, was lost for the season due to injury in early October. Toledo’s passing game barely missed a beat, as sophomore Diontae Johnson and junior Jon’Vea Johsnon stepped up. Diontae Johnson caught 74 passes for a school-record 1,278 yards and 13 touchdowns, earning first-team All-MAC honors and making the Biletnkioff Award official watch list. Jon’Vea Johnson added 42 receptions for 689 yards and five scores, as Toledo averaged 279.9 yards passing per game and led the MAC in passing efficiency.
Bellamy came to Toledo from Mississippi State where he spent the 2016 season as a quality control coach/analyst. Prior to that, he was at Illinois where he spent four seasons on the Fighting Illini staff (2012-15), including three as an assistant coach. He was promoted to wide receivers coach in February 2013 after serving one year as assistant director of player personnel and relations (2012).
Under Bellamy’s guidance, Illinois freshman receiver Mike Dudek burst onto the scene in 2014, as the newcomer posted a team-high 76 catches with six touchdowns and 1,038 yards, which broke Arrelious Benn’s school record for receiving yards by a freshman (676 in 2007). He was named second-team All-Big Ten, first-team Freshman All-America and first-team True-Freshman All-America. Bellamy also coached current Green Bay Packer Geronimo Allison, who earned honorable mention All-Big Ten honors in 2015, and Justin Hardee, who plays for the New Orleans Saints.
In 2013, Bellamy molded an unheralded group of receivers into one that helped Illinois record the most total passing yards in a season in school history (3,452) and third-most passing yards per game (287.7). He guided Steve Hull’s transition from defensive back to receiver in Hull’s final season, helping him rank in the top 10 in school history in season receiving yards (993), touchdowns (seven) and 100-yard receiving games (five). Hull also was the nation’s most prolific receiver over the final four weeks of the season, posting 653 yards and six touchdowns on 40 catches (16.3 ypc) during that span.
As a player at Illinois (1988-89), Bellamy was a second-team All-American and a first-team All-Big Ten receiver in 1989. He recorded 59 receptions for 927 yards and eight TDs for the Illini that season, the fourth-most TD catches in a season in school history and the ninth-most receiving yards. He also returned 16 kickoffs for 459 yards, an average of 28.7 that ranks second in school history.
Bellamy stands second in Illini history in career kickoff return average at 26.4 yards per return, and his 170 kickoff return yards against Indiana on Nov. 18, 1989 remain the single-game school record. He was named one of the top 10 receivers in Illinois history in 2008 and was inducted into the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Hall of Fame in 2007 for his achievements at the College of DuPage in suburban Chicago.
After earning a bachelor’s degree in speech communication from Illinois in 1990, Bellamy was a second-round selection by the Philadelphia Eagles in the 1990 NFL Draft, playing two seasons for the team. He also played for the Indianapolis Colts, Chicago Bears and Oakland Raiders from 1992-95 before playing for Frankfurt Galaxy of the World League in 1995-96, winning the World Bowl in 1996.
Bellamy came to Illinois after serving as the receivers and specialists coach at Clark-Atlanta University in 2011. Prior to that, he was the passing game coordinator, receivers coach and specialists coach at Sprayberry High School from 2008-10.
Following his playing career and before joining the coaching ranks, Bellamy and his wife, Tanya, built a successful business in the beauty industry in the Atlanta area. The couple has three children: Mike, McKenna and McKoy.
Mike Bellamy’s Coaching Experience
2017-18 Toledo – Wide Receivers
2016 Mississippi State – Quality Control/Analyst
2013-15 Illinois - Wide Receivers
2012 Illinois - Assistant Director of Player Personnel and Relations
2011 Clark-Atlanta - Wide Receivers/Specialists
2008-10 Sprayberry High School - Passing Game Coordinator/Receivers/Specialists
