As the calendar turns to November and Michigan remains in the thick of the hunt for a berth in the College Football Playoff, it would seem that Jim Harbaugh’s days must be pretty darn good. For a team that many predicted would scrape just above .500, having his Wolverines in the position they’re in is already an achievement in itself. For Harbaugh, though, achievements based on the past--a topic he notoriously dislikes discussing--don’t mean anything. He wants to build the future through good days, every single day. What exactly does that look like? “Doing everything we can to — as a coach, prepare players. Get to where they can have a good day,” Harbaugh said. “Trying to have good days. Good meetings, good practices. And then another good day after that, try for another one after that, and then go play the game.”
Though the focus of the build is small, the speed of the build is anything but slow. “Those will tell you the season is a marathon, it’s not a sprint. It’s a sprint. It’s not a marathon, it’s a sprint. The marathon approach doesn’t work, in my opinion.” Moving on quickly is a mindset and possibly the coping mechanism of choice around the football facilities, and the message is clearly getting through to the players. “Our coaches are even preaching ‘We’re not worried about next week, it’s play by play.’ We’re taking this play by play,” edge rusher David Ojabo said after Saturday’s game. “We’re not even thinking about tomorrow or film tomorrow or who we got two weeks from now. It’s play by play and day by day.”
How exactly said plays will be called would seem to be somewhat up in the air, but not to Harbaugh. Injuries have thinned Michigan’s offensive ranks, particularly at running back. Who can or cannot suit up and when the staff knows that information during the week isn’t a factor in how they construct their plans for Penn State. “It doesn’t change,” Harbaugh said. “It’s more of a ‘next man up’ mindset than changing the gameplan.”
Harbaugh declined to elaborate on the injury status of any players when he met with the media Monday, but he did discuss the silver lining for some of the other running backs on the roster should sophomore Blake Corum and freshman Donovan Edwards be unable to play Saturday. “Tavi Dunlap, Leon Franklin, Danny Hughes, Isaiah Gash: there’s really good, quality players there. Those guys have been preparing. They’ve been working all season and it becomes their opportunity.”
Of the four, Dunlap is the running back with the most recruiting accolades. Rivals rated him a three-star prospected and ranked him the No. 29 running back in the nation in the 2021 class. He earned Michigan’s Opportunity Player of the Week honors for his five-carry, 43-yard performance against Northern Illinois. Franklin, a Southfield native, has found time on special teams this season and also checked into games against Western Michigan, Washington, Northern Illinois, and Wisconsin as a running back. He also is the recipient of a team-issued award, winning Scout Team Special Teams Player of the Week honors prior to Western Michigan. Hughes too has found a home on special teams (as he did in 2020), though he has yet to carry the ball at Michigan. Gash is another player who would be following the team-issued award-winner’s path to playing time should he get a carry this weekend; he was named Scout Team Special Teams Player of the Week prior to the Northern Illinois game.
It’s entirely possible that tight end Erick All and Corum and Edwards could return to the lineup Saturday in Happy Valley and make the depth discussion a moot point. Even if they don’t, Hassan Haskins is available, and there isn’t a football coach around that would stray from leaning on Haskins’ skills. Even so, every meeting, every practice, and every rep is another opportunity to build a good day, and Michigan needs every good day they can get over the season’s final three weeks.
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