Everything Jim Harbaugh said on Inside Michigan Football pre-Nebraska

On his thoughts on the game after watching the film match after those he had after the game

They sure did and that's kind of rare. A lot of times after a game you think you had a bad game and then you go to look at the film and it's never as bad as you thought. Same thing usually happens when you think you played a really good game and it's never as good as you thought. It's never as bad as you thought, it's never as good as you thought. This was one of those rare times where it was better than I thought.

On what impressed him

Everybody played good. There was guys that were difference-makers, who really made that win come out as a win. Everybody else, I couldn't find one guy who had a bad game on either side of the ball or on special teams.

On Will Johnson and Rod Moore's return

Really good. Will was good. The coverage was just so tight all game long. We were close to getting interceptions a few times and then Mikey got the big one that was such a great play. Incredible how he kept his feet. I didn't see happen on the field, I couldn't tell if he was picking up a fumble, I couldn't tell what all he went through until I saw the highlights on TV that night. Incredible balance. Slack block control, that's what we call it around here. In the weight room, Ben Herbert has them doing the slack block, making them do amazing things. Mikey is one of the better ones on the team and you really saw it on display on Saturday.

On Kenneth Grant running back with the interception

KG. KG is in the 340 range, sometimes a little bit more. Sometimes a little bit more. I'm pretty sure he runs a sub 4.5 flat 40. You should see him go up the plyostairs, it's a beautiful thing. He got a good block, a legal block and escorted Mikey into the endzone.

On the rotation in Mason Graham's absence

Really good. KG is a starter, always in the rotation. Just thought it would be another chance for him to shine and he did. Kris Jenkins, starter, always playing good. Rayshaun Benny gave him a real chance. Cam Goode is playing really good football this year. Highlighted him a few times. They're all in there, doing really well and rolling. Hopefully, we'll get Mason back in a week or two.

On whether this is the most experienced depth on defense that he can remember

It's getting there, it really is. Specifically the secondary. Quinten Johnson, playing as good as anybody. Will back, Rod Moore back, Amorion Walker is starting to look really good in practice as well.

On what the defense has gained with Ernest Hausmann's addition

Now we've got three really good linebackers. Last year, at that starter level, that elite level, we really played with two. Now, we have three. You try to develop in there a fourth and a fifth. Some young guys and some good players. That's what he's really given us. There's another really good linebacker starter that can go in there.

On 100 games in with Michigan and how he's different today than when he took the job

103 games ago? (Laughs) Really been 103 games. I don't know. I do not have that list in front of me. Feel pretty close to the same.

On J.J. McCarthy's game against Rutgers

He played one of his best games. Some real high-level quarterbacking. AP kind of stuff. He picked up third downs running the ball, throwing the ball, made plays running the ball, throwing the ball. Did some things where he shook off a free rusher immediately threw the ball away and the next play was a touchdown pass. There was a particular play where there was a corner route he threw against ECU and we ooh'd and ahh'd about what a great throw that was. I felt their corner was baiting him into that same throw and he just changed the channel, kicked it out immediately to A.J. Barner, it was a five-yard game but it made it third and three and manageable instead of an incompletion or an interception. We really shook that off like water off a duck's back and played one of his best games.

On whether he would like to see the tight ends more involved in the pass game

Oh, yes. Colston Loveland, A.J. Barner—I'll tell you another guy, Max Bredeson had a heckuva game. They were kind of back-to-back (blocks) and all game long. Our tight end play has really been stepping up from game one, to two, to three, to four. It's going in that great direction. Colston, he's a difference-maker. He's a guy that makes the magic happen.

On Colston Loveland catching passes down the seam happening more often

Yeah, definitely. See it all the time. There's things that he doesn't think—doesn't phase him. I kind of look at him and go, 'You just did that.' Yeah. He doesn't even know, he doesn't even know how good he can be. Sometimes that's a good thing but I think the longer it takes for him to figure that out, the better off they usually are. I think the cat is out of the bag, he is not a guy you worry about getting a big head. He's a football player in every regard. I think you're going to keep seeing him get better and better.

On the mindset it takes to play the fullback position

Oh yeah. Guys that crave contact, seek it. The human body does crave contact. The ability to adjust because everything is moving. Sometimes you're going for your man and somebody else takes your guy or he's moving, he's twisting, it's off the ball linebacker or it's an edge setter. It's constantly moving, the picture is changing so much. Whether he's doing an insert block or whether he's doing that fast motion across the backfield or whether he's slice blocking or isolation blocking. There's so many different things he does. It's a swiss army knife type of position. They have to do so much. He's really handling it, as you said, in the line. He's an in-line blocker and good. He's good moving across the formation, he's good from the backfield. Is a traditional fullback. He's an ascending player that is going to play football here and on that level that you played at.

On his expectations for the offensive line

Right now we've been using six. Myles has been playing really good. He's kind of working through something, too, where it's good to not play every snap as that heals up. He's getting movement and the perfect word you used, gelling, they are gelling. You can see it, they're getting movement individually and they're getting movement as a group. It's coming. There's a lot more plays this week where all 11 were doing exactly what they were supposed to do and doing it with precision and in unison. Good word, gelling.

On the receivers playing at a high level

Roman has been the best, he's been the number one guy. What a great September that he had. Arguably the best September of any offensive player. Cornelius, he's played good in games and he's really good in practice. Semaj just had a great game and a great catch. Fredrick Moore, Karmello English. Darrius Clemons, now that he's healthy, full-go again, I think you're going to see good things from him. He was out there today and you could see the burst back. Gives you another big body, physical, type of—Nico Collins type of player.

On Blake Corum's start to the season

This was a really good game for him. He played terrific. 97 yards. You go, man, keep him in there, but does he need another 100 yard game, really? Just one more chance coming away healthy. Also, compliment a guy like Sherrone Moore. There's some offensive coordinators out there where it's all about the yardage, all about the stats, it's all about how many points you put up and being the hot guy, the hot coordinator. He has head coach written all over him because he did what had to be done, which was not turn the ball over. When there's 6, 7 minutes left in the game—you see some racing to put on some more yardage. Love that about him, love that about Blake. It's not about another—same with Dono. I didn't want either one of them in there. It was really cool to see Kalel Mullings get going. I was having visions of Toby Gerhart back when I coached at Stanford. The ultimate big back. I was watching it and seeing flashes of Toby. Watch Kalel on special teams, he is flying on kickoff coverage. Looking for really good things. Ben Hall had a real exciting day today. We had our opportunity scrimmage and he was looking real good.

On how much fun they have preparing a gameplan with the offense

It's fun. I thought Sherrone, that was one of his best. A real gem last week. It was balanced, it was sound, it was creative. It was really good. Really good job of playcalling. This week, as you go into it, you gotta make sure it's sound to start with. Nebraska presents a lot of issues with the amount of variation they have in the front whether it's over, under, four-down, three-down, odd, odd stack, it's a lot of different front variation and defensive calls. You're going to get rolodexed. You gotta be prepared for all of those and make sure you're being sound in your scheme. It's exciting, it's challenging and it's something that the staff is working on right now.

On preparing the team for the first road game

Putting the plan together, practicing it and then going out and executing it. You gotta play good. We're in the Big Ten schedule, home or away, you gotta play good to have a chance to win. Pack the defense. Always a fundamental thing when you're playing on the road, you gotta play good defense. It's harder. It's harder for the offense, harder for the communication. Pumping the crowd noise and play some of the loud music that tries to simulate that loud environment. Caden-wise, communication-wise, make sure we're real sound in how we communicate, especially offensively.

On whether the defensive line has talked about matching Nebraska's

No, haven't heard any talk about that. Our defense preparing against their offense. Our offense preparing against their defense. Our special teams preparing in the six phases of special teams. That's been the focus and it starts late Sunday night, Monday, all the way, really, up until game time. People talk about the hay being in the barn, by game day, even on game day, most of the hay is in the barn but there's still some hay—you're always thinking about, and it's always better to worry about it and have angst about it, before the toe meets leather.

On preparing for Nebraska's starting QB

It's a tremendous system of stopping the run and being good at running the ball. Option football. Whether it's the two-way option or the triple option, it's been a staple in football for forever. Having your keys, having your eyes right. Of all games so far this year, the real focus on blocking, tackling, defeating blocks, having your eyes in the right place, making the right reads in all positions. Really just focusing on the alignment, the assignment, the technique and getting to the football. You gotta swarm to the ball. Gotta get the ol' get-to coach going here where we're coaching nobody on the ground, everybody hustling, everybody getting to the football and surrounding those ballcarriers.

On how Grant Newsome has developed as a coach

He's going all the way. He's going to the highest level of coaching, head coaching. It's not a matter of if, it's when. Still the youngest full-time coach in Power Five football, I think, in all of division one, I don't know for sure. He's just a guy that's checked every box from the time he stepped on campus as freshman, I think he's still our highest GPA. Wicked smart. Extremely hard-working. Gets along with everybody. Players respect him, like him. All the other coaches love him. Just so precise. He could've been doing anything. I had people calling when he was coming around for graduation and grad school. Goldman Sachs wanted him. The National Committee, they wanted him. They had big plans for him. The financial Wall Street had big plans for him. He wanted to coach and I had to have a conversation with Grant's mom about that. I'm trying to tell him that he oughta pursue one of these other—this is not an exaggeration, Goldman Sachs wanted to pay him like $400,000 right out of school. He turned that down to be a $70,000 GA. Have his school paid for and get a stipend. Then I had to reassure his mom. I talked to him, I tried to talk to him about this. But, man, is he going to be a good coach. I've been to this movie bunch of times and he is going to go all the way. There's no doubt he picked the right profession. Selfishly, I'm super happy about it. He's a tight end coach now but already grooming him to be the offensive line coach. Once he has maybe a year or two under his belt at offensive line coach, just like Sherrone Moore, he'll be the coordinator. From then, at that point, when we can't give him any more money or titles, somebody will snatch him up to be a head coach. Mark my words and mark them well. That will happen.

On how he develops a coach

An advice-giver. Hey, have you thought of this? How do you see that? Then they'll ask me what I think and then I'll tell them. Sometimes they apply it. It's kind of the way I do it. Career-wise, professionally, I think I'm pretty good at putting myself in other people's shoes whether it's a player or a coach, just advising this will be a really good move for you. Try this or don't do that. Whatever you do, do not do that. Take that road over there. Pretty good at that.

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