How a culture of work, togetherness impacted Michigan's confidence

In a week that seems to be dominated by media members asking players and coaches for their thoughts on Thanksgiving dishes, Jim Harbaugh was asked about what he was thankful for with regard to the 2021 edition of Michigan football. The first thing he noted was the new players, coaches, and staff members and how appreciative he was for the talent and energy they brought to the program. Then he moved on to the team’s leaders:

“I'm thankful for the guys who were here last year and the year before that that they didn't quit, they didn't give up, they just went right back to work. I call them the grittiest of anybody on our team. The foundation. I call them the foundation of the football team. The sophomores, the juniors, and I'm also thankful for the seniors, the ones we just talked about who, they're the ones. Without them, there's no way we are where we're at today, so the holiest of the holy guys, the Hutchinsons, the Rosses, Hassan Haskins, Vastardis, Brad Hawkins, Robbins, Moody, those and many more. Those seniors, most thankful for them.”

After Michigan’s 2020 season, its leaders decided that a disappointing season would not become a disillusioning one. They have not been shy about discussing an increased emphasis on the Ohio State game, but a change in culture comes from more than just renaming a drill or focusing on one opponent. This team found a way to play for each other.

“I think it’s just relationships on the team. Call it teamwork, call it togetherness, it’s just relationships throughout the team and trust and guys want to play for each other, guys want to win for each other, guys want to give it all they’ve got so everyone else can succeed together,” center Andrew Vastardis said.

When asked what has changed his season, edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson echoed Vastardis' comments. “One thing that comes to mind is togetherness. With the leaders on this team and the guys, we all just have such a good time together out there on the field, out there on the practice field, we really just have a lot of fun,” he said. “We also have a lot of good players, too, so that helps also. I’m really going to miss this team when it’s all said and done and the season’s over, but that’s why I’m embracing it all right now.”

Togetherness is fairly cliché in football, but Michigan's players seem to wholeheartedly believe it goes beyond being a feel-good thing, as they attribute their ability to deal with deficits and road environments to the bond they achieved in the offseason. “I think (being a finisher) has changed because of the togetherness of our whole team. Just the way we play, the way we play for each other, everything, we’ve got each other’s backs and that’s the way we play and that’s the way we approach everything that we do,” linebacker Josh Ross said.

The team's leaders emphasized that hard work, every day, every meeting, every practice, every game, was going to be the expectation. “It was definitely something that you had to keep in mind, that you are the standard of the building, so whatever you do, that’s what everyone else is going to do,” Hutchinson said.

Credit has to be shared with the younger players on the team for changing the culture as well, as they bought into what the older players were preaching. Harbaugh summed up the team’s work ethic when asked about it Monday. “It’s been get to work and find another guy to work with them, work beside them. It’s been contagious.” He then elaborated on the culture of work during his radio show. “They’ve just worked like crazy. Worked daily, weekly, monthly. Just wrung everything out. This is everything they’ve been working for, planning for, put themselves to be in this position.”

Hard work sounds gritty, it sounds like something a football team would embrace, but it goes beyond lifting weights and hitting sleds and going hard in practice. For this year’s team, game preparation has been a huge part of the work they have put in. Its something that has become so much like second nature that it gives them confidence against even the most difficult opponents. As Vastardis said, “When it comes to our preparation, I feel like we’ve really improved this year in how we prepare each game and I think we’ve just got to carry that into this game but also know this is The Game and there is that extra oomph surrounding us. Just using that as motivation and as fuel and really just falling back on our great preparation we’ve had this year.”

Quarterback Cade McNamara, whom offensive lineman Trevor Keegan said stays to watch film until 10 PM, was asked this week about how the team prepares. “I think overall our preparation this season has been nothing but great. We haven’t faced a team that has really fooled us and I know I can say the same about my preparation, that I’m confident in my preparation,” he said. “This week obviously there’s going to be a heightened level of focus, and that’s just what comes with this game, but I think it’s also a point of emphasis that we don’t have to do anything abnormal to win this game, we just have to be Michigan.”

Regardless of Saturday’s outcome, the players believe that they’ve already accomplished one of their goals. If the players that return next season prepare the same way this team did, it will be well equipped to weather the adversity that is part of the game; it means something different to “just have to be Michigan” these days. “I think we definitely made a lot of improvements in our culture. Just the way you’ve seen us as we play against adversity and all that stuff, we really have each other’s back and I think that’s a testament to our culture and the work we put in,” Hutchinson said.

And so, while we don’t know Jim Harbaugh’s thoughts on macaroni and cheese or sweet potato pie, we do know how appreciative he is of a group of players who took it upon themselves to set new standards. “They've been so much the foundation of the team,” he said. “The ones that have done the most, been through the most experience, persevered the most, worked the hardest. No chance we're where we're at right now without that group that's been phenomenal. They're the ones. They're the ones that--there's no way we'd be where we are without them.”

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