Jim Harbaugh Didn't Deliver A Halftime Speech, Because He Didn't Have To
Michigan Wolverines football led Wisconsin by a score of 13-10 at halftime in Madison last week, but it felt like the game was deadlocked. The Badgers had all the momentum, having just drove 63 yards in 15 seconds for a touchdown with seven seconds left in the half.
The Maize and Blue were in for a fight in the second half, and they were up to the challenge, with head coach Jim Harbaugh saying his team "didn't flinch." They grabbed momentum back quickly in the third quarter and second half as a whole, running away with an impressive, 38-17 victory.
So how did the Wolverines regroup and take control of the game right out of the gate in the second half?
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It was player-driven, Harbaugh said on the Inside Michigan Football Radio show with fellow former U-M All-American Jon Jansen. After the staff conveyed the halftime adjustments they wanted to employ, Harbaugh gathered the team to say a few words before they headed back out of the tunnel and onto the field.
"I called up the team, and before I could say anything, it turned into a roar," Harbaugh said, reflecting on the moment. "I go, ‘OK, you guys are ready. Let’s go!’ I did not say a word. I called them up to say something to them, and it was like [I had to hold them back]."
That moment is a microcosm of Michigan's team. Harbaugh said he sees that mentality in his group on a daily basis.
"The thing that’s ringing into my ears — these are guys you have to hold back," he said. "You don’t have to talk them into stuff. They want to go; they want to have at it. They want to find out how good they can get. That’s how they approached practice today and every day."
Another example occurred after Monday's practice, when junior defensive end and team captain Aidan Hutchinson called out to his teammates.
"Practice ended today, and Aidan Hutchinson said, ‘Everybody in the weight room in 10 minutes for the lift,'" Harbaugh said. "And he’s like, ‘In 10 minutes!’ And everybody was in there in 10 minutes after he said that. Pretty strong."
The determination from the leaders and best players on the squad trickles down to the rest of the program, with Harbaugh citing redshirt freshman outside linebacker David Ojabo's offseason in which he trained with Hutchinson every day as one example. Ojabo notched 2.5 sacks against the Badgers and was named Co-Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week.
"That kind of leadership is contagious," Harbaugh said.
Harbaugh has a focused, driven and motivated group. He's had several at Michigan, San Francisco, Stanford and San Diego, but this one might be at a higher level than any other one he's ever coached, maybe even played for.
"The thing about this team that’s been really good to see — and I told our team this today — out of all the teams I’ve been around, this team really listens, they take instructions from the coaches," Harbaugh said. "They can't get enough; they eat it up. They listen to it, embrace it and go out and execute it as good as any team that I’ve ever been around.
"That’s how they practice, too, and let’s keep that going. There are so many things I admire about our players, and want to keep that going. How they play and how they practice and their approach to football, they really like it. A long way to go; a long row to hoe. We also told them that today."
The next challenge up is at Nebraska this weekend, and Harbaugh knows his team is capable of completing the task.
"Going to Lincoln, haven’t been there, but studied and know it’s a heck of an environment for a football game," Harbaugh said.
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