Michigan faced with tall task in minimizing Marvin Harrison Jr.'s impact
You can't stop him, you can only hope to contain him.
That is the mindset Michigan is having coming into Saturday's game against Ohio State when it comes to facing off against superstar wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. Ranked 10th in the country with 1093 receiving yards, he's also been damaging to defensive backs by scoring 13 touchdowns, which is tied for second in the country.
While the U-M defense has done well in pass defense this season, it's clear that the Buckeyes have weapons on offense all over the field.
According to U-M coach Jim Harbaugh, it might be difficult to stop and you just hope to contain the damage as much as possible.
"He reminds me a lot of his dad,” Harbaugh said of Harrison Jr. “Great player, gotta be covered. Slow him down is probably the better word. Do our best to do that and everything works together. Pass rush, the faster the more pressure they can put on the quarterback, the better the coverage is going to be. Same with the coverage, the better the coverage is going to be then that allows the the pass rush to get home. Like any game, anytime you play a team, team defense is going to be critical and it all works together.”
From a player perspective, senior captain Mike Sainristil knows all about what a talented Buckeye receiver is capable. Despite the Buckeyes having some level of passing success the last two seasons, it hasn't been enough to win the game.
Sainristil is fully aware that limiting the explosive plays will likely bode well for the program on Saturday.
“He has great ball skills, great speed, great size,” Sainristil said. “He’s your prototype receiver. The offense, they find a great way, lots of different ways to get him the ball. But for us, we just have to lock in on small details in our assignments, just don’t allow him to create explosive plays.”
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