Michigan Football: Harbaugh News & Views
Jim Harbaugh engaged in an upbeat session with reporters at his press conference at the start of Wisconsin week. Here are some highlights, Harbaugh’s comments and our take.
News: Wisconsin rolls into town for a showdown between top-10 teams this Saturday.
Harbaugh: “Big team … I wonder if the field is going to be wide enough. They play extremely hard. I had the pleasure of coaching [former Badger] Chris Borland a few years back. It’s a team of Chris Borlands — high, high energy; tough, physical team; guys that can run. I’m very impressed.”
Views: So are Associated Press poll voters, who bumped the Badgers up to No. 8 in the nation after they went into East Lansing and steamrolled the Spartans, 30-6. This figures to be Michigan’s biggest challenge yet, although the final score last week could be a little deceiving.
Wisconsin scored two touchdowns that didn’t extensively involve its offense. The Badgers scooped up a fumble and ran it in, and cashed in on a mishandled punt snap. They’ll have a tough time putting 30 on the board in Michigan Stadium without similar big plays.
This will be the toughest defensive front Michigan has faced (all due respect, which is minimal, to Scott Frost). Still, the Wolverines have turned it over just twice in four games, so they’re pretty good at not handing the other team points (one big whack on redshirt sophomore quarterback Wilton Speight notwithstanding).
And, of course, they don’t drop punt snaps anymore, so …
News: Wisconsin redshirt freshman quarterback Alex Hornibrook held up well on the road at MSU, completing 16 of 26 passes for 195 yards with one touchdown.
Harbaugh: “Alex had a heck of a good ball game. He really acquitted himself well, and made a name for himself. I was very impressed with how he played, with the accuracy of his throws, the poise with which he played. It was impressive.”
Views: One of the knocks on Wisconsin coming into the year involved the quarterbacks. The Badgers beat LSU with defense, but they’ll need to score points if they’re to be the top contender in the Big Ten West.
Hornibrook showed plenty in his first Big Ten road challenge, and it doesn’t get any easier this week. Again, he had all sorts of help that he didn’t generate. His team led only 13-6 when the Spartans began getting overly generous.
Still, he didn’t give points back, and that counts for plenty. If Hornibrook and Michigan redshirt sophomore quarterback Wilton Speight both take care of the ball, count on this one to bear little resemblance to the score-fests of Michigan’s first four weeks.
That said, expect U-M defensive coordinator Don Brown to turn up the heat a little on Hornibrook.
News: Redshirt sophomore linebacker Jabrill Peppers keeps getting better.
Harbaugh: “Those eye-popping plays happen in practice every day. You give him something new … and know he hasn’t done it before, and then he goes out to practice and everybody’s just looking like, ‘Nobody does it that well. Guys who play the position don’t do it that well.’
“Now the thing is, we’ll just look at each other and [say] … ‘He’s really good at football. Jabrill is really good at football.’ It says it all — he’s a football player …
“He’s had the most Wolverine stickers each game. Four weeks in a row, he’s No. 1 ranked. After four weeks, he’s got just under 40.”
Views: Harbaugh also recalled having to yell out for Peppers on the sidelines last year, when he was needed in situations not involving the defense on the field. This year, the head coach barely gets his name out before Peppers pops up from behind and yells, “Here, Coach!”
In other words, he’s ready at any second and knows he could go in the game at any moment — because, of course, he’s really good at football.
His duties will only increase, and if he keeps making highlight plays along with Michigan continuing to win, the awards will be rolling his way. And unlike some coaches, Harbaugh isn’t trying to knock him down a peg or two, so he’s humbled publicly. There’s enough hard coaching behind closed doors.
Instead, the boss tells it like it is, and expects Peppers (and others) to handle the praise with maturity.
News: Fifth-year senior cornerback Jeremy Clark is done for the year with a torn Anterior cruciate ligament in his knee. As a sign of respect, nearly the entire team came onto the field and surrounded the cart that was to take him up the tunnel at Michigan Stadium. Harbaugh noted Michigan will try to get a sixth year for Clark.
Harbaugh: “Yeah, he tore his ACL …
“[The team coming on the field] says a lot. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen that before. It was that way in the locker room as well. We came together as a team in the locker room, and half the team went into the training room to see Jeremy. He’s a highly respected person on our team.”
Views: The display on the field does say plenty, both in the respect Clark has generated and the togetherness on this squad overall. Fractured groups don’t engage in those kinds of gestures.
Clark was obviously devastated, having prepped so hard. A comeback in a sixth year would have to involve documenting an injury from his true freshman season, unless Michigan finds an NCAA loophole, but it would be fitting if Clark could end his U-M career with both feet firmly planted.
News: Freshman tight end Devin Asiasi secured his first touchdown catch in college versus Penn State.
Harbaugh: “He’s physically ready. That’s a position that takes a lot of football awareness. There’s a process there, learning all the things a tight end has to do. They are so involved in the pass game, and they’re equally involved in the run game.
“It’s a lot, especially for somebody who is really good at blocking and really good at running routes. He’s in that process of becoming an expert, a polished guy. It’s way ahead of schedule. He’s a smart football player, he’s mature, and physically talented and gifted. He gives a lot of effort.
“It’s accelerated. He’s already into AP [Advanced Placement] tight end play in college. He’s taking the AP courses now as a freshman. It’s exciting.”
Views: Asiasi rocketed up to No. 2 on Michigan’s non-existent depth chart, behind only All-American Jake Butt. It’s Harbaugh’s meritocracy on display once again.
Come in, demonstrate that you’re good, can learn and can perform, and the door is wide open. Asiasi will keep on ascending, and the tight end play gets bolstered in the process.