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Jack and Jim Harbaugh's "Attack Each day" podcast was recorded from France this week, with players, coaches and others close to the program giving their take on what the overseas experience has meant to them.
ESPN college football analyst Marty Smith — who is with the team in Europe — also gave his take on the trip, and praised Harbaugh for the opportunity it presents the players.
We have the highlights of the podcast below.
Junior quarterback Shea Patterson, on how spring practice went:
“It went great. I’ve never been around a group of guys who worked as hard as we did this spring, and there’s no better way to top it off than by going to Paris. This is my first time out of the country, and I wouldn’t want to spend it with anybody other than this team.”
Freshman quarterback Joe Milton, on the France trip:
“Paris is nicer than [my hometown of] Orlando, and it's not even close. The only advice my mom gave me before I left was not to find a wife there."
ESPN college football analyst Marty Smith, who is with the team in France:
“I love that Coach Harbaugh does this. He took some grief for it last year, when he 'subjected the team to more football.'
"I talked to [fifth-year senior defensive end] Chase Winovich at the Eiffel Tower the first day here, and he said he told Coach he appreciated this whole thing so much, and it only inspired him to work harder. He said it shows him the opportunities that are out there. I don’t understand how anybody could be critical of this.
"The Vatican was my favorite part of last year’s trip — being able to be in the presence of the Pope, and seeing what it meant to Jim and Sarah was amazing. You could tell that it really humbled them.
"Normandy will be the highlight of this year’s trip. We live in the greatest country in the world, and just to think about the sacrifice our grandparents and that greatest generation made — they ran off those boats into bullets, and that gives us the opportunity to get on planes and fly to places like this today.”
Jim Harbaugh, on Normandy and future destinations:
“When we went to Rome and The Vatican last year and met the Pope, I didn't think anything could top that — and nothing has.
"I took courses on Normandy and what all occurred there, but you can't understand the level of sacrifice that was made until you're standing on Omaha Beach and the cemetery there. We owe those soldiers a debt of gratitude.
"This is priceless, in my opinion. The amount of things each person has learned here and the way they've connected with with people from other countries — it’s hard to explain.
"I’d like to go to Africa next year — Johannesburg and Cape Town. We’re starting the planning for it. After that, we may go to Greece. Perry from The Brown Jug [restaurant in Ann Arbor] is convincing me Athens would be a great place to go.”
Pulitzer Prize winning photographer David Turnley:
“You think back to these remarkable palaces and cathedrals that were built sometime between the 1100s and mid-1600s, including here in Versailles. Those didn’t just happen — a human being woke up one morning in the 1100s and said, 'I’m going to build Versailles Palace.' That was a grandiose vision at the time.
"Certain people like to play on a big stage. When players from every corner of the country come to Ann Arbor, Michigan, to play football, they do so because they want to be on a big stage and do something grandiose. Some people wake up in the morning and think big — I don’t think it’s a stretch to compare the two.”
Jack Harbaugh, on the experience at Normandy:
“Normandy wasn’t just a highlight of the day or of the year, but all the way back to my youth. It’s been a goal of mine to stand on those hallowed grounds there. The inscription on so many of the crosses at the cemetery read 'Known only to God,' with unknown soldiers buried there.
“We had a fantastic trip to Rome last year, but what we experienced this week was so meaningful. You don’t grasp it until you stand on that hallowed ground and you see those rows of crosses in perfect order. Then you walk through the cemetery and see all 50 states represented on the tombstones."
Jack Harbaugh, on the Michigan presence in France:
“As we walk the streets here, we often hear ‘Go Blue!’ from complete strangers — that’s how they identify themselves. A gentleman here came up to me from Canton, Michigan, and gave me a 'Go Blue.'
"When you have 500,000 alums who have all shared the University of Michigan experience, you get a sense of why it’s so universal.”
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