Michigan Football: Harbaugh Says Two Players Are No Longer With The Team
GRAND RAPIDS, MICH. — Michigan had some work to do to get below the 85-scholarship limit, and Jim Harbaugh confirmed his team was there.
U-M’s head coach said two players had left the team, though he wouldn’t confirm who had departed.
“There have been two, for sure. I’ll let them announce it if they haven’t,” Harbaugh said. “We’re a little bit under [the scholarship limit].”
That’s begun the speculation, of course, as to who might be leaving.
Harbaugh talked about many of his players at Sunday’s Best of the Midwest Camp at Grand Valley State University, including the running backs and his wide receivers.
“They did good,” he said of his backs. “The best were [junior] Chris Evans, [senior] Karan Higdon and [walk-on] Tru Wilson. Those three really did well. Then also [walk-on] Joe Hewlett, and [sophomore] O’maury Samuels also did some good things. He got slowed by a hamstring injury, but I would put it in that depth chart right now.”
Harbaugh did not mention scholarship players Kareem Walker, a redshirt sophomore, or sophomore Kurt Taylor.
Harbaugh also has two fullbacks he expects to rely on — sophomore Ben Mason and fifth-year senior Jared Wangler.
“Ben really tried to play through a meniscus, ended up having a procedure, a scope on his meniscus,” Harbaugh said. “They just took out a tiny bit of it. He’s already running around, full speed.
“Jared asserted himself in spring, ball as well. Right now they’re going 1-2.”
Sophomore Tarik Black, meanwhile, is back in form after missing most of last year with a foot injury suffered against Cincinnati.
“I feel like our wide receivers are coming along,” Harbaugh said “Coach Mac [Jim McElwain] has done a great job coaching them. Tarik and [sophomore] Donovan [Peoples-Jones] really did the best job of anybody in spring practice. Nate Schoenle, Oliver Martin and Nico Collins also did extremely well.”
Collins was slowed a little bit by a shoulder injury, Harbaugh added.
“He dove for a ball when we weren’t in pads, hurt his shoulder, fought through that. I think he’s got some real upside, too. Those guys there probably had the best spring.”
He said Black and Peoples-Jones were like Evans and Higdon in being 1 and 1a on the depth chart.
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