Monday Musings: Jim Harbaugh Seems Highest On One Thing In Particular

There have been a lot of good teams at Michigan, and there have been really great teams — groups that were so connected that missing a play or blowing an assignment meant not just letting yourself down, but the entire team. As our own Doug Skene said about his time in Ann Arbor when he won five Big Ten championship rings (1988-92), including two as a full-time starter, there was nothing about the experience that was about “me” instead of “the team.”

“If you screwed up or took a play off, you knew about it when you watched the film, and so did everyone else,” the former All-Big Ten offensive lineman once said. “[Offensive line coach] Les [Miles] would pause it and say, ‘Skene! Do you want to explain to your teammates why you did what you did here and let them all down?’”

If that’s not motivation, we’re not sure what is.

In recent years, there were a lot of those moments, only it didn’t seem to have the same effect on a handful of guys. It came to a head after U-M’s ugly loss at Wisconsin last year in which Harbaugh came as close as he ever had to calling players out before vowing it would be different.

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For the most part, it was, minus a few plays here and there (including a key third-down play against Ohio State). Everything we’ve heard behind closed doors about this year’s group is that this is one of the most tight-knight groups they’ve had, and there aren’t many egos or guys worried more about “getting theirs.”

Harbaugh seemed to confirm it during his Monday press conference. “Oneness” was the word of the day, and he used it a lot.

“I feel really good about them in terms of talent; feel really good about them in terms of competitiveness and oneness,” Harbaugh said. “That’s probably the most important thing. There’s nothing more important than a team, and oneness, and all of those things are really good.”

He repeated that again nearly verbatim later when he was asked how he felt this team would fare, after saying his squad should be a Big Ten favorite last year.

“I really feel like this team is at a championship level in terms of that,” he said.

But is it a title contender in every other way?

It takes more than just want-to, and that’s what remains to be seen. Ohio State has a clear talent advantage over the rest of the Big Ten on paper, and Harbaugh seems to be in “show me” mode, too. He’s optimistic, though, and loves what he’s seen.

“The last piece is just assignments and chasing perfection in terms of knowing what to do, where to line up, how to do it and then just letting it rip,” he said. “Playing in the first ball game, the opener … we’re very excited.

“The thing we’re drilling down the most right now is assignments and chasing perfection in that regard. I want to see a team that goes out there on Saturday night flying around, running to the ball, playing smart. Having at it.

“As I said before, especially in a first game, where some guys haven’t played … we know we’re talented and know we’re competitive, so put those talented and competitive guys out there and see what happens.”

There are question marks, and we’ll see what happens when there’s adversity. It’s clear, though, that they like the chemistry and leadership, and that’s a great start.

Harbaugh had nothing but high praise for P.J. Fleck and his Minnesota team.

“So many good players, really well-coached,” Harbaugh said. “[Junior wide receiver Rashod] Bateman jumps out immediately. He has made so many strong, contested catches, [averaged] over 20 yards per catch in 2019. He’s terrific. A real alpha-type guy and player.

“It’s a great challenge for us in the secondary and with their other playmakers on offense. I really like their quarterback, [redshirt junior] Tanner Morgan. He’s very gifted and savvy.”

That’s U-M’s biggest concern in this one given the turnover at cornerback. But the Minnesota defense, too, is good at understanding its concepts, Harbaugh said.

Regardless, this is a different team than last year, and Fleck said as much in his weekly presser previewing Michigan.

Word out of Minneapolis is that the Gophers could be without some key players, and there’s concern from their end heading into the opener.

There’s no question Minnesota has made great strides as a program. Last year wasn’t a fluke and included big wins over Penn State and Auburn.

Still, this a game Michigan should win and needs to win to become a perennial contender again in the Big Ten, and it’s hungry.

“They’ve put themselves in position to have their chance, opportunity to show what they can do,” Harbaugh said. “There are challenges [with COVID], but the ability to have that opportunity is the thing that means the most.”

They also know many of their goals could go out the window with an opening loss in the Little Brown Jug game.

Harbaugh has four options at kicker and punter that could earn All-Big Ten honors, if not more.

“[Fifth-year senior kicker] Quinn [Nordin] is in a real competitive battle with [junior Jake] Moody, who is also doing a very good job. It will be still playing out,” Harbaugh said. “Both are really good.

“The thing about the kicking situation — we have two really good kickers and two really good punters, [redshirt junior Brad] Robbins and [fifth-year senior Will] Hart. Nordin, Moody; Moody, Nordin. Robbins, Hart; Hart, Robbins. The talent is really good, and I think we’ll all eventually see it in action. Those are really tight battles.”

Between that and a potentially explosive return game, the Wolverines should be ahead of the curve in the aspect of the game in which too many take for granted.

We predict it will be the difference in one of the big games this year.

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