Michigan is 2-0, but the Wolverines still have plenty to improve upon this week against Air Force, following a 36-14 win over Cincinnati.
Head coach Jim Harbaugh isn’t concerned. He saw a lot of good things in the Wolverines’ second win following a big victory over Florida in the opener.
“I feel good about our team. We’re making mistakes in games but we’re not repeating those mistakes the next game,” he said on 97.1 The Ticket, Detroit. “We’re learning from them and doing a lot of good things.
“A guy gets a holding penalty [against Cincinnati] not using the technique in blocking the guy he should. We had a personal foul by [redshirt sophomore lineman] Nolan [Ulizio]. The quarterback on the ball handling, ball slips out of his hand, etc. etc. I ould document it and go through it play by play … but that’s the cause of it.
“Guys are taking turns. We’ve got to all 11 execute. That’s on us as coaches, and the players, to evaluate what’s causing it and how to get our offensive into rhythm, because we can move the ball. We had the feeling coming out of that game we stopped ourselves on occasion. That’s the challenge for our team.”
That includes eliminating the hot-dogging. The receivers, in particular, have been guilty of it in the first two weeks, especially junior Grant Perry, who was assessed a 15-yard penalty against Florida for spinning the ball.
Perry’s play didn’t kill a drive, but it cost the Wolverines momentum. Sophomore Kekoa Crawford also drew a bit of attention to himself after a touchdown, one that was called back.
It was a teaching moment for Harbaugh and his staff, and the coach couldn’t wait to get to the classroom after the game. He was also miffed that his kids didn’t show any urgency in trying to make tackles on two-pick sixes against the Gators.
“We made a conscious effort and coached it. We said, ‘When you score, when you make a big play, give the ball to the official. Hand it to the official,'” Harbaugh said.
Former Detroit Lion Barry Sanders was the best in this department, he said with a laugh. His humility was ingrained from birth … others have to learn it, and Crawford did. He caught a 43-yard touchdown pass to open the scoring against the Bearcats, and his lesson had been learned.
“He gets up, he’s very excited and his first reaction is to run toward the official, who was about 10 yards away,” Harbaugh recalled. “He’s in the back of the end zone, the official’s at the goal line and [Crawford] is trying to get there. Meanwhile, there are five, then seven, then nine and 10 of our players trying to hug him and high-five him and congratulate him.”
Crawford only had one thing on his mind.
“It looks like he’s trying to score. He’s going through them like a salmon swimming upstream,” Harbaugh said with a laugh. “And he gets the ball back to the official under duress from his own team.
“That warmed the cockles of my heart. They’re listening, and they’re not repeating errors. That’s a lot of joy for a coach when you see that because you know it’s important to them. They want to make those improvements.
“He should get a [helmet] sticker for that.”
Of course, Harbaugh’s former coach, Bo Schembechler, would say, ‘he’s doing what he’s supposed to do.’ Mistakes happen, though … it’s about cleaning them up and not repeating them.
That’s how good teams are made.
“You want to get your job done without penalty, and thee are definitely techniques and tools that as a coach you can tell the players,” he said. “Then they experience it and you really hope — and good players will get this done — that they won’t be error-repeaters.”
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