Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh met the media Monday. We tackle his comments in our News & Views format:
NEWS: Sophomore Eddie McDoom will likely have to step into a more prominent role with freshman Tarik Black sidelined due to foot surgery.
HARBAUGH: “He’s been a contributor this year, last year … he’s fast, smart. Good football player.”
VIEWS: Harbaugh wasn’t loquacious today — understandable, probably, since he lost his best receiver from an already thin corps. McDoom has been limited as a downfield receiver, and it’s tough to predict he’ll tear it up all of a sudden.
We’d expect more from another true freshman, in fact, in Donovan Peoples-Jones. We thought he'd push sophomore Kekoa Crawford, but now Crawford will have to elevate his game in addition to McDoom, Peoples-Jones, junior Grant Perry and others.
This is a big loss — Black had been tied with Crawford for the team lead with 17 targets through three games.
NEWS: Purdue looks like the most improved team in the country after starting the season 2-1 with a blowout win at Missouri.
HARBAUGH: “That team has done a tremendous job. The coach [Jeff Brohm] is going to be a favorite for Coach of the Year. He’s done a tremendous job. The entire team has."
VIEWS: It goes to show you (again) how meaningless preseason predictions can be. Purdue and Maryland both looked like gimmes at the beginning of the year … now they’d be solid road wins.
But these are teams that programs like Michigan that recruit nationally shouldn't lose to, even with the revamp on both sides of the ball. The Wolverines still have more athletes, but Purdue resembles the team under Joe Tiller in the early 2000s on offense, and it's playing with a lot of confidence.
It’s homecoming, too, and the crowd will be into it.
“We’ve got our hands full,” Harbaugh continued. “That’s what mainly we’re focused on right now, coming up with that plan … implementing it in games and practice will be a challenge for us. That whole team is playing well.”
NEWS: The offensive line is still a work in progress, but senior left tackle Mason Cole is playing well.
HARBAUGH: “I would say he’s our most valuable offensive lineman.
“He started as a tackle as a freshman, made the transition to center … he has the talent, intelligence and has proven he can play any position on the offensive line.”
VIEWS: Cole’s been solid, but not spectacular this year. He’s probably better as a center, which Harbaugh acknowledged earlier this season, but the team needed him at left tackle … He’s done it all with no griping. That’s why he’s a captain.
The right side, however, needs significant work and remains a huge question mark. They can’t continue to make the same mistakes they have over the last three weeks and beat the better teams on the schedule.
Play as poorly as they did at times last week, and they might not even beat Purdue.
NEWS: Defensive ends Rashan Gary, a sophomore, and redshirt junior Chase Winovich have elevated their play and been outstanding.
HARBAUGH: “They’re running to the football, playing physical, tackling very well … high effort, high intensity.”
VIEWS: Gary has notched 14 tackles, 2.5 for loss and one sack, while Winovich is at 16, 4.0 and 3.0. The latter is like the No. 3 hitter who benefits from having an elite guy behind him at clean-up. Winovich is getting plenty of single coverage with more attention given to Gary, and he’s taken advantage.
But both have been outstanding. Gary has been great keeping the edge against the run, and he’s been close on a number of other sacks this year despite being double-teamed much of it. His impact goes far beyond the numbers.
NEWS: Redshirt junior Wilton Speight completed 61 percent of his passes and had one dropped against Air Force, but he and the team couldn't find the end zone after reaching the red zone four times.
HARBAUGH: “We won. That’s the No. 1 job. He took care of the football, made some great throws in the pocket, accurate throws in tight windows. A lot of things [I liked].”
VIEWS: He isn’t, and was never going to be, the kind of quarterback that put his team on his back and wills them to wins. He’s also not getting a ton of help from a receiving corps that struggles to get separation and an inconsistent offensive line.
Yet with that said, he flat out needs to hit the passes he can when the plays are there to be made. He had two or three again Saturday. Again, though, he’s the best they have, and he’s done some good things, too.
NEWS: Fifth-year senior running back Ty Isaac is banged up but “should be okay,” per Harbaugh. If he can’t go, sophomore Chris Evans and junior Karan Higdon will have to shoulder the load at Purdue.
HARBAUGH: “It’s a position where we have three players. We’ll do a rotation, try to get the freshest back in there. We’ll go with that guy who has the hot hand. Ty is the starter, and Chris and Karan are going to get carries.”
VIEWS: Evans has been somewhat disappointing after many predicted a breakout season. He’s averaging 3.7 yards per carry, and the moment has appeared to be a bit big for him after a surprising freshman year.
But it’s not too late to right the ship. Both Evans and Higdon have ability, and they’ll get their carries Saturday. This position needs to be strong to help out a passing offense that’s struggled.
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