Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh is confident in his 2018 team, and for good reason. Numerous starters return on each side of the ball, including 10 on a defense that led the country in pass defense and was dominant, at times, throughout the season.
Another year of experience will only help, Harbaugh said during Big Ten Media Days.
“They’ve been there before … been there, done that,” he said. “That’s what experience is, being in do or die moments and knowing what they feel like going through it another time, another year after they’ve had a chance to train.
“They knew where the bar was, they didn’t get over it … some did get over it. You train again, put the bar up even higher, train some more and get over that height. Some of these players in those moments have had another year to train and get even better.”
Senior safety Tyree Kinnel is one. He’s gotten some criticism for giving up plays in the passing game — that’s going to happen with the pressure on the safeties in an aggressive defense — but Harbaugh likes him in the defensive backfield.
“He’s a steady guy,” Harbaugh said. “He plays the ball well, got good hands. He can tackle; he’s got courage. He’s just the kind of guy who you want back there at safety directing people. He’s not a guy who ever gets emotionally hijacked.”
Junior linebacker Josh Uche has only notched six career tackles, but some of his teammates have called him the best pass rusher on the team. He notched one tackle for loss and one sack last year, both in the opener against Florida, but he’s been putting in the work.
“He’s on that precipice of he could be a complete animal. He really could be,” Harbaugh said. “We’ve seen those signs. I’m really pulling hard for him for all great things to come his way.
“He’s really been training like that’s what he wants. This could be his time. It really could be.”
The quarterback competition continues, though junior transfer Shea Patterson is the heavy favorite to start the opener at Notre Dame. Harbaugh singled out redshirt freshman Dylan McCaffrey, though, as most improved.
“Dylan, he’s got a lot of that ‘it’ factor to him, that winning factor,” he said. “It shows up in two-minute drives. Two-minute drives, Dylan gets in there and leads the team down for a touchdown. That’s what was happening in the spring. That’s a great quality to have.
“He’s very athletic, very heady. He’s got that 6-5 frame, is getting everything coordinated, getting strong so he can really get everything coordinated with the throwing motion. He’s working hard on that, on that path. I like everything about him. I thought he improved the most of all quarterbacks from last season to this season.”
NOTES
Harbaugh said nutritionist Abigail O’Connor has done a “phenomenal job” helping the 2018 team get in shape.
“She’s a tough cookie,” he said. “Our players respect her, and they know she’s trying to make them better. She works really hard at it. She’s got the respect of everybody in the organization. I feel great about that improvement we’ve made to our football team.
“With nutrition there’s been a night and day difference. The strength has been really improved.”
Harbaugh admitted nutrition wasn’t nearly as big a deal back when he played in the mid-1980s.
“The thing I remember was the more you work out, the more you eat … you really didn’t have to worry too much about it,” he said. “Eat whatever you want and work out a lot. I don’t think that was necessarily a bad thing. I thought it worked for a lot of people.”
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