Michigan Wolverines Football: Harbaugh Says Confidence Reached A New High

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Few expected Michigan to handle Notre Dame the way the Wolverines did Saturday night, a 45-14 blowout that probably wasn’t that close. Head coach Jim Harbaugh, though, sensed something about his team during the game that was better than he’d seen it all year …

A belief in each other that each man was going to do his job and do it well.

Harbaugh touched on it in detail when asked about right tackle Jalen Mayfield, who got up from the pile after burying a defender into the ground and thrust his fist in the air.

“He fits in really good [with that]. He’s done an outstanding job as a redshirt freshman that he is, very athletic,” Harbaugh said. “I think you can really see how much he was into it in this ball game. It means a lot to him.

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“I just think where he’s come, it’s kind of a reflection of our whole team. Probably the thing that stood out to me the most from Saturday night was how much unconditional belief our players had in each other and themselves. It was as high as I’ve ever seen it … 100 percent. They knew they would get their jobs done; they knew that the player next to them would get their job done. It’s just what they knew.”

That unconditional belief in each other “does bode well” for the rest of the year, he added, and could be “huge” going forward.

Part of that is finding guys willing to sacrifice on every play — players who put the team ahead of individual goals. They seem to have found another in freshman Mike Sainristil, whose three catches included a critical first down grab and a long touchdown late in the game in which he stopped on a dime and eluded defenders.

They could need to lean on him more in the next few weeks should Ronnie Bell not be available. Harbaugh provided no update on the sophomore, who seemed to injure his knee in the second half (he didn’t return and was spotted on crutches after the game).

"Mike really made the most of his opportunities, no question,” Harbaugh said. “He made the big third down catch early in the game which was great to see, and it was tough to catch the ball at that point when it was really raining in the first half.

“The touchdown was terrific. He got wide open and Shea [Patterson] found him for a big gain, as well. Those three catches made a big impact. I thought he also blocked well, was hustling around. We’re really seeing a lot of growth from Mikey.”

The last four weeks in practice, especially, Harbaugh said.

“He’s really gained a lot of confidence in catching the football. He’s always been really good route running, but he went through a little spell there where he wasn’t catching the ball great,” he said. “Now his confidence is back and surging.”

As it is for the rest of the Wolverines, a positive heading into the last four games of the schedule.

NOTES

• Harbaugh was asked about momentum building during the season. He shrugged and cited Albert Einstein, applying it to veteran lineman Stephen Spanellis’ block of a Notre Dame player to the sideline and out of bounds late in the game.

“I thought it was pretty cool. It was really good play by him,” he said. “That’s probably Einstein’s relativity, mass and momentum. Speed and acceleration. Force.”

He paused.

“I lost my excellence in math right after long division,” he said with a grin.

• Redshirt sophomore end Luiji Vilain notched his first career tackle Saturday in the fourth quarter. Watching him battle back from two knee surgeries on different legs in two years has been an inspiration for his teammates.

“The story on Luiji, he missed both his freshman and sophomore years due to injury. He’s persevered, maintained … has had as good an attitude as you could have having some of those setbacks,” Harbaugh said. “I’d say some of those tests have made him better and stronger.

"He’s in his redshirt sophomore season, and it’s good to see him get his first tackle and have some success. We’ve definitely been seeing the growth.”

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