Harbaugh Says The Iowa Victory Was A 'Character Building' Type Of Win
Michigan Wolverines football head coach Jim Harbaugh discussed Saturday's win over Iowa this morning on his 'Attack Each day' podcast, and praised both the offensive and defensive performances of his club.
He also looked ahead to Illinois and admitted that playing stout football on the road will be an emphasis this week.
U-M hockey coach Mel Pearson then joined the segment to provide a preview of his 2019-20 Wolverine squad.
Jim Harbaugh, on Saturday's Defensive Performance:
"It was one of those character building and character revealing type of wins. I'm super proud of our team.
"They played hard from the first snap to the last and when you've got that, you can get everything else.
"It was a great job calling the game by [defensive coordinator] Don Brown and great preparation by the defensive coaches.
"[Defensive line coach] Shaun Nua has the defensive line playing extremely well. The corner play was also outstanding — [junior] Ambry [Thomas], [senior] Lavert [Hill] and [redshirt freshman] Vince [Gray] all played great.
"[Senior safety] Josh Metellus got involved with a lot of tackles, and [senior viper] Khaleke Hudson had 12 of them. [Fifth-year senior linebacker Jordan] Glasgow got involved with defending the pass, and then was pulling down [Iowa senior quarterback Nate] Stanley on other plays.
"[Junior defensive end] Kwity Paye had 3.5 sacks and [sophomore defensive end] Aidan Hutchinson was the Defensive Player of the Week in the Big Ten, while our players of the week were all starting 11.
"The defense has gelled and is playing so hard and so good all across the board."
Jim Harbaugh, on Michigan's Offense:
"It's hitting its stride and is gelling, and it was a productive first half on Saturday.
"We had two drives in the third quarter — one was where got stopped at midfield, and the second was when we tried the trick play and had the tackle for loss, and got sacked on the next play.
"We missed the field goal in the fourth quarter, and then had a three-and-out where we missed on a third-and-three. The next drive in the fourth was with two minutes left and we got Iowa to use all three timeouts.
"I feel like it has gelled. The guys are playing hard and are playing good. My experience in Iowa games has been the first one to 13 gets the win — final scores like 12-10 and 14-12.
"They beat us at Iowa on a last second field goal when I played there, and then Mike Gillette kicked a game-winning field goal to win the next year.
"Saturday was a character revealing win and a good tough win for the team. Onward.
"I'm sure I'll get ridiculed by the scribes and pundits, but that was a top five defense in the country, and Wisconsin is No. 1. There are times where you say, 'Hey [Iowa defensive coordinator] Phil Parker, nice job."
Jim Harbaugh, Looking Ahead to Saturday:
"The Illinois preparation is underway, and game planning and practice has already begun.
"We also look at ourselves and how we haven't won a road game in the last three attempts, so that will be a big emphasis — playing our best football in a road Big Ten game."
Jack Harbaugh, Discussing Michigan's Offense:
"There were times where we moved the ball, gashed and got eight yards at a crack.
"We also hit a long pass. It's about consistency and putting those things together, and not allowing something to disrupt a drive.
"The trick play could have been a touchdown but instead was a nine-yard loss."
Mel Pearson, Previewing This Year's Hockey Season:
"I like our team. We had a tough last year and were expected to finish higher than we did — we didn't get the job done.
"We're the hunter right now, not the hunted. We have a lot of good players up front and high end draft picks — our guys get drafted before they even come into college.
"[Freshman defenseman] Cam York was the 14th overall pick and [freshman forward] Johnny Beecher was 30th overall, but our seniors will lead our team to success.
"We have nine seniors, led by [forward] Will Lockwood, who is the 100th captain in Michigan hockey history. He was drafted by Vancouver and they tried to pull him out, but I'm so excited he came back to get his degree.
"Our goaltending had an off year last year, but we feel they're capable of being much better.
"Hayden Lavigne is our senior goalie and took us to the Frozen Four two years, but thought last year was going to be easy — he didn't work as hard in my opinion, but now he's back in the saddle and looks good, and has recommitted himself to the game and the conditioning.
"We have the best staff in college hockey. We brought in Kris Mayotte from Providence, and were fortunate to bring Matt Hunwick on as a voluntary assistant.
"After 500 and some odd games in the NHL, he has come on board and we don't have to pay him a nickel.
"He'll be so good for our young players, especially our defensemen."
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