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Jim Harbaugh Says Wolverines Have Improved, Are Still 'Hungry For More'

Michigan Wolverines football knocked off in-state rival Michigan State last Saturday to improve to 8-2 overall and 5-2 in the Big Ten. The game wasn't close. In fact, U-M's last three games have been lopsided in favor of the Wolverines.

Early in the season, U-M had an overtime win over Army, a blowout loss to Wisconsin and a nail-biting win over Iowa. Now, with the three straight blowout victories, including over two rivals in Notre Dame and MSU, it looks like a different team.

Harbaugh joined his weekly Monday night radio show, "Inside Michigan Football" and talked about the improvement he's seen from his group, looked back at the resounding 44-10 win over MSU and previewed the matchup with Indiana.

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"There was a lot of great play," Harbaugh said of the blowout win over the Spartans. "The individual play was really good and collective. Guys were playing really hard. Emotionally, too, everyone was into it in every which way you could ask."

Harbaugh was impressed with many of his players in the game, probably too many to even name.

"[We had] so many big plays on offense, that was something that really stood out the most," he said. "There was a lot of explosive plays offensively —14 in the pass and three in the run. Defensively, the interceptions were big by Ambry [Thomas] and LaVert [Hill]. Blocked punt by Khaleke [Hudson]. Quinn Nordin had a heck of a day. DPJ [Donovan Peoples-Jones], Ronnie Bell, Shea Patterson, Sean McKeon — he had a big catch but the way he blocked was outstanding.

"Ben Mason has the highest compliment that you can pay a fullback in the game of football, in my opinion, is when the opposing linebacker has to cut the fullback in the hole. That happened right from the get go in the game. You’re giving yourself up to do that. Ben was great. One time he got cut in the hole and got up and blocked a guy after that. It was one of those really good things.

"Donovan [Peoples-Jones] and Ronnie [Bell] were hard to tackle and doing a heck of a job. I could talk about a lot of guys. There was so much good play. Aidan [Hutchinson] played tremendous and so did Kwity Paye and Josh Uche."

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Michigan Wolverines head coach Jim Harbaugh has seen constant improvement all season long from his team.
Michigan Wolverines head coach Jim Harbaugh has seen constant improvement all season long from his team. (AP Images)

Blocking downfield, especially by the receivers, has been a big area of improvement.

"That’s something that we really made a point of emphasis five-six weeks ago. This week was by far the best week in that area," Harbaugh said.

Bell has led the way in that category, as well as being the club's leading receiver with 37 catches for 621 yards. He had 9 receptions for 150 yards and was a force to be reckoned with against the Spartans.

"He catches the ball everywhere – the perimeter, over the middle, down the sideline," Harbaugh said of the sophomore receiver. "He blocks, he has the yards after catch. He is our leading receiver. He never misses a practice or a game. He’s having a spectacular year.

"He made a lot of clutch catches. The toughest ones are the ones across the middle. He’s a tough guy. Every day he comes out there to practice to get better. I’ve heard him say, 'Don’t baby me. Don’t treat me with any kind of kid gloves,' to coach [Josh] Gattis. His dad is a coach. Coaches’ kids are usually pretty good."

Michigan Wolverines sophomore receiver Ronnie Bell leads the team in receptions and receiving yards so far this season.
Michigan Wolverines sophomore receiver Ronnie Bell leads the team in receptions and receiving yards so far this season. (AP Images)

Another position group that Harbaugh raved about from the game was the offensive line.

"Really good physicality," Harbaugh said after being asked what he saw from his group up front. "Jon Runyan had a heck of a ball game. He and Ben Bredeson were playing possessed. Jalen Mayfield really had a heck of a ball game. A lot of second and third effort blocks. He was playing like Aidan [Hutchinson], at a different level. Mike Owenu had some of those physical blocks. There were some real great things on tape."

Senior quarterback Shea Patterson played a "whale of a game," Harbaugh said. Patterson threw for the most passing yards by any U-M quarterback against MSU, shattering Tom Brady's previous record of 285 yards. Patterson was 24-for-33 for 384 yards and 4 touchdowns through the air.

"Shea, to me, has always been really good from the first game he played here," Harbaugh noted. "He’s really accurate, savvy, throws well on the run. He does everything that you want a quarterback to do. The thing his teammates have the most respect for is his toughness. They knew he wasn’t 100 percent early in the season, he was going through some things with the rib area. He wouldn’t make any excuse, would just line up and play tough. Our guys trust and respect him a lot. He’s just a tough competitor."

There wasn't this many players and this many areas to name that stood out as positives in some of the games early in the season. Now, it's the norm.

"There’s been a lot of improvement on the offensive line with the protection. The running backs have improved every single week. The receivers aren’t dropping balls, they’re getting open. The tight end play has really been good. Like anything, it takes all 11 on a unit. There’s been a jelling."

With all the improvement that has happened and two big games still left to go, Harbaugh sees a team looking to get even better.

"Just to see how much improvement the whole team has made makes you feel good and I think they’re hungry for more," Harbaugh said.

The next game is Indiana, a team that has been on the brink of beating U-M multiple times since Harbaugh has been the head coach. Ultimately, the Wolverines have been able to come out with wins in all four contests with the Hoosiers.

"Another really good opponent that we’re playing," Harbaugh said of Indiana. "I think when it’s all said and done, we’ll play 9 bowl teams. It’s been no picnic.

"They’ve done a really good job there. They’ve built a really strong team through their defense. Their offense is throwing the ball all over the place with a really good quarterback and really good receiver targets. They try to get the ball out quick. They’ve got really good backs, too. That defensive line is really big and physical and they look good and they move really good.

"Coach [Tom Allen] has done a fabulous job there with the program. We’ve been lucky to win both times down there — in 2015 and 2017. Both were overtime games. We’re going to have to play our best. We know that they’re going to be tough to beat. We think if we play our best then we’ll be tough to beat. I think it’ll be a heck of a game."

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