Jim Harbaugh was all business on Monday. His team needs to ground Air Force and hasn’t been firing its weapons with peak effectiveness.
So ask him about redshirt junior Wilton Speight, and Harbaugh says he’s the starting quarterback. Next question. Ask a follow-up, and you might as well have requested a copy of Saturday’s game plan.
The head coach made it clear he’s not talking about injuries anymore. He isn’t required to do so, it isn’t fair to the student-athletes and he’s not going there, he firmly assured.
With the list of subject dwindling and Harbaugh clearly ready for takeoff (back upstairs at Schembechler Hall, to continue prepping for Air Force), one topic definitely wasn’t off limits. Mention fifth-year senior tailback Ty Isaac, and the head coach opened up a bit.
“He’s progressed,” Harbaugh began. “He’s capitalized on opportunities. He’s always been a good football player. Now he’s better.”
Isaac is certainly in a better position than he’s been since transferring from USC more than three years ago. The former prep five-star out of Illinois has put together back-to-back 100-yard games out of the gate in 2017, including a career-high 133 yards against Cincinnati.
He looked like Michigan fans expected him to when he first rolled into town. It’s probably how Isaac himself expected things to go all along.
But life — and college football life — isn’t always that smooth and seamless.
Isaac rushed for 205 yards and one touchdown in his first year of Michigan eligibility. Last season, he went for 417 yards and five touchdowns, but didn’t gain a yard after the Nov. 5 Maryland game.
If he garners the start at Indiana four games hence, he’ll carry the load in the same venue to which he drove two years ago, after not making Michigan’s travel roster. His coaches have always wanted more — more physicality, more blocking ability, more well-roundedness.
Isaac worked tirelessly to make it happen.
“He’s a leader,” redshirt sophomore tight end Zach Gentry observed. “He’s quick, he’s big. He almost seems faster to me. I think he’s lost a little weight.
“He was grinding really hard in the offseason. It’s just paying off for him.”
Isaac himself takes nothing for granted. He’s shown flashes of brilliance before, and waves off any notion of having earned a certain number of carries.
“It could be 11, it could be three, it could be 20,” Isaac said. “As long as I have an impact on the game.”
He’s made that impact in the early going of 2017, more than at any time over the past three years. According to Harbaugh, his effort in a closer-than-expected contest against the Bearcats underscored his talent.
“He’s taken the bit and he’s run with it,” Harbaugh said. “I thought he executed very well. He had some spectacular plays. Avoiding a tackle for loss on a free runner off the edge, I thought that was significant.
“On his long run on the sweep, he was able to avoid a corner who was unblocked. That was outstanding. He had one called back due to a penalty, and we had a missed assignment where he had another opportunity. He had two or three opportunities that were called back or taken away because of execution.”
“He’s taken the opportunity and really seized it. It’s very important for him, and it shows.”
Isaac learned the hard way, just how hard it is. He learned that when coaches demanded embracing contact, they meant it. He learned how to play through discomfort, and that a well-placed block is just as important to those throwing the switches as a breakout run.
His teammates see a more seasoned, stronger Ty Isaac. They see a fifth-year senior who has been through it and understands.
“He’s just an extremely mature guy,” assured junior safety Tyree Kinnel. “He’s talked to the team. Coach does ‘Wise Words.’ He’s been called up twice and both times he’s delivered really, really strong messages. That speaks volumes about who he is these days.
“He came from USC and was battling for the one or the two group. This camp, he really established himself as one of the leaders in the running back room. That’s showing on the field, which is really nice to see.”
Fifth-year senior center Pat Kugler noted it’s also a matter of opportunity.
“He’s getting more carries,” Kugler said. “He’s a helluva running back, and he’s a hard runner. If he’s in there, even when there’s no hole, he’ll make a hole and get that three to four yards. He’s just a hard, powerful, running back.”
He’s also one seeing time running short. So Isaac is running to daylight, in 2017 and beyond.
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