Michigan Football Camp Report - Head Coach Jim Harbaugh | By Fans...For Fans Since 1999 | UMGOBLUE.COM Michigan Wolverine Football & Basketball

8/17/22 Availability

Q:
Jim, you’re in the back end of camp now has there been any separation at quarterback?

Harbaugh:
They both just continue to elevate their game really on a daily basis, in every little way. So yeah, it’s pretty tight…They’re both playing at high starter caliber.

Q:
We’ve heard a lot about the health of the team being among the best that you’ve had. Is it still? Now that you’ve had a couple of weeks, is the health of the team still up there?

Harbaugh:
Yeah, so another another good day today. And we’ve done some good hitting we’ve done every possible phase and situation- offensively, defensively, special teams. There are no long term injuries on the team so far, I mean, and guys got to keep at that, it’s something that they work at, you know, and that they take care of themselves, they take care of the team.

We just had a phenomenal presentation, talk to the team by Michael Phelps, who came in via zoom…It just continues to ring in my ear from that talk was crystal clear, he told us how he couldn’t wait to get into 105 pounds of ice, waiting for him in a bath. That was going to be the thing he did right after he got done with talking to our team.

He talked about sleep, he talked about hydration, water. Somebody that could go anywhere in the world, to any kind of treatment known to mankind- Ice, sleep, and hydration with water.

Our team has an ice bath waiting for them right now. They’ve got water, and then getting that sleep. Those are the kinds of things that they take care of themselves, they take care of the team. And doing that, but I really appreciate Michael Phelps for really embedding that in my mind and in our in our players mind- talking about the world’s greatest Olympian arguably no question about swimming and the most medals of anybody. So that was huge, it was a good message right at the right time to keep our team focused and on track and healthy as can be.

Q:
Jim, when you have a team coming off a great year that you had last year, people wonder about is there contentment…And you’ve talked about no signs of entitlements whatsoever. Is that continuing through camp? How do you detect no entitlement or no contentment?

Harbaugh:
Effort is usually the biggest one, just talked about one, you know, how they take care of themselves, how they take care of the team. Avoiding you know, the big head, you know, that’s, that’s a deep, dark, lonely trap. And continuing to attack everything that is put in front of them and not afraid of any new challenge. All those ways.

And now that we’re in the camp, big thing I’m looking for is who the tone setters are. I mean, there’s leadership that comes in a lot of different ways. I mean, there’s guys that lead by example. There’s guys that, you know, bring guys along. I mean, there’s multiple ways that you know, quiet leader, take a guy put his arm around him, but the ones that set the tone defensively, we lost four real tone setters in Hutchinson, Ojabo, Ross, and Dax Hill, you know, big time.

Offensively we got some we got some of those tone setters back like Blake Corum and the two quarterbacks and Donovan, Erick All, and Cornelius Johnson there’s you know, there’s a there’s a few and special teams Caden Kolesar is that kind of guy. He does that. So, you know Mazi Smith is somebody that people will look up to and want to know what he’s doing and what he’s saying, Mike Morris, Taylor Upshaw will have the chance to be that. Junior Coulson is the kind of player who has the ability to be a tone setter. The Green brothers, you know, there’s Ronnie, RJ Moten…Mikey Sainristil. I mean a lot of guys that had the license and the respect and the ability to do that. And, you know, as we go through camp I mean that’s…something that needs to needs to take place and I see it happening…but I want it to continue.

Q:
Who have been the MVP’s summer camp so far in your eyes?

Harbaugh:
Ronnie Bell has been been tremendous. I mean, there’s been a bunch, I’ll start naming names and then you know, I’ll leave somebody out…there’s there’s been quite a few…Ronnie does jump out as somebody…he’s faster, catching the ball extremely well and he’s stronger. He’s gone through, he’s been there every day and doing a tremendous job. Quite a few. The guy that really popped up, yesterday, day before yesterday, big scrimmage was the guy by the name of Isaiah Gash who just did a tremendous job.

You know why boxers make good football players? Anybody?

They don’t blink…if they blink they’re gonna get hit. So Isaiah boxed all spring and winter, he was an amateur boxer. Now I’m watching him run through those holes and as a kick returner- it’s been super fun and impressive. I could see see him as somebody that’s really, remerging.

Q:
You mentioned Junior Colson and we’ve heard a fair amount about him. What about some of the linebackers around him that are coming on?

Harbaugh:
Yeah, Nikhai Hill-Green, you know extremely good, Mike Barrett, extremely good. The two freshmen have been really good, Jimmy Rolder, Deuce Spurlock, we got Joey Velazquez. There’s quite a few numbers there. I knew about Nikhai and Junior and they’ve been what we thought they would be and are really good and so is Mike Barrett. I’ve been really happy with the two young linebackers, the two inside guys. We recruited the right guys for that position. Good chance they’ll be playing quite a bit of football this fall.

Q:
In terms of the quarterback competition, when you and your staff are looking to make the decision about who you want to go with, is that the type of thing where you would seek input from the advisory council or other veterans about what their thinking is as part of the process for you and your coaches or is it just purely a coaching decision about who the starter will be?

Harbaugh:
Yeah, we’re all out there. We’re all seeing the same thing and you know, when it would be obvious to coaches, it’d be obvious to players as well or it wouldn’t be or it would be what it is right now. I mean, they’re both good…talk to Dave Revsine from Big 10, Howard Griffith, coach was here you know, maybe just get their opinion, they watched it. See if I’m not telling you the truth. Check me, they’re both playing good- high level, starter caliber.

Q:
What have you seen from Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant so far?

Harbaugh:
Yeah, really good. Really love both those players. They’re both going to play a lot of football at a position of real need.

Q:
With Kenneth, have you seen a guy that’s that size be the biggest player on the team able to come in and make an impact?

Harbaugh:
You know, he’s a tremendous athlete for for any size, really, you know if he was 100 pounds lighter than what he is, you’d say, man, he’s really good athlete. He’s really light on his feet. And it’s really important to him. He really studies the game. Yeah, I’m glad you brought that up the, you know, defensively, we have made some real strides in the interior defensive line.

Mike Elston is doing a tremendous job coaching and Mazi Smith’s doing a tremendous job coaching guys out there. And the I mean, it wasn’t but a couple of days ago where it was super noticeable and our defensive line got the better of offensive line that it was pretty well thought of, in terms of an offensive line. So it’s been a we’ve made some real, real improvement in the defensive line interior.

Q:
Jim, how would you describe your vision of the offense? Do you want it to evolve much beyond? Do you feel like you’ve found the sweet spot kind of last year with the offense?

Harbaugh:
Always…evolving.

Q:
Ron Bellamy compared Andrel Anthony to Braylon Edwards, in your opinion with his potential, how dangerous do you think he can be?

Harbaugh:
That’s probably a pretty darn good comparison right there…Andrel, just keep doing what you’re doing, it is working and when I see there’s things he wants to get a little bit better at, he works a little bit harder at them…he has always avoided getting the big head. So he’s right on track to being a heck of a good player- he already is.

Q:
After Blake and Donovan who is emerging as your third back?

Harbaugh:
That’s a good question. It’s a really good question. Tavierre Dunlop, CJ Stokes is going to be right there, he could be that kind of guy. Isaiah gash. Leon Franklin, pretty darn good, too. So those are the guys that would be contending for that third back spot.

Q:
What did CJ shown you? I mean, coming in, he came in in June, right?

Harbaugh:
Yeah, he can make the shallow cut, like water rolling off the table, and then accelerate through the hole, and then go hit the soft shoulder of the of the tackler and he gets there extremely quick. He’s got a real burst through line of scrimmage knows how to get his pads down. That’s really been good.

Q:
Ron Moore coming off the injury has he kind of picked up where he left off last year?

Harbaugh:
He sure has. Yes, he’s. We’ve got some. We’ve got some sophomore players, I mean, that are really, really darn good Football players. We’re talking about Junior Colson and Donovan Edwards, JJ, Andrell and Rob Moore. And not in order but I mean, that’s definitely top tier of the sophomore class. All really, really good players.

Q:
What has Fred Jackson added to your staff?

Harbaugh:
He always picks up one or two things every day and is a very experienced coach that’ll come tell me what he sees and he’s not afraid to do that. That’s invaluable to our staff to me as a head coach.

Q:
Considering the losses on defense? How much do you feel the offense has a role in kind of helping along with defense especially in the early part of the season?

Harbaugh:
Just playing offense, that’s what they always should do in terms of complementary football.

Q:
Talking about the quarterback battle between Cade and JJ- when you have two good quarterbacks is there any downside to having that go on and have that discussion go on into the season? Do you see any downside to that a decision that has to be made or doesn’t have to be made?

We have two quarterbacks that are playing at a high starter level, and…we’re going to keep competing and it’s possible that there’s a starter by the first game and it’s possible that it plays into the season
Jim Harbaugh

Harbaugh:
I mean…there’s three options as I see it.

I mean, one of them is going to separate and be the starter. And then we’ll roll that way with a starter and a backup.

The other guy could be the starter and and the other be the backup. That would be option two.

And option three is we’d have to see him play games to make that decision.

Q:
Could you see like a Brady/Henson from way back? You know, giving one a couple of series and then bring in the next guy and kind of rotate that way through the game?

Harbaugh:
Hypothetically…I don’t know. I mean, it’d be like trying to throw that in the hypothetical box. Like some people like to say, if you don’t have a starting quarterback, then you don’t have a quarterback…I put that into the category of people that are born originals and they die copies, you know, they just hear something and they parrot it.

So this is a very good, unique situation, we have two quarterbacks that are playing at a high starter level, and…we’re going to keep competing and it’s possible that there’s a starter by the first game and then it’s possible that it plays into the season until we pick one that’s gonna help the team win. You know who’s gonna be the best person to play quarterback to win the game.

Edits made for clarity.