The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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JANUARY 2020 THE WOLVERINE 23 The Crimson Tide finished with a disappointing season by their stan- dards, missing the College Football Playoff (CFP) for the first time in six years and losing to rivals LSU and Auburn. The latter, a 48-45 setback, knocked them from CFP contention and left many wondering how many of Bama's estimated eight or nine pro- jected early round NFL Draft picks would actually play in the bowl game without a chance to win a national championship. Michigan, of course, had a similar issue last year when a few Wolverines opted to sit out to prepare for their professional careers or heal up from injury, including a pair of captains in junior linebacker Devin Bush Jr. and senior running back Karan Hig- don. Harbaugh said shortly after this year's bowl game announcement that his talks with his players would be "individual conversations" pertain- ing to their participation, and he was hopeful all would play. "Finish what you started has al- ways been kind of the general rule I've personally thought of it as," Har- baugh said. The Crimson Tide will be without quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, out with a serious hip injury, and have several others who might consider skipping the game. Wide receiver Jerry Jeudy, a potential top-five pick, was thought to be one of them, but he announced Dec. 13 via Twitter that he planned to play. Since then, defensive stalwarts Terrell Lewis, an outside linebacker, and cornerback Trevon Diggs an- nounced they would not play. Regardless of who chooses to sit, Alabama will be a huge challenge, Harbaugh acknowledged. "We played in the Citrus Bowl back in 2015, that season against a very good Florida team [and won, 41-7]. This 'Bama team is a great team," the U-M head coach said. "I have the ut- most respect for them. They set the bar for college football over the last many years, the model of success." Harbaugh and his squad had al- ready started their preparation in the hours after the game was announced. "They have a high-powered offense, a great defense … they really, really lead on offense, averaging around 48 points per game," Harbaugh said. "Their offensive tackles [junior Alex Leatherwood and junior Jedrick Wills] look to be guys who could be top- 20 picks in the draft. They have a lot of receivers. This could be the best group, maybe ever, probably three first-round picks in that group. "They have two really talented run- ning backs, and I've been very im- pressed with [redshirt sophomore quarterback] Mac Jones." Junior running back Najee Harris, a former Michigan recruit, has run for 1,088 yards and 11 touchdowns this year, averaging 5.9 yards per carry. He also has 27 catches for 304 yards and seven scores. "He's been really effective," Har- baugh said, declining to talk about Harris' recruitment. "He's a big, pow- erful back with outstanding balance. I've always admired his speed, bal- ance, vision and the physicality with which he runs." It's hard to argue with Harbaugh's moniker of Alabama being the "model of success" for college football pro- grams. "In 2014, '15, '16, '17, '18, all play- offs," he said. "The team as you look at it is a great defensive unit. They have really, really outstanding play- ers and a great freshman group too. Freshman linebackers and defensive linemen, an experienced secondary. "… This is a fabulous team — a very, very elite team. Credit to Nick Saban and the coaching staff. Our preparation will have to be at its high- est level." HARBAUGH AND SABAN HAVE HISTORY Saban and Harbaugh aren't friends and have had their differences, par- ticularly about Harbaugh's satellite camps in the South when the U-M coach first arrived. They're "profes- sional and cordial" around each other, Harbaugh insisted, and while they don't know each other well, there is some history. Saban is familiar with playing the Wolverines, dating back to his days as the head man at Michigan State (before leaving for LSU in 1999), but he's never faced a Harbaugh-coached U-M team. "I have a lot of respect for Jim," Saban said of Harbaugh. "I think he's been a great coach and done a great job at Michigan, did a great job every place he's been prior to that. We have a lot of respect for the University of Michigan, their program, their tradi- tion, the job that he's done as a coach. "I don't really know Jim Harbaugh all that well, but I do have a tremen- dous amount of respect for him." However, there was a time not long ago when the two traded barbs through the media. Harbaugh's satel- lite recruiting camps toured across the country, including stops in Ala- bama, Atlanta and other SEC hot- beds, and were quickly nixed by the NCAA — but not before the Michi- gan coach got the attention of Saban (and other coaches). Saban was one who openly ques- tioned Harbaugh's intentions in 2016, adamantly expressing his opposition at the SEC's spring meetings, insist- ing the camps would make recruit- ing like the "wild, wild west," before adding that he wanted no part of it. "This is all about recruiting," Sa- ban said. "That's what it's about. Anybody that tells you that it's not [is wrong]. … What's amazing to me is somebody didn't stand up and say, 'Here's going to be the unintended consequences of what you all are doing.'" Saban made it clear he wasn't try- ing to single Harbaugh out, but the U-M coach still responded in a Tweet. "'Amazing' to me — Alabama broke NCAA rules and now their [head coach] is lecturing us on the possibility of rules being broken at camps. Truly 'amazing,'" Harbaugh wrote. That back and forth adds some in- trigue to the matchup, BamaInsider. com's Kyle Henderson noted. Both Harbaugh and Saban are fierce com- petitors, and regardless of the pleas- antries they might exchange through the media, both would love to win this game. "I think what's exciting about this game is you have Nick Saban going Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh "We played in the Citrus Bowl back in 2015, that season against a very good Florida team. This 'Bama team is a great team. … They set the bar for college football over the last many years, the model of success."