The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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SEPTEMBER 2022 THE WOLVERINE 21 GREAT LEADERS, AND A TEAM IN GREAT SHAPE The key now is to continue to build — to not be satisfied with what they ac- complished last year. That doesn't appear to be a problem in the early going. As graduate student left tackle Ryan Hayes said, all the mo- tivation they need comes from the two losses they suffered last season — a con- troversial setback at Michigan State and the playoff loss to Georgia. Halfway through camp, Harbaugh confirmed he had seen it firsthand. "Effort is usually the biggest one," he said of making sure nobody was con- tent. "We just talked about that and how they take care of themselves … how they take care of the team. Avoiding the big head —that is a deep, dark, lonely trap — and continuing to attack everything put in front of them and not be afraid of any challenge, not afraid of any new challenge." He was looking for the tone setters in that area, and there were too many to list. From graduate student wide re- ceiver Ronnie Bell and senior quarter- back Cade McNamara to senior linemen Mazi Smith and Mike Morris, and well beyond on both sides of the ball, this team is loaded with leaders. "There's leadership that comes in a lot of different ways," Harbaugh said. "There are guys that lead by example. There are guys that bring guys along … quiet leader, take a guy, put his arm around them." He's got many, and they show up on the field, off the field and in the weight room. On the latter, Harbaugh said he was thrilled with his team's conditioning. It was evident on their summer trip around Michigan they were in incredible shape thanks in large part to strength coach Ben Herbert and his staff. The personal bests from the players returning, and in so many different cat- egories, proved it. That and the plethora of experienced players returning has put them in good position. "Going into your second year, you've done everything once. Now, you're do- ing it for a second time, and you know the lay of the land," Harbaugh said. "It's invaluable in terms of the weight room. Coach Herb and the entire staff, they do an incredible job. That's an understatement. "That's all been brewing and taking place. That affects somebody's play just dramatically." He's ready to watch it play out on the field, starting Sept. 3 vs. Colorado State. ❏ Michigan's Jim Harbaugh is entering his eighth season, his first as returning head coach of a Big Ten champion. Like many of his previous years, his staff will have a different look after some turnover, but the principles will remain the same on both sides of the ball. Offensive coordinator Josh Gattis left for Miami and de- fensive coordinator Mike Macdonald went back to the NFL's Baltimore Ravens. Both the offense and defense remain in good hands regardless, Harbaugh said. "No doubt about it," he said. "The defense didn't change. Same with the offense. Coaches [Sherrone] Moore and [Matt] Weiss are co-coordinators. Coordinators change, but the offense didn't change, and the defense didn't change." That's huge for a group of players that really seemed to know what they were doing last year. They're now building on that success. On defense, Harbaugh brought in another disciple of Ra- vens coach and brother John Harbaugh in Jesse Minter. He's picked up right where Macdonald left off. "The 2021 season when I was looking for a defensive coor- dinator, my brother John recommended two coaches to me," Harbaugh continued. "I talked to Mike Macdonald first, and I really liked him, and I talked to Jesse some but went down the road with Mike Macdonald. He did a fantastic job. … "I went back and talked to Jesse Minter right when Mike left [back to Baltimore], and just felt it was the absolute best thing for our team." Minter and Mike MacDonald, along with John Harbaugh and former Ravens defensive coordinator Wink Martindale, built the current Baltimore defensive system. It's a bonus that Minter got a year of FBS defensive playcalling under his belt as the defensive coordinator at Vanderbilt, Harbaugh added. Though he's his own guy, Minter noted he and Macdonald shared the same philosophy and many of the same ideas. "We're different people. We look at the game differently at times … he worked with the linebackers, so he might have looked at things a little more front to back," Minter said. "I look at it just as a DBs coach my whole career, pretty much. I see things from the back to front. There are definitely simi- larities, but we are two different people as well." Senior defensive tackle Mazi Smith noted it was like run- ning year two of the same defense, a huge positive for the group. On offense, Weiss' promotion from quarterbacks coach is already paying off, Harbaugh said. He'll still teach the signal- callers in addition to his new duties. "Matt Weiss is incredibly smart. He is one of those persons that, when you're doing a project, is so detailed. He thinks about it from every angle, plans everything out," Harbaugh said. "Then Sherrone … he's right there and the most impor- tant because he's coaching the offensive line. It's an incred- ible group that way." Running backs coach/run game coordinator Mike Hart does a great job in the run game and blitz protections. Receivers coach Ron Bellamy [moved from safeties] is like Weiss in that he's very detailed, very organized and analyti- cal, Harbaugh added. "And Grant Newsome, who was also on the staff as a graduate assistant is our tight ends coach," he said. "He is tremendous and will be a great coach and already is." They have some excellent analysts, too, that should help Michigan contend again in 2022, including former Michigan player and long-time college coach Doug Mallory and Jesse Minter's father, Rick, who has 45 years of coaching experi- ence at the college and pro level with 10 seasons as the head coach at Cincinnati. "I feel great about the offensive staff, and I feel great about the defensive staff," Harbaugh said. — Chris Balas Jim Harbaugh Has High Praise For His Eighth Coaching Staff