The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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NOVEMBER 2023 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 31 ❱ MICHIGAN FOOTBALL said as much at a recent press conference. He's spoken with NFL teams the past two years and admitted he would have signed with Minnesota had it been right. "Yeah … like anybody, I've said it. You want to be somewhere where you're wanted," Harbaugh said. "They like what you do and how you do it, and they tell you that. Your bosses tell you that, and then that gets reflected in a contract. "The bottom line … any of us, right? We want to be somewhere they like how you do it and what you do." Some in the administration have pushed the issue with Ono firmly on board, committed to keeping the coach in Ann Arbor for the long term. "Yeah, I do [feel like I'm wanted]," Har- baugh said. "It's been about a three-and- a-half-year thing with that [in seeking re- assurances]. Eventually, it gets put into a contract. I can't say that any more clearly. I'm definitely open to that. I think I've shown that through the years. "But like anybody, man, I'm just con- centrating and focusing on having a good practice today. We've got a team meeting coming up, got a practice. It's 'just coach the team' time when you're in the middle of the season." A season that seems to be on track for a potentially special finish. — Chris Balas KEON SABB DETAILS FIRST CAREER PICK SIX U-M had no shortage of splash plays during the team's 52-10 win over Min- nesota on Oct. 7, including a pair of pick sixes by the defense, from sophomore defensive backs Will Johnson and Keon Sabb. Johnson was a known commodity coming into the season, but Sabb is in the middle of a breakout campaign that is now headlined by his first career inter- ception and score During a Tuesday night session with the media, he described what he saw that led to it. "In that situation, I was guarding a tight end," Sabb said. "The D-line and everybody got there quick, so it was a little bit of pressure on his face. And I got blocked so I just stayed in the window, and he ended up throwing it right to me. I did my job and picked it off and took it for a score. "I was just thinking to get to the touch- down. I looked over to my left, and I saw my guys blocking everybody. They blocked it really well. I saw a pretty clear path, and I just took it." Plays that are made on Saturday can of- ten be attributed to the looks that Michi- gan's players give each other in practice. With the defense rotating so frequently during games, it keeps snap counts low, which in turn keeps guys fresh for prepa- ration during the week. In a lot of ways, the competition that players give each other outweighs what they'll see from opponents. "During the week, I feel like we work really hard," Sabb said. "It's fun when you can compete with the good on good, even the younger guys competing with the older guys. There's always a com- petition. "There's never time in practice when guys are just loafing around and letting guys beat each other. That's what helps in the game as well." Sabb was guarding a tight end during his big play, and battles with Michigan's star tight end in practices are giving him plenty of positive experiences. "I guard Colston Loveland all the time," Sabb said. "We've always had healthy battles. I look forward to guard- ing him, AJ Barner and a lot of the differ- ent tight ends just guarding them as well. "Colston and I talk about how he runs routes and how as the defender we guard him. We've taught each other some dif- ferent things. "It helps me a lot guarding other tight ends because he's a really good tight 2023 MICHIGAN SCHEDULE Date Opponent Result/Time (ET)/TV Sept. 2 EAST CAROLINA W, 30-3 Sept. 9 UNLV W, 35-7 Sept. 16 BOWLING GREEN W, 31-6 Sept. 23 RUTGERS W, 31-7 Sept. 30 at Nebraska W, 45-7 Oct. 7 at Minnesota W, 52-10 Oct. 14 INDIANA W, 52-7 Oct. 21 at Michigan State 7:30 p.m./NBC Oct. 28 BYE — Nov. 4 PURDUE TBA Nov. 11 at Penn State 12 p.m./FOX Nov. 18 at Maryland TBA Nov. 25 OHIO STATE 12 p.m./FOX Dec. 2 Big Ten Championship 8 p.m./FOX Sophomore defensive back Keon Sabb (3) had his first career pick six at Minnesota and followed that up with another interception against Indiana one week later to the delight of his teammates. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL