The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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big rushing performances, they gen- erally come in the postseason, when it's do-or-die time. They're going to throw the whole playbook at a team and take more risk, as far as him tak- ing punishment." Of course, Roman won't be run- ning the Michigan offense. Tim Drevno, Harbaugh's offensive line coach at San Diego, Stanford and the 49ers, will handle that task, with plenty of input from Harbaugh. It still isn't likely to veer far from that with which they've found success in the past. On the defensive side, Harbaugh is hands off, Branch noted, ceding control to Vic Fangio with the 49ers. Harbaugh is reunited at Michigan with D.J. Durkin, a former assistant at Stanford and most recently Flori- da's defensive coordinator. Michael Taylor, a linebacker who played five years for Durkin at Flor- ida, insisted Michigan fans should look for a high level of preparation from Durkin. Taylor stressed Dur- kin's game plans involve physical punishment and taking away what opponents like to do. When a Durkin defense senses any hesitancy in an opposing quarter- back, it will attack relentlessly, he noted. UNWAVERING BELIEF ABOUNDS More than any particular scheme, Marinelli insists Harbaugh brings winning. While it might take a year or two, the former Stanford lineman as- sures he knows what's coming in Ann Arbor — and eagerly anticipates it. "I think he looks forward to chal- lenging the Big Ten, just like he chal- lenged the Pac-10," Marinelli said. "He's going to go right after Urban Meyer. He's going to go right after Penn State. He's going to go right after all the schools at the top and really try to be the leader in that con- ference — and he will. "I can't wait to watch it happen. Michigan has a much deeper his- tory than we do, and it will be great to watch it climb back faster than you could imagine. It will be fun to watch." Marinelli will never forget the af- termath of Stanford's upset of USC. It shouted as much about Harbaugh as the win, he argued. "His level of confidence, as the game was finishing, is something I remember," Marinelli said. "I ran over to him after we took our final knee, and he was kind of business as usual. He was excited, obviously. He's an excitable guy. "But it was kind of like, this is something we came out here to do. We weren't shocked by it. It's some- thing we should learn to expect, and learn to do on a weekly basis. He was super confident after the game. "It wasn't a shock to him. That's what I remember most. It was some- thing he expected, something he knew was possible. That quickly be- came the standard. "For a program that was down and out, looking to catch something, that whole mentality needs to be grasped. That's arguably the biggest thing he did for our whole program — instill that mentality." ❑