The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/653976
T he local and national media descended on Bradenton, Fla., Feb. 29 to March 4 to witness the spectacle that was a Midwest/ Big Ten school conducting its first week of spring practices in a state 1,200 miles to its south. "It came as a surprise because you're used to the same traditions, the same time and place, and Jim Harbaugh continues to blow that up," SportingNews.com college writer Bill Bender said. "I think it's cool. It's another thing he's done to bring attention to Michigan." Bender attended the Wolverines' Signing of the Stars event Feb. 3, an opportunity for the U‑M program to lavish praise on the 28 recruits that it signed in the 2016 class. Bender compared the extravaganza to the first Midnight Madness in college hoops, crediting Harbaugh with his innovative mind. "I feel like a lot of schools will be following his lead, a lot of schools will be doing satellite camps this summer, and even scheduling Michigan's spring game for prime time on a Friday night [April 1] … you don't hear a lot of people do‑ ing that," Bender said. "Michigan should be the only game broadcast that night, giving them another chance to own the spotlight. "He's staying one step ahead of ev‑ eryone in college football. He's ask‑ ing himself, 'What does an 18‑year‑ old want? What does an 18‑year‑old find interesting?' He's thinking like an 18‑year‑old and knocking it out of MAIZE N' VIEW MICHAEL SPATH Jim Harbaugh's Next Big Idea The innovative Harbaugh has been one step ahead of everyone in college football. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN