The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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28 ■ THE WOLVERINE 2016 FOOTBALL PREVIEW theater like this?" Simonson recalled. "How would it look [streaming nationally]? "But I remember taking a minute backstage and thinking, 'This is set up like the Academy Awards or the ESPYs.' It was so big time. "Jim Harbaugh came up to me and asked, 'What do you think?' I took a look out there from backstage and said, 'This is so much more than I expected.' I didn't think it would be as big." And then Jeter and Brady walked in. "I remember Jeter coming up to Harbaugh and saying, 'This looks really good,'" Simon- son added. "Harbaugh had that look of quiet fervor backstage like, 'We're all part of some- thing pretty good.'" The event was a huge hit, and emcee Randy Sklar was one of the big reasons why. Sklar, half of the U-M alum comedy duo the Sklar Brothers with his brother, Jason, shared how much fun he had on the Dan Patrick show a few months after telling The Wolverine he'd be back with his brother for Part II next year. "Harbaugh was the best because he's an intense guy, and you get why he is the way he is," Randy Sklar said. "I think he's perfect for college football … afterwards I said, 'My brother watched it, he really liked it, so one day we've got to hang out — me, you, John [Har- baugh] and Jason, and we'll call it Sklarbaugh.' "And he looked at me and said, 'Yeah, we're friends now.' And I was like, 'Okay. I didn't know that.'" Sklar called the event a "Mixture of the ESPYs meets the draft." "It was a chance for me to get to know Har- baugh. It was just awesome," he said. "You know this started as a nugget of an idea in Harbaugh's brain ... he said, 'Why can't this be like Midnight Madness [in college basket- ball]?' "Harbaugh was so gracious, so cool, so ap- preciative of everybody who donated their time. Everybody. It just was a great time to meet him." If all goes as planned, both Sklars will be hosting next year. "I was curious and a little nervous not per- forming with my brother. We're normally together," Sklar said. "It not only met, it ex- ceeded, my expectations. I'd like to think I had a small hand in that, just anchoring the show. It was just fun." It got even better when Paramus (N.J.) Catholic defensive end Rashan Gary, the na- tion's consensus No. 1 recruit, announced for Michigan on ESPN. It wasn't televised live at the event, but there was a buzz in the crowd when Gary made his choice. Nordin, meanwhile, had the honor of being introduced to the crowd by Brady via Face- time, and he and his family shared the story about Harbaugh spending the night. Harbaugh made it clear he slept in Nordin's sister's room — he brought the house down when he made it clearer that "she wasn't there." "Everyone loves him," Nordin said. "Every single guy that has ever been recruited by him, every kid in my class. This was his first full class at Michigan and he secured the No. 1 player in the country, the No. 1 running back. It's unreal what he's doing with this program." Holtz predicted Harbaugh wouldn't be the only one holding such an event in the years to come, and several agreed. "He turned National Signing Day into an NFL Draft-meets-the-Oscars kind of spectacle, highlighted by appearances from Tom Brady and Derek Jeter," Athlon wrote. In the days following, Harbaugh would ap- pear backstage at a Garth Brooks concert and lead the National Anthem before a rap concert in Ann Arbor. Just a few more days in the life of perhaps the real-life most interesting man in the world. **** In the aftermath of Signing of the Stars, Harbaugh gave Simonson an idea of how his brain functions. Every night when his head hits the pillow, he said, he tries to think of ways to make himself — and his program — better than the day before. Around that time, he came up with the plan to take his team to IMG Academy for the first week of spring practice, coinciding with Michigan's spring break. The outcry from Sankey and the SEC coaches was predictable — they were up and arms, expressing faux outrage that it was "bad for the kids," though most knew the SEC was more miffed that Har- baugh was invading what they considered hal- lowed recruiting territory on their home turf. Michigan senior tight end Jake Butt ended any supposed controversy with one tweet, noting how much better it was to not have to balance football and school during the spring. He and his teammates posted pictures of the waves rolling in over their feet after a four-hour practice, laughing at anyone who'd been implored to feel sorry for them having to spend their spring break in paradise. The Detroit Tigers, realizing U-M was in town during their spring training, invited Har- The Harbaugh family is full of coaches — Jack (middle) was a longtime college coach, including a stint as a Michigan assistant from 1973-79, while Jim (left) first became a head coach in 2004 and John (right) has led the NFL's Baltimore Ravens since 2008. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL