The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/901162
DECEMBER 2017 THE WOLVERINE 31 BY JOHN BORTON T he Jim Harbaugh era at Mich- igan stands on the cusp of major accomplishments, ac- cording to three former Wol- verines and one plugged-in sideline reporter. That doesn't mean they've arrived, like the ups and downs of a youthful team nicked by injuries have demon- strated. But they're laying a firm foun- dation. A foursome with long ties to The Wolverine and TheWolverine.com has plenty to say about that future. Our panel consists of Doug Skene (1988- 92), a Michigan offensive lineman bearing five Big Ten championship rings; Jon Jansen (1994-98), a first- team All-American and captain of the 1997 national champions; Marcus Ray (1994-98), an All-American safety on that national title squad; and Doug Karsch, Detroit sports talk radio host and Michigan football sideline re- porter. They've witnessed growth in what could be a third straight 10-win season for Michigan. There's more to accom- plish, and they're not holding back. Here's what they had to say, on a vari- ety of topics: The Wolverine: What are the best signs you've seen in the two-plus years with Jim Harbaugh in charge? Karsch: "They're just winning. I know that sounds simple, but let's face it. Fans have complained this year, but they could still go 10-2, and this is a rebuild year. "They won 10 games the first year, 10 games the second year and very well may win 10 games this year without their starting quarterback for much of it. "After being around for the previ- ous eras, I don't think Michigan fans should take winning for granted. When you're winning like this in a rebuild year, things are pretty good." Skene: "A commitment to an actual offensive scheme. You saw that the first year, you saw it last year, you're seeing it this year. There are varying degrees of effectiveness at running those schemes, but Coach Harbaugh wants to run power, old-school foot- ball, with a fullback and a tight end. "That has not changed. He's contin- ued to recruit to those plans, and he's not wavering from that. In the past, especially on the defensive side of the ball, the winds would change, and it's, 'Let's try something else. Let's try to make it up as we go.' "I like the fact that Coach Harbaugh has come in here and acted like, 'This is what we're going to be, and in time we'll get there.' He's on the way there. That sticks out to me immediately. "I certainly respect that he's doing it his way. The program has been put back the way it was, the way his ex- perience was. Coach Harbaugh didn't come in and reinvent anything from what a lot of Michigan fans have seen, myself included. He just put things back the way they used to be. "If you're out there playing, it doesn't matter what position, it means you earned it during the time in the practice facility and the weight room and in the offseason. You did some- thing to earn that job. "He's not recruiting to give any one recruit any kind of padding or cushion around his position, like we've seen in previous situations with previous coaches. That entitlement approach is gone." Jansen: "The team is much better by the time they play Ohio [State] than when they start out the season. That first year, when they opened with Utah and Jake [Rudock] was the quar- terback, by the time you got to the end of the year, you really felt like they had made some progress. If they went back and played that Utah game again it would have been a completely dif- ferent outcome. "They coach throughout the sea- son. It carries over to spring ball and the spring game. It's competitive and good play. That's what gives me the hope for 2018. "Defensively, they continue to work in young guys. When you lose 10 starters, you're plugging in guys who maybe weren't out there for the first play, but they've got a ton of reps. It's not like they don't know what they're doing. It's not the first time they've seen the field. "The talent development is what I've enjoyed seeing." Ray: "I've seen some excitement in the program. I've seen some top-flight recruiting. I've seen some success out of players that were already here, all the while trying to get the younger guys going. "Michigan football is relevant. They've been very competitive. By year two, Jim Harbaugh had an op- portunity to win the Big Ten cham- pionship and possibly even go to the playoff. There has been immediate potential success. "I think the program is headed in the right direction, but there are still some humps they need to get over. Michigan football needs to win the big games. It's not just about playing teams close — it's about winning at the end. "He's knocking on the door, and closing the gap that some of the other coaches and teams had on Michigan before he got into the conference." The Wolverine: What is the biggest move forward this program needs on the offensive side of the ball? Skene: "Offensive line depth and effectiveness. There's no doubt in my mind. He's got good young talent at wide receiver. These guys are going to be really, really good players. He's got a batch of tight ends that are a good- looking group. There are four of five of them that are going to be there. "From an offensive line develop- ment point, and specifically offen- sive tackle, I think there are areas of improvement. There are a couple of areas with the current guys playing, that I look at and say, okay, this guy is playing his tail off, there's no doubt about that. "But in the last five years, 10 years, 15 or 20 years, would this guy be a starter on any of those offensive lines? Sometimes the answer to that ques- tion is no. The immediate, pressing need for Coach Harbaugh to execute offensively is a dominating offensive line that can do the gap-man-power schemes that he wants to run and then give the quarterback some time when it is second- or third-and-long. "We are still struggling to pick up simple twists on defensive line schemes. We're obviously not there. If it's week eight and you don't know how to pick up a twist — it's a problem. Doug Skene "I like the fact that Coach Harbaugh has come in here and acted like, 'This is what we're going to be, and in time we'll get there.' He's on the way there. That sticks out to me immediately."