Then Fitzgerald was the only Big Ten coach to take Harbaugh up on the offer to come to Ann Arbor to speak at U-M’s summer high school camp.
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It’s why Ohio State got the last playoff berth a year ago ahead of Baylor and TCU. Predecessor Brady Hoke referred to the Wolverines’ rival as “Ohio”, a rah-rah way not to acknowledge the Buckeyes. This is “The Circus” as some involved with the University of Michigan have called it: So many journalists and fans are interested in Harbaugh that virtually everything he says and does becomes news. He’s a magnet. You’re drawn to his oddness, wondering what he might do next. And just last night, he had dinner with Ditka, for whom Harbaugh once played, pulling out a vintage No. 89 Chicago jersey and holding it up. He wasn’t sure and began checking it to see. “Since 1977”, May said. Harbaugh was supposed to be the star of this event, and he was.
It seems Harbaugh is likely not concerned with his popularity.
Newsy: Kill, the Gophers’ fifth-year coach, said he’s been seizure-free for more than a year and a half. “I don’t know, what else can I say?” I don’t remember meeting him, but he wished me good luck. Great to hear.
“We were walking into our team meal”, Ohio State coach Urban Meyer told Bleacher Report on Thursday. In general what we’ve done is look at the overall picture of what we’ll see. But we know, at the end of the day there’s going to be teams with comparable records. The reason, in part: Harbaugh was in the big interview room in front of hundreds of reporters.
It appears to be a three-way battle for the Wildcats with fifth-year senior Zack Oliver, sophomore Matt Alviti and redshirt freshman Clayton Thorson all in the mix.
Flanked by Michigan associate AD David Ablauf and Zach Eisendrath, the coach’s director of internal communications and operations, Harbaugh visited briefly with Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald.
“If we could do it the way Bo did it that would be something to aspire to”. I’d probably do the same at that age. “Then I park my auto and walk by his statue”.
Observed: OK, it’s more like “felt” than “observed”. Harbaugh signed a seven-year deal prior to this season.
“God willing and the creek don’t rise, that’s the way it’s going to be”, Harbaugh said.
“[I’m] not striving to be creating a buzz”, said Harbaugh, who previously was the San Francisco 49ers head coach. But that was last year’s story. “And that is player safety, player protectio”, Carollo said. “Hopefully, we’ll be in a position this year where if we do have some bumps and bruises, the backup could slide in and it’s just interchanging one spot”.
Some SEC coaches used the conference’s media days to gripe about the timing of NFL draft grades and their oh-so-rough schedules.
Delany also looked to the future and the institution of a nine-game schedule beginning in 2016, which will make the Big Ten the only conference in which every team will play at least one intersectional game against an Autonomy Five conference opponent, nine conference games, a conference championship game and all Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) opponents.
The scheduling guidelines set the Big Ten apart from its Power Five peers. “But I never thought winning a bowl game would be as sweet as that was”. So check below to see everything PennLive has from the 2015 Big Ten Media Days in Chicago.
Observed: Franklin is a smooth communicator. And for a coach who has been very good at getting his program attention, it’s still a mystery why he didn’t bring Hackenberg along on this trip. Coach Darrell Hazell wouldn’t put a timetable on when coaches will decide.
Rudock and Shane Morris are considered the two leading candidates for the starting quarterback job.
One of Harbaugh’s best qualities that Wolverine players have been raving about is his honesty and transparency.
“We don’t have any books on anybody”, he said.
Quotable: Nebraska travels to Purdue on October. 31. “What killed us was our special teams”.
“It makes us more excited and we’re itching to get into camp… and putting on the pads and hitting somebody”. “There aren’t many who have the hands that kid had”.
Newsy: The Scarlet Knights have a new offensive coordinator, with Ralph Friedgen stepping down after one year in the role.
Nebraska’s new coach favors a vertical passing game, but the talented Armstrong (great name for a QB) has had accuracy issues.
“He’s one of the premier playmakers in the country”, Flood said. “Certainly was a great line of communication. Our fans, our alumni and, importantly, the students have embraced this experience”.
OFFICIATING CHANGES: Carollo also announced that the Big Ten will have female officials on its roster and credited the fact that more women are joining and rising through the officiating ranks.
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“Believe me”, he added, “that’s earning your pay”. We’ve known each other for a while, back in the days when he was at Stanford.
