Harbaugh Discusses Why This Week of Training Camp is so Pivotal
8/14/2018 10:15:00 AM | Football, Features
By Steve Kornacki
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- "Who" is the operative word this time of year.
Everybody wants to know who is going to be the University of Michigan starting quarterback. And who starts on the offensive line beside Ben Bredeson? Who is grabbing the vacant linebacker job?
Who is part of the cream rising to the top?
Everybody wants to know.
However, Wolverines head coach Jim Harbaugh was not concerned with the "who" questions from the media Monday night (Aug. 13) at Schembechler Hall.
Harbaugh's operative word is "how" at this time.
How are his players handling the challenges before them?
How successful are they in separating themselves to gain a higher spot on the depth chart?
"Historically," said Harbaugh, "training camp, in the first week, a lot of guys come out of the gates and it's like one of those Tour de France bike races. You see everybody pedaling hard, and it's a sprint.
"You get to that second week, and it starts to go uphill. Each individual guy, they start to battle and the challenge is in front of them. And they've got to do something day after day after day, and sometimes feeling sore and tired. And the sun is doing its job. It's shaping the body and carving the mind. There are some that are meeting that challenge mentally inside their own head better than others.
"I liken it to golf. You talk about Saturday being moving day. Roster spots and starting positions, that's what this week is all about. It's moving day, and some guys are moving up and some guys are moving down. But the sharp-witted guys are looking around and seeing there's opportunity to be had."
The Wolverines need to ask:
"How can I win a starting position?"
"How can I move up to a backup spot?"
"How can I help this team achieve all its goals?"
Will Harbaugh do anything particular in practices this week to enhance that competition a bit more -- whether it is scrimmaging or whatever?
"The scrimmages are mixed in," said Harbaugh. "We really value the ones (first-stringers) against the ones, the twos against the twos, the threes against the threes. We put the ball down, and they try to move, and they try to stop them.
"What stands out right now is that nobody's backing down. Nobody's giving in. So that's still taking place. They keep having at it."
The goal is to put the best of the best in positions to make the difference in the season opener Sept. 1 at Notre Dame.
"The eagerness to get ready to compete and go to South Bend is what we're all looking forward to," said tailback Chris Evans.
The players have put in the work over the last seven months to become all they can be physically. Some can apply their physical gains on the field; others are more successful as workout warriors.
The challenges of preseason practices tax both body and brain.
Which element most separates players, though? Is it more the body or more the brain?
"I think it separates more mentally," said Evans. "It's the grit of the camp and whoever's going to fight through mentally and stay focused on what they've got to do."
Harbaugh said that while approaches to how long and how hard practices can be and training methods have changed since his playing days at Michigan more than 30 years ago, one constant remains.
"The thing that hasn't changed is the mental -- between the ears," said Harbaugh. "The same things guys faced 20 or 30 years ago, they still have to get in there every day and face those challenges: 'Am I really good enough? Is this really what I want to do? Am I really strong enough and tough enough to face that challenge every day?'
"That is always the biggest challenge, and there are definitely guys rising up to that challenge. There will always be some that don't. That's where the separation comes in, all brought forth by competition."
Wolverine offensive tackle Jon Runyan was asked to describe that sense of competition.
"Definitely, getting into week two of camp, you start to see separation," said Runyan. "The wear and tear on the body, the guys are pushing through. This is where you get to see the real competitors come out, people flying around and competing. It's really something special to see. You get to see who's going to be with you through thick and thin."
The nine-on-seven drills are very physical -- eliminating wide receivers and defensive backs with only running plays -- and help separate one player from the other.
"The thing about a nine-on-seven drill is that you don't have to see it to know it's good," said Harbaugh. "You hear the plastic (of shoulder pads banging) in a good nine-on-seven drill on both sides. It was poppin'."
Harbaugh said he's "convinced the offensive line is getting better" under new position group coach Ed Warinner, and noted the great challenge the blockers face daily against the Wolverines' vaunted defensive front.
And while Harbaugh did not answer the "who" questions pertaining to the depth chart designations of quarterbacks Dylan McCaffrey, Joe Milton, Shea Patterson and Brandon Peters, he did touch on "how" they are pushing one another to become better.
"You talk about the competition making each other better at that position," said Harbaugh. "It may be no more evident than at the quarterback position. So, I'm very happy with how that's progressing.
"The separation occurs by competition, and the competition is really adding to so many position groups on our team. At quarterback, it's may be the most."
Harbaugh said he would like to determine his quarterback "sooner than later," but was not tipping his hand on that one. No surprise there. He noted that there is nothing to be gained by relaying his decision to the Fighting Irish via the media.
What he is most interested in is "how" -- that word again -- his players respond to challenges. Harbaugh said defensive end Rashan Gary, on watch lists for the Walter Camp Player of the Year, Chuck Bednarik and Bronko Nagurski defensive player of the year awards, and the Ted Hendricks Award, plays with such speed and game fierceness that some offensive linemen were looking at their shoes between plays early in camp.
"But about day six, day seven," noted Harbaugh, "they weren't looking down at their shoes anymore. They were facing up to the challenge and winning some of them. Not winning all the battles because that front and that linebacking corps of (Khaleke) Hudson, (Noah) Furbush and Devin Bush and Josh Ross, who's emerged, and Devin Gil, who's emerged. They are playing tremendous.
"But to see our (offensive) line facing up to that challenge has been very good."
"How" they play now will determine "who" plays the most in games. It sounds simple, doesn't it? But a lot goes into it. The sounds of pads hitting at high velocity made Harbaugh smile. So did the players elevating their levels of grit, determination and performance.
Harbaugh spoke of how he "can't get enough of football this time of year" and the joys of a team being "forged" in competition. It is time to separate the wheat from the chaff, the starters from the backups, and get ready to play a schedule that begins in South Bend, Indiana and ends in Columbus, Ohio.
