It has been a noisy offseason for the Maize and Blue — from Jim Harbaugh-NFL rumors to current talks of an NCAA suspension for a few of the Wolverines’ coaches, there has been a lot going on both on and off the field in Ann Arbor. Today, at Schembechler Hall, the Wolverines’ 9th-year head coach was asked how the Michigan football roster has kept its focus locked in on the team’s biggest goal for the coming season: winning a national title.
How is the Michigan football roster turning out the noise from Jim Harbaugh NCAA suspension talks and more?
This year, Jim Harbaugh appears to have his best roster yet since taking over as head coach of the Wolverines in late 2014. This year’s Michigan football roster is headlined by stars like JJ McCarthy, Blake Corum, and more, yet it also has the depth and hidden gems that the Wolverines need to take things to the next level.
Still, regardless of talent, it has undoubtedly been a challenge to maintain focus on winning titles due to lots of outside noise. Yet, according to Jim Harbaugh, his team is on a “mission” and tuning out the non-football noise.
“I would say that it’s a mission,” Jim Harbaugh said of the mentality within the Michigan football locker room. “I mean, some people would go to their job, and it’s a job. For us, it’s a mission, and according to last year, it’s a happy mission. That’s the vibrant way to hit my brain. I think that’s what we’re on.”
Does this “mission” mentality come from the coaches or the players? According to Harbaugh, it comes from his team — they are all-in on bringing a national championship back to Ann Arbor this year, and no outside noise is going to distract from the goal.
“It’s got to come from them,” Jim Harbaugh explained. “I’ve tried to make guys love football and have enthusiasm, attack each day with an enthusiasm unknown to mankind, make them love football, everything in my power. But I’ve come to the realization that it’s got to come from the individual, no matter how hard you try. There’s not a guy right now in the junior, senior, or fifth-year class that I could point to and say that he isn’t doing everything each day, taking any and every opportunity to try to maximize it, and just being trusted agents and friends.”
No matter what happens with the NCAA suspension talks, Jim Harbaugh rumors, and so much more, this year’s Michigan football roster is locked in. The Wolverines have been close to reaching the national title game twice in a row, yet fell just short both times — something that this year’s team is determined to change.
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