The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/447116
"We'd rather be about it than talk about it," Harbaugh insisted on The Rich Eisen Show. Even now, he's about the business of gauging the mettle of the present group of Wolverines. He couldn't wait to meet with them, get them into win- ter conditioning, begin preparing for what's ahead. He wants to know if they want it as badly as he does. "First, it's understanding what their intent is, what our team's intent is go- ing to be," Harbaugh said. "You've got to be willing to work for that. You've got to be willing to earn that. That's why I'm so excited for the first week of winter conditioning, to get that started. Let's find out exactly what our intent is." There's never been any doubt about Harbaugh's intent. It's to win — in ev- ery way, at everything. It's to compete like his life depended upon the next game of pickup basketball or back- yard football. Tight end Derrick Walker once shared huddles with Harbaugh at Michigan. He heard the joking drop to silence when No. 4 told the Wolver- ines precisely what they were going to do. "Jim is a tough SOB, to put it plain and simple," Walker said. "That's the type of guy he is. That's what he's going to command from his players, and quite honestly that's what he was taught. When you're taught that, and that's bred in you, that's what you're going to bring. And that's why we're excited today, because that's what he's going to bring." Bob Thornbladh, another Bo Schem- bechler product from the early 1970s, insisted Harbaugh's "intent" com- ment shouldn't be lightly regarded. "He's going to challenge them," Thornbladh assured. "That was inter- esting — one of the most interesting things he's said. What is their intent? I want to know what their intent is. "Are you coming to win? Are you coming to play? Are you coming to commit? Are you coming to be a team member? That's what he wants to know. Are you willing to sacrifice? Are you willing to do what it takes to be a champion? He wants to know. "There are guys there who want to do that, I'll guarantee you. There are some who don't understand how to do it, and he will teach them. Then there might be a few who are not in- terested in that, and they will go by the wayside." It won't be easy, with a national title team now residing in Mt. Doom. Ur- ban and the Orcs versus a Harbaugh- restored Michigan could make for an- other 10-Year War, although longtime U-M equipment manager Jon Falk cautions it isn't that simple. "The 10-Year War was great, but now you're fighting a lot of people," Falk quipped. That's true. But it's also true that Michigan will be more ready for the fight than it's been in a long time. And Harbaugh's intent will be unmistak- able. ❑ Editor John Borton has been with The Wolverine since 1991. Contact him at jborton@thewolverine.com and follow him on Twitter @JB _ Wolverine.