The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/480355
BY JOHN BORTON J im Harbaugh wants a leader for his first football team in maize and blue. More than that, he de- mands it. Harbaugh was there once, Michi- gan's No. 4 carving up the opposition on Saturdays and cracking on team- mates not giving their all the rest of the week. The Wolverines' quarterback in the mid-1980s would have crawled across broken glass to win, and he ex- pected the same of everyone else. Now, he's seeking a QB who can take charge and make it happen, pe- riod. Slash the turnovers. Move the team. Win football games. He may find one by April 4, the date of the spring football game at Michi- gan Stadium. He may not. According to James Rogan, who once played running back for Har- baugh at the University of San Diego, the Michigan head coach will find his own version of "Braveheart's" Wil- liam Wallace. The specific physical characteristics don't matter. What's in the mind and heart of the man behind center does matter, Rogan insisted. "What I can tell you is, they have to be a fierce competitor," Rogan insisted. "They have to want to win above all else. They have to have some level of athleticism, but more than that they have to be willing to sacrifice their body to pick up that first down. "There is a time and a place to slide and avoid the hit, but Coach Har- baugh wants the guy diving head first to move the chains or score the touch- downs. He's essentially looking for the quarterback that reminds him of himself." Harbaugh didn't throw for 5,449 yards and 31 career touchdowns at Michigan, or score a dozen rushing touchdowns, by standing out as the tallest U-M quarterback ever. He didn't pack a bazooka attached to his right shoulder, and he'd have been watching Denard Robinson's cleats grow miniscule in any footrace. That didn't matter in 1985, when Harbaugh guided the Wolverines to a No. 2 final national ranking, or in 1986 when he drove another Bo Schem- bechler crew to an 11-2 record and a Big Ten championship. He led and he won, and he's looking for someone Looking For A Leader Quarterback Battle Heats Up With Jim Harbaugh Looking On