The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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10 ■ THE WOLVERINE 2017 FOOTBALL PREVIEW MICHIGAN FOOTBALL J im Harbaugh picks and chooses when to engage with an interviewer, but he clearly settled in when appearing on the "Pardon My Take" podcast in May. The show is a produc- tion of Barstool Sports and has a huge following on social media. Harbaugh participated in a wide-ranging discussion about himself, his love for football, recruiting and other topics. Here are some bullet-point highlights, giving insight into his thinking: • Harbaugh, on the meaning of grit, after he'd been called gritty: "First of all, thank you. That's a very nice compliment, for somebody to be described as having grit, having some gravel in the gut. That's a very good thing, and I appreciate it. "I told one of our players, Ben Mason, who is a freshman linebacker … he early enrolled, went through spring practice. I've never seen anybody go for- ward and hit somebody better. I think this guy was just made to be a fullback. "That would be a great way to be described. That's grit. Going forward and hitting somebody better than anybody I've ever seen. I'd like to be described that way. You could put that on somebody's gravestone." • On building grit: "Absolutely, you can improve and become better at toughness. It's a talent, but it can be acquired, too. I think of it like building a callus. It's like the human body. What a tremendous organism. "It actually craves contact. It likes contact. It craves it, as opposed to a car. If you backed into a brick wall, that would cause at least $2,000 worth of damage. It doesn't have the ability to repair itself or callus over, but the human body does. "Much like conditioning can be improved, so can that callus of toughness and grit also be acquired or improved. If you've got a blis- ter, it's soft, it's [puss-filled], it's got fluid in it, it's going to break. The great thing about it, when it does break, it will callus over even stronger and harder and better. And now it's gritty." • On finding players who love football: "People are going to be better at things they love. You're going to work harder at it. Some people need the sport of football. I would put myself in that category. "Some people like and need ice cream. They want to eat it every day. I look at football like that. I need it." • On identifying football players: "You know it when you see it. You can see it day after day. I always think of it like, you've really got to tell the truth when you get on the football field. Do you have talent? Have you put in the effort? Are you stronger, are you faster, or are you not? "It happens out on the football field, almost like a truth serum. There's no way to bullcrap your way around it. You can't send an email [and say], 'I'm really good.' Eventually, you've got to get out there on the football field and you see what the fruit is. "In the Bible, you can tell a good tree because it bears good fruit. A bad tree bears bad fruit. By your fruit you will be known. By your talent, by your effort in football you shall be known." • On the quote, "Ain't hard being a football player if you're a football player": "That comes from many years of listening to people whine or complain about how tough things are — this is so hard, this is so rough, practices are so long, and that kind of thing. "But if you're a football player, you crave the contact. You like going to bed at night, having the head hit the pillow and your muscles are sore. They ache. You've sweated, you're exhausted. As soon as your head hits the pillow and you close your eyes, you're asleep. You really like that. "So yeah, it ain't hard being a football player if you're a foot- ball player." • On enjoying recruiting: "It's an amazing process, just to go all across the country. You meet really good people. It makes you feel good that there are genuine, down-to-earth, good people. They have one main commonality — they want the best for their son. "You're welcomed into a home — picture this — and you take your shoes off, and they say, 'Coach, sit here. My wife has prepared …' Then you eat a meal that's maybe in the top five or 10 you've ever eaten in your life. "You get to know a family and they get to know you. You really become like part of the family. When it really works the best, you're in a circle that is a family — and it's a responsibility I take very seri- ously, but it doesn't seem like working. "You're connecting, and you're striving to be somebody's best friend they've ever had, professionally. So you've got to get to know them. It's tough to be somebody's best friend they've ever had pro- fessionally if you don't get to know them and they don't get to know you. "It's a wonderful process, a real honor to be somebody that some- body trusts enough to drop their most prized possession that they have in the world … off at your doorstep, and they expect you to return the same good, quality person that they drop off. "It's a huge responsibility, but it's a tremendous honor, that some- body would trust you to be in that role." • On staying overnight at a recruit's home: "The rules are set up that a player can have an in-home visit one time, and only in the months of January or December. So instead of being two hours, let's make it 24 hours. "Let's get to know [each other], let you kick the tires. What's Jim Harbaugh Gets Comfortable On 'Pardon My Take' Harbaugh hinted at moving early enrollee Ben Mason from linebacker to fullback on "Pardon My Take," then later confirmed it would happen. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN