The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://read.uberflip.com/i/835590
36 ■ THE WOLVERINE 2017 FOOTBALL PREVIEW "That is obviously new and different, and it's irritating other people, probably because they didn't think of it first," former Michigan captain Jon Jansen echoed. Harbaugh is already thinking way down the road. He's dreaming of a group of Wolverines heading out for South Africa, or South Amer- ica, or Japan, or places 18- to 22-year-old col- lege football players might have never even considered as part of their college experience. The head coach spoke in Rome of his play- ers seeing things they'd never seen, tasting what they'd never tasted, experiencing what they'd never even imagined. Tell me that's not education, he challenged. The silence is deafening, and telling. 2. Star Power Harbaugh makes news when he changes his pants — literally. When he swapped out a pair of plain khakis for the Lululemon brand back in March, everybody wrote about it. Some diagrammed the khaki conversion, noting the subtle changes in Har- baugh's work togs of choice over the years, prior to the dramatic one. That's the bizarre, almost surreal stardom of Michigan's head coach, who has remained the biggest phenomenon in college football since his return to guide the Wolverines. He doesn't go out of his way to seek the at- tention. It just finds him, whether he's coach- ing a base for the Oakland A's or attending the State of the Union address. He's a camera magnet, whether tossing a clipboard in Columbus or presenting the Pope with a Michigan helmet. That's a game-changer for a program that had all the tinder in place — helmet, stadium, tradition, etc. — and simply required a match to flame back into the national consciousness. Harbaugh brought a can of gas and a flamethrower, just to heat things up a little more quickly. "The Jim Harbaugh I have known and know now is not the person seeking news for his own benefit," Michigan director of athlet- ics Warde Manuel told Sporting News in early April. "The attention comes, and it seems to come often. "As I've talked to him over the last four or five weeks, it's not intentional. He's not doing this to say, 'Hey, I want attention.' He thinks it is in the best interest of Michigan football. For that, I don't mind the attention he gets." It's not just the attention he gets, either. Because of his persona and connections, Har- baugh pulled together the initial Signing Of The Stars with a ridiculously high-profile cast. It wasn't just those with Michigan con- nections, like Tom "Five Rings" Brady, but New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter, former Notre Dame head coach Lou Holtz, actors Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson, and a long list of others. Need an honorary captain at The Big House? How about Michael Jordan? "Michael Jordan — he's at the Michigan game, and he's an honorary captain," Jansen said. "That's unbelievable." "Now there are other factors to why he was there, but you have to take into account that recruiting football players is a lot different than when I was being recruited. The star power wasn't there." It is now. Sure, Russell Crowe of "Gladia- tor" fame once showed up at Michigan Sta- dium. Now he's got company, as power play- ers flock to a modern Colosseum. "Jim understands what it takes to compete in the recruiting world nowadays," Jansen said. "He has done ev- erything he can to be relevant in that world." 3. Signing Of The Stars Michigan's National Sign- ing Day extravaganza took the first Wednesday in February to the next level. Whether it's the national-name, head-turning iteration of two years ago or the more Michigan-centric version from last February, Harbaugh trans- formed welcoming new Wolverines into an even higher-profile event. Jansen recalls what it was like grow- ing up in the state of Michigan and get- ting recruited to become a Wolverine back in the '90s. Although he'd later become an All-American, a captain and a national champion at Michigan — one who'd go on to play a dozen seasons in the NFL — his "He's always looking to do unique things and push the envelope. He's the ultimate competitor. He wants to win." MICHIGAN SAFETIES COACH BRIAN SMITH ON HARBAUGH New York Yankee great Derek Jeter is among the high-profile names who have stood on the sideline for a game during Harbaugh's tenure. PHOTO BY BRANDON BROWN