Michigan football head coach Jim Harbaugh met the media this week to discuss his team's outlook for the upcoming matchup with Indiana this weekend.
You can watch the full Q&A here. Below is a transcript.
On the win over Minnesota
It was a happy flight coming back. Really pleased and grateful our players wanted it as much as they did and how hard they played. That brown jug means a lot them as we discussed last week. You could just see it in the way they play and the way they prepare and practice.
On Will Johnson's interception
It's a great way to start a game. First possession it's always so important what you do offensively and defensively. The first possession of the second half, those are big possessions. We track those and to score a touchdown and get a defensive touchdown on the first one, second play of the game, that's just huge.
On joining the turnover photo
I came over to congratulate Will on the interception and the guys that blocked for him and everything. It was just great. Coach Clink grabbed me and said get in the picture. OK, great. Nice to be invited.
On if he's worn the turnover buffs
I don't know exactly. I think I've only seen them with the guy who got the turnover. Maybe sometimes the guy who caused it. I don't know. You'd have to ask Will.
On Keon Sabb's interception
Keon played it nicely. Really went up the ladder as they say and got the interception and returned it for a touchdown as well.
On whether there's anything being emphasized at practice to create turnovers
A real emphasis on it, I know that. We want to get our hands on more balls, getting interceptions. Also, more turnovers. Jump on mistakes. Jesse, we've been emphasizing that since the first day of spring ball and training camp. Something we thought we could be better at. The coverage is so tight, really, this was our best game as a secondary. Not just because we got the two interceptions but just played really well in the secondary. Tight coverage about every down. That was very impressive. Great to see the improvement. Getting better and better. Also, really happy, the appearance of just how locked in our guys are.
On whether he has a 'rally group' in the secondary with the depth
Somewhat. Early in the season, those guys were out because they were out. Weren't playing. Guys are getting healthy and coming back. It's created a lot of guys we can trust back there now and they're really playing good football.
On it being the halfway point of the season
Never ceases to amaze me once you get started, you're in it and how fast it goes. Time flies when you're having fun is really true. It happens every year. You're in the beginning of July and you're like, OK, training camp is going to be here. Snap of the finger and then you're a couple days in. Hey guys, I know it's a month away but that first game is gonna come quick. Once the first game comes, we're 25% through, we're a third of the way. Now, all of a sudden, we're halfway through the season.
On what he saw from Mason Graham's return to the field
Just him. Just a really good player that he is. Run wall addition and playing with an interior defensive line that really has been playing great. He was a great addition again. Got a game ball. Just has a huge impact. Friends are texting me now. Mason Graham, he's my favorite new player on the team, he's out there with the club. He didn't even blink. He wanted to get back out there.
On the defensive line and the adjustments against Minnesota
That was hurting us, they did a nice job with that. Halftime adjustment, moved the end, edge player, down to a six-technique and we made sure we had an overhang edge coming from the secondary. That was the adjustment. We started getting penetration. Early in the game, our edges were getting a little too far upfield and getting over top of the stretch play. That helped us, too. Those coaching points were made during the game.
On Braiden McGregor's ability to bat down passes
That's something that's come up a lot in practice. Our emphasis was made on it. Some practices, some teams, you tell the defensive lineman not to reach up whether it's 7-on-7 or a team period, whatever. Don't bat the ball down. We're the opposite. We're like get it if you can. Only makes us better as a defensive unit and it only makes us better as a quarterback, as an offense and an offensive lineman trying to keep those hands down. There's been days where consecutive balls batted down. Throws off a little bit of the timing of the passing game but it's real football. They're allowed to do that. We've gotten a lot of great work, not just a defensive line but as quarterbacks and offensive linemen.
On areas where the defense can get better
Always striving to get better. There's a tremendous opportunity with the way our guys practice to keep improving. The best part? We're 6-0, yeah, that's the best part. The best part, equally, is that we're getting better and better and better. Just how apparent it is that our guys our locked in allows you to get better. When you say get better, yeah, it's the stuff you've been doing. Everything you have been doing, we love it, let's keep doing it. Maybe even more of it. Half the battle is the way we've been practicing. The other half, how hard we play. Just keep going. That's what we told them today. You see it, you see it paying of on Saturdays so let's keep doing what we're doing and, hey, maybe a little more of it.
On James Turner and Tommy Doman
Good. James did a really good job, hit the one field goal. Perfect on all his extra points as well. I think he's getting into a good rhythm. Tommy is the holder, too, along with Wags and Tarr as the snappers. That's improving. That mechanic, it's all three of them. The fourth element is the protection on the field goals and extra points. I think Tommy is doing a heckuva job. When he gets into a rhythm, it's a beautiful thing. The consistency of always being able to get into that rhythm, he's doing a great job on kickoffs. Had the one miscue where we actually talked through that on the field and got to the bottom of it, why the ball went out of bounds. A lot simpler remedy than you would've thought. Somebody was lined up too close to him is what we said. I said, OK, well stop, easy, easy, have him move over. But he thought he had to go right when the—we try to as soon as the whistle blows we try to go quick, we try to go fast, give them less time to look at our alignment. More important that we get the right approach angle for Tommy. That's what he said, made it a little tight. When you think you've heard every excuse possible, his angle of approach. I think that we got that one worked out. He has been kicking off great, the Nebraska game especially into the wind. A pretty good-sized wind coming right at him and he put it 8,9, 10 yards deep. He's put one into the stands this year at Michigan Stadium. That's pretty cool. He's having a really good year. First year of full-time punting and the kickoffs and the holding. Hes doing a lot. It's a lot for one man but he's coming through for us.
On the areas of improvement for the offense
Whatever position you're talking about, it's everything. Everything that you do. Collectively, precision. You're always chasing and honing and going for. As much precision and well-oiled as possible.
On the offensive line
Playing really good. Drake Nugent had a really good game. Zak Zinter, it was the most physical, bodies were moving all over the place around him. Keegs, exceptionally well. Karsen Barnhart. There were throws in that game that J.J. made that you couldn't have a better—it's a good as a looking pocket as you could have. All that said, every week is a new week. It's not like, oh, we'll just pick up right where we left off. It's a whole new scheme every single week. Different players, adjusting to their moves, what they do now. It's a whole new gameplan that has to be devised, practiced, gotta be locked in. Every single day because the next week is all changing once again. Who knows, all those things that you gotta prepare for and it's on a weekly, new, basis. There's definitely carryover but it does start new.
On the OL downfield blocking
We're all about it. If you don't have the ball, you're a blocker. The quarterback is sometimes not a blocker but he's carrying out a fake and trying to make a block in essence by having a defender chasing him, which has been effective, too. Pursuit, also, we want to be the second best pursuit unit in the Big Ten right behind our own defense. Our guys are doing a good job of that. Getting better blocking on the perimeter, that's continuing to show up. A.J. Barner really needs to be highlighted for the level of his play and his blocking. Max Bredeson, tight ends. All the guys. What can we get better at? It's just everything. Everything you're trying to get better and better at. We had a play tonight, you talk about the opportunity scrimmage, the craziest play. You gotta look at this. It's the craziest play we've ever had in the opportunity scrimmage where the ball was thrown, it got deflected then an offensive player was about to catch it and then he got hit and then the ball bounced off him into a defensive player's arms who muffed that into an offensive players hands that also got hit. It must've ricocheted about fix or six times and then Mr. Kuzdal literally from 50 yards away, he ends up catching this ball and running for five yards. I'm not exaggerating. We all looked at each other as coaches and said that's the wildest play we have ever had in an opportunity Monday scrimmage.
On the passing game
Another game well above 70% plus a few drops in the game. I keep raving about the playmaking ability, J.J. has got a lot of great attributes. Accuracy, athleticism, might as well go playmaking. That's his best one. Kirk and I, he thinks it's just how well J.J. is seeing the field and processing the information. That's good. We've got a debate about that. That's a really good thing for a quarterback. All those good things, make it all the best. Make it all the strength. That's when you say what you can improve on, I know that's J.J.'s mindset. I know he's constantly trying to chase perfection in all those areas.
On the running game
Donovan has always been great. High school back, college back, a real good pro back, same with Blake. Great high school, great college, will be a great pro back. Last year was a bit of an anomaly, all those 50-yard runs and 70-yard runs. I think across football, pro and college, everybody is putting more emphasis on the running game. Running the ball themselves and stopping the run. Our backs, I think now are in more of the mindset of take the ground that's there. You'll see when it's a big one. Otherwise, keep puncturing. Nothing wrong with a 9-yard gain, 8-yard gain, 7-yard gain. I think Donovan has been doing a much better job of taking the ground that's his. Trusting when the big one will come. Really, we've only had the one big one, the 40-some yarder that Blake got in this game and then we had the one 50-yarder early in the game, early. They're not normal to have plus 50-yard runs. Sometimes you have a couple. They're really hard to come by. Sometimes none in the season. Sometimes a couple. I think Donovan, yeah, he is in a good rhythm and he's doing a great job of hitting the hole and puncturing, getting the yards that are his. Extremely good catching the ball out of the backfield. He's become another real weapon. You feel like the whole field has a chance to be targeted and J.J. is doing a better job, also, not always looking for the home run play but give it down to the back. You've got a second and 13, give it to Dono and he picks up 15. That's pretty good.
On Indiana
They're returner, right off the bat, that's scary. He's as good as anybody. Iowa has got a really good returner. Maybe one of the top three, top guys in the country possibly. Watching him, he is fast, I don't know what he runs, he's fast. He'll stop, he'll cut back. I've seen him on a kickoff return make a 360 turn and he's hard to get down. Not super big but people have a hard time getting him on the ground. Now he's a punt returner. He didn't return punts last year but he's really dangerous. A lot of focus. Everytime we kick a ball off or punt, that is going to be a huge focus for us. The rest of the team is really gritty. This is the same Indiana team we've always played. Really have a lot of respect for. Tom Allen does a great job. You could run through a wall for Tom Allen, right? Listen to him speak in some of those pregame times they get him on video and things. Frothing at the mouth, paint peeling off the walls and their players play like that the entire game. It'll be a big football fight, that's what we expect and I'm sure how it'll play out.
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