Newsstand: J.J. McCarthy addresses Jim Harbaugh tribute
The Michigan Wolverines were without head coach Jim Harbaugh on Saturday for the first of a three-game suspension sent down from the university for his role in recruiting violations. While his on-field coaching impact may not have been felt on Saturday, his influence on players certainly was.
Before the team’s second offensive possession of the game, Michigan lined up in a “train” formation with four fingers up in the air in reference to Harbaugh’s No. 4 jersey worn while he played in Ann Arbor. The tribute likely would have taken place on the first series if not for being backed up on their own two-yard line.
“Yeah that was definitely a tribute to Coach Harbaugh,” junior quarterback J.J. McCarthy said after the game. “I think he did that back in 2015 or 2016 when he first got here and we just wanted to attribute him in some way,” McCarthy said. “And it was actually funny, how many yards did we get on that play? Three, four?”
Michigan was helmed by defensive coordinator Jesse Minter on Saturday in the team’s 30-3 win. Next week, safeties coach/special teams coordinator Jay Harbaugh will run the first half against UNLV with running backs coach Mike Hart taking the second half. Offensive coordinator/offensive line coach Sherrone Moore will coach the game against Bowling Green. Moore was out of Saturday’s game serving a one-game suspension.
Michigan’s game against UNLV next Saturday kicks off at 3:30 p.m. ET on CBS.
Tweets of the day
Michigan quote of the day
“It was interesting because [Harbaugh] was around all week. I was talking to him a lot about how we wanted to manage the game; how we wanted to try to do things. When I saw him last night for what was going to be the last time, it really, really hit me there that this was going down. I was excited … excited or the opportunity. And I was just really excited to see our guys play.
“You go through a long camp, you go through a long offseason. It’s been a long time since we played in December. I was just excited to get back out there with the guys, and proud of the way we played.”
– Michigan defensive coordinator/interim head coach for Week 1 Jesse Minter
Headlines of the day
Report Card: Grading Michigan in a 30-3 win over ECU
Best and worst from Michigan football win over East Carolina
Michigan 30, ECU 3: Notes, quotes, and observations
Offense notes: Michigan shows it’s ‘complete team’ in East Carolina win
Defense/ST notes: Jesse Minter explains pass rush struggles in head coaching debut
Wolverine TV podcast: Breaking down the win over East Carolina
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