Tag: Jim Harbaugh

All-Harbaugh Team: Offense

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I like to take a look back at the careers of Michigan’s recent coaches and see which players had the best seasons. After five years at Michigan’s helm, it’s time for a look at Jim Harbaugh’s tenure in Ann Arbor.

QUARTERBACK: 2015 Jake Rudock
Rudock, a former starter at Iowa, decided to grad transfer to Michigan for his final year of eligibility. Unlike some grad transfers who spend the spring at their new school, Rudock did not practice with Michigan until fall camp. Through seven weeks of the season, Rudock threw for 5 touchdowns and 6 interceptions. But when he heated up toward the end of the season, he really heated up. Over the final six contests, he threw 15 touchdowns and just 3 picks on his way to a 10-3 overall record in Harbaugh’s first year. His final stats included 249/389 (64.0%) on completions, 3017 yards, 20 touchdowns, 9 interceptions; he also ran for 166 yards and 4 touchdowns.

Hit the jump for more.

How to “Fix” Michigan Recruiting

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The title of this article implies that Michigan recruiting needs to be fixed. How terrible is it? Let’s take a look at class rankings during the Jim Harbaugh era using the 247 Composite rankings:

2015 (Harbaugh/Hoke combined class): #37 overall, #5 in Big Ten
2016: #8 overall, #2 in Big Ten
2017: #5 overall, #2 in Big Ten
2018: #22 overall, #3 in Big Ten
2019: #8 overall, #1 in Big Ten
2020: #14 overall, #2 in Big Ten
*2021: #6 overall, #2 in Big Ten (as of May 25, 2020)
AVERAGE: #11.4 overall, #2 in Big Ten

*Not included in averages

Not counting the 2015 combined class when Harbaugh had just one month to try to make up ground, he has averaged the #11 class in the country and finished as either #1, #2, or #3 class in the conference. It’s noteworthy that they have not finished behind any team from the Big Ten West during that time – only Ohio State and/or Penn State.

Hit the jump to see how I would go about improving Michigan’s recruiting.

Jim Harbaugh’s Coaching Hires

Jim Harbaugh was hired at Michigan prior to the 2015 season. Here’s a look at how his coaching staff has filled out and progressed over the years.

Hit the jump for more.

Maybe This Is As Good As It Gets

The Ohio State program is humming along at a pace that’s unprecedented for the Buckeyes. They have finished 1st or tied for 1st in their Big Ten division for the last eight seasons. To put that in perspective, Woody Hayes had six straight seasons finishing #1 or tied for #1 in the Big Ten, and Jim Tressel had five (six if you count the aborted Tatgate season). They have also beaten Michigan 15 out of the last 16 meetings, with the lone blip coming against one-year interim head coach Luke Fickell.

Hit the jump for more.

Michigan 44, Michigan State 10

That was a beatdown. We’ll get that way out of the way first. The game was closer than that for a while – especially after MSU jumped out to a 7-0 lead – but Michigan pulled away with 17, 10, and 17 points in the final three quarters, respectively. The Spartans ended up with 54 rushing yards and 220 yards overall, while Michigan had 467 total yards, including 384 through the air.

Hit the jump for more.