The Three Most Interesting Things Jim Harbaugh Said: Aug. 30, 2021

Jim Harbaugh said some pretty definitive things ahead of Michigan's opener against Western Michigan.

Jim Harbaugh addressed the media earlier today to kick off the first game week of the 2021 season. He said some pretty direct things and also spoke about an issue that has plagued Michigan for a while.

"Cade McNamara is our starting quarterback. He has a talent of really making everyone else around him better. Maybe that's the most important job of a quarterback."

It definitely wasn't surprising to hear Harbaugh say that McNamara is the starter, but it was still cool because he just doesn't do that kind of thing very often. It's game week, Cade is the starter and Michigan is officially preparing for Western. It just has a feel to it when you know who the starting quarterback is and you're preparing to cover a game against a specific opponent. 

Everything we've heard about McNamara has been encouraging. We've heard words like "focused" and "locked in" and several players have said that he's taken his leadership to a new level and that he's always trying to get extra work with his receivers. Hopefully that pushes his ceiling higher, because I've always thought of McNamara as a solid, accurate passer who can manage a game and limit mistakes. I've never viewed him as an elevator. Harbaugh says he is that, and now we're just a few days away from seeing if he is firsthand. 

"I think the thing that strikes me [about the defense], and the thing I noticed early on, is the amount of communication. That's communication on the field and also on the sidelines. Guys coaching guys and guys talking. Guys spitting out the calls."

We've also heard this a lot and to me, this isn't something you can make up. You're either hearing communication or you're not. You can't really fudge it. And frankly, I believe Harbaugh completely on this. When you have veteran seniors like Aidan Hutchinson, Josh Ross and Brad Hawkins at each level of the defense, you're going to get good communication. Those guys have played a lot of football and should be more than comfortable speaking up and barking orders. Throw in the fact that Hutchinson and Ross are captains and I have to imagine there's a lot of chatter coming from the defense.

"We've been doing a lot of practice sessions where we get into it fast; the team aspect of it. Most of the time we're doing something 11-on-11, football right out of stretching. Being able to start fast is something we've put an emphasis on."

Michigan has formed a bad habit of letting opponents score first and it was asked about. Harbaugh didn't dodge the question and admitted to focusing on it during practice. That issue is obviously a big reason why the majority of the defensive staff was replaced in the offseason and now the new coaches are attacking the problem. That's all you can ask for right now. We'll see if the approach has paid off or not soon enough, but the fact that the problem was recognized, addressed and is trying to be corrected is encouraging.