The Five Most Interesting Things Jim Harbaugh Said: April 29, 2021

Jim Harbaugh had a lot to say while speaking with Jon Jansen.

Things have been quiet in Ann Arbor all spring. Jim Harbaugh and his team haven't been in front of the cameras much and kept the spring game about has hush-hush as possible. Some news has trickled out here and there, but for the most part, Michigan fans are very curious about their Wolverines and are in wait-and-see mode.

Harbaugh broke his silence in a big way a few days ago when he sat down with Jon Jansen on the In The Trenches podcast and touched on just about everything involving his football team. Here are the five most interesting things he said during that episode.

"Taylor Upshaw, Mike Morris, David Ojabo, Gabe Newburg, Jaylen Harrell and Braiden McGregor — those are players that were defensive ends that now are stand-up outside linebackers."

This isn't exactly news in itself because we had already heard about the "reapers" when talking to the players throughout the spring, but the fact that Harbaugh was able to say something so concrete, is news. Plus, it's indicative of how different the defense is going to look under Mike Macdonald. That is a pretty talented, athletic and versatile group, which could make for some interesting defensive packages in 2021.

"[Aidan Hutchinson] gathered all of the strength coaches up last week and said, 'I have one request, and that request is that every time I come in this weight room, in this gym, you wear me out. Make me get my money’s worth every time I come in here. There may be a day or two where I don’t feel like it, but make sure I get my money’s worth every time I come in.' It’s not just coming back — he’s come back full force." 

You just love to hear this from your most talented, most valuable senior leader. Hutchinson obviously bleeds maize and blue because of his family legacy, so this likely comes easy to him, but it's so important when your best players are also your hardest workers. Hutchinson is poised for a monster senior season and is definitely chasing a first- or second-round grade. In Macdonald's system, where he's not playing the anchor position, he could explode.

"Gemon Green at corner, DJ Turner and Vince Gray battling for the other corner spot. DJ really had a great spring. Took that coaching from Mo Linguist and Mike Macdonald. He looks like he’s put himself in the position to be a real factor for that starting job."

Another concrete statement from Harbaugh. He all but guaranteed that the two starting cornerbacks will come from this trio. He didn't quite give the whole thing away, but I genuinely think new cornerbacks coach Mo Linguist is still trying to figure out who his two best guys are. Both Green and Gray struggled early in the season last year, but they figured it out a little bit down the stretch. Turner also got a chance to play some in 2020 and has been lauded as a very talented guy over the last two seasons. It's going to be really interesting to see who emerges and how they are utilized in Macdonald's defense.

"Ryan Hayes, Zak Zinter, Andrew Stueber — they are guys who have had that experience, that are very good players. Put an exclamation mark on that in spring. Call them three solid starters of the top five."

More concrete info from Harbaugh with more of the same, legitimate uncertainty. Hayes, Zinter and Stueber are going to start, but where? That's what new offensive line coach Sherrone Moore has to figure out. I've talked about this a lot — there is a lot of talent in the offensive line room, but it's inexperienced and versatile, almost to a fault. Obviously you want to find the five best guys and put them at the position best suited for their skill set. Does Michigan have a true LT, LG, C, RG and RT? We'll see. It's good to have a lot of talent in the OL room, but it's not ideal that you legitimately can't name one starter position wise with 100% certainty. 

"Dan Villari, for those who saw the spring game, was really good, really effective. Excited about Dan. I was kind of looking at Dan in multiple ways. Throw out the name Taysom Hill. That’s we’re going to try to do some things like that with Dan Villari as a quarterback/athlete that can really help our team. I think he can do it."

This is a really interesting statement to me. I'm curious if we'll actually see Villari in game action or if this is Harbaugh just throwing some praise at a guy who did some nice things during the spring. Either way, I'm intrigued because by all accounts, Villari is running 4th behind Cade McNamara, JJ McCarthy and incoming transfer Alan Bowman. With that said, Villari does go 6-4, 227 pounds and can really run. If there truly is a Taysom Hill-like package for him, and it's executed well, I like the concept. 

It's also worth noting that Harbaugh said, "JJ was terrific as a mid-year freshman. Got himself all the way up to No. 2," which seems to confirm what he have heard all spring — Cade McNamara is the starter as of right now. Will that change once Bowman arrives in Ann Arbor? We shall see.