23 days until Michigan football: Chatting with legend Jamie Morris
There’s much anticipation heading into the Michigan Wolverines football season, and TheWolverine.com is counting down the days until the Sept. 2 opener against East Carolina. We’ll discuss current Michigan events, the upcoming season and/or take a look at a significant number that correlates with how many days remain until kickoff, whether it be a player’s jersey number, a year, a date, a score, etc.
Former Michigan running back Jamie Morris is arguably the best player in program history to wear No. 23. Morris was a two-time first-team All-Big Ten standout (1986-87) and multiple-time Michigan program record holder. Morris now runs the Stadium and Main Collective, endorsed by Michigan athletics, and hosts ‘The M Zone’ radio show on 1050 WTKA in Ann Arbor.
We recently caught up with Morris, who shared his expectations for Michigan’s 2023 season. The Wolverines are defending Big Ten champions, and have beaten Ohio State and made the CFP the last two seasons. Expectations are sky high from the fan base, and Morris believes the Wolverines have their best chance under ninth-year head coach Jim Harbaugh to compete for a national championship.
“I agree with most pundits — this is the most talented team Jim Harbaugh has had,” Morris said. “I agree with what he said, I agree with what the pundits have said. They should do well, barring injuries and things that happen, acts of God. Look, they should do what they did a year ago, even better.”
What Michigan did last season was remarkable. The Wolverines won 13 games for the first time in program history, completing an undefeated regular season before trouncing Purdue in the Big Ten championship game and ultimately losing to TCU in the CFP semifinal at the Fiesta Bowl, where Morris was named MVP in 1986.
Morris hosted us on his radio show Thursday to discuss Michigan’s fall camp.
“I think Jim Harbaugh said this, but when the pads come on, it separates the men from the tee shirts,” we said on ‘The M Zone.’ “It’s really on now, starting this week, so I’m excited for that.
“I was in the building earlier. We got to hear from [Michigan offensive coordinator] Sherrone Moore and [defensive coordinator] Jesse Minter. They had a lot of insight on both sides of the ball, and really my main takeaway was just the competition on this team. A lot of people have asked about, is this team complacent? After the last couple years winning Big Ten championships, how are they going to find that edge, after beating Ohio State two years in a row? But there’s competition at so many different positions, so I think that’s going to keep them sharp, not only throughout fall camp, but both Sherrone and Jesse talked about some of these competitions could go into non conference play, especially at corner, offensive line and edge rusher, kind of a rotation like they did at quarterback last year.
“There’s just so much competition around the field, and they still have that culture intact.”
Listen to the full segment discussing Michigan football below.
Michigan football countdown to kickoff
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