Jim Harbaugh crowns new Michigan 'legends' after win at OSU
They don’t get gold pants for beating their rival — that’s an Ohio State thing — but some of the Michigan players do get something from beating the Buckeyes:
Legend status. At least in head coach Jim Harbaugh’s eyes.
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We imagine he wouldn’t be alone, though, in recognizing some of the players in that breath after what they accomplished in a 45-23 victory. The list begins with Donovan Edwards, who played through a serious hand injury and with hard cast on his dominant right hand to run for 216 yards and two touchdowns. His 75- and 85-yard fourth quarter gallops sealed the deal and allowed him to show his breakaway speed.
“Donovan Edwards … he could have taken a knee in this game [and not played,” Harbaugh said. “Instead he wore a cast. Now he’s a legend.”
He’s also the Big Ten offensive player of the week. He’s now rushed for 687 yards and 6 touchdowns on 92 carries (7.5 yards per carry) and hauled in 16 receptions for 188 yards and 2 scores this year.
Edwards and sophomore J.J. McCarthy made it their mission to take the program to new heights, and they’re on the verge. McCarthy showed incredible fortitude in overcoming a shaky start to make some huge throws, and he also got it going with his feet in the second half.
His three-yard touchdown to start the fourth quarter on which he put his head down and ran through a defender will go down as one of the memorable plays in the history of The Game.
“J.J. McCarthy could have been a guy like, ‘Hey, I’m J.J. McCarthy. I’m a five-star quarterback. I’m not here to hand the ball off,'” Harbaugh continued. “Never. He’ll do anything for the team. He’ll run down the field and block for a running back 50 yards down the field.
“Now, he’s a legend.”
And senior Cornelius Johnson, maligned at times for his inconsistency but always a willing blocker capable of making big plays, made several of the biggest of his career. His 69-yarder tied it at 10 and changed the game, and his 75-yarder on Michigan’s next offensive play gave the Wolverines the lead.
“Cornelius Johnson could have been somebody who complained about how many targets he was getting, or ‘the passing game should be front and center,’ but doesn’t,” Harbaugh said. “He continues to block, make the tough catch across the middle. In this past game, he really got us started.”
And the others …
“[Senior defensive tackle] Mazi Smith has asthma. He completely changed his body in the weight room to become the football freak No. 1,” Harbaugh said. “[Senior edge] Taylor Upshaw could have been bitter about not getting as much play time as some of the other guys at the position. [He] didn’t, and now he’s a legend, [too].”
Sophomore Rod Moore was “all over the field,” Harbaugh noted. If the Michigan safety doesn’t earn All-Big Ten honors, something’s wrong. He also didn’t react when he got a head butt out of bounds that drew a key 15-yard penalty.
It’s a team of those players that is selfless and committed, built in Harbaugh’s image. There will be some stars, of course, but none that act like it … and that’s how you win titles.
One more win over Purdue and they’ll have their second straight.
“Those types of guys … it’s more about the right fit,” Harbaugh said. “We’re looking for the guys who really like football, who really want to get good at football, no matter what their star rating is. That’s fairly irrelevant to us.”
And, as they’ve proven two years in a row against a team filled with four- and five-stars, a formula for success, even against the football factories.
