Jim Harbaugh on Michigan pro day: 'No wonder we won the national championship'

Wearing a skinny ‘M’ hat, Jim Harbaugh walked into Glick Fieldhouse last Friday. This time, though, it wasn’t as Michigan‘s head man, it was as the Los Angeles Chargers’ coach. Harbaugh returned for the Wolverines’ pro day, and it’s safe to say he enjoyed his time back in Ann Arbor.

The Wolverines broke the NFL Combine record with 18 players invited, and they have a chance to break Georgia’s record of 15 prospects drafted in 2022.

“Amazing, incredible to see all the guys,” Harbaugh said at the NFL owners meetings. “I hate to be one of those guys that says, ‘I told you so,’ but I did predict last summer that Michigan would set the record for most players drafted from a school in a single year.

“And just watching that come to life and be that way, it was … talking to every single guy and seeing all the parents again. I watched all the O-line work out, I was able to watch J.J.’s throwing session. And the rest of the time, I was just talking to people. It was incredible.”

Once again being around the players, coaches and their families, the former Michigan coach had a revelation about the 2023 season that ended with winning the national championship.

“When I walked around that pro day, it’s like, ‘Oh, yeah, no wonder we won the national championship,'” Harbaugh said.

He wasn’t the only one that thought that way. Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin shared a similar sentiment when speaking with Harbaugh.

“I had coaches, GMs coming up after meeting with our guys, they would say, Mike Tomlin said, ‘Gold-standard human beings. No wonder you guys won the national championship,'” the former Michigan coach said. “So, yeah, when you ask me what was it like to be there, that’s what it was like.

“To watch 18, 19, 20 guys that were at that pro day and know that their talent is that good and they developed themselves to get to that point … and then they all acquitted themselves really good in that pro day and at the combine.

“But they also won the good human being award, because they just are. That’s what their parents had poured into them. So, yeah, it was an A-plus-plus-plus [experience]. That’s how I felt.”

Jim Harbaugh: J.J. McCarthy’s pro day performance ‘the best I’ve ever seen’

Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy is a projected top-10 pick in April’s draft. He generated quite a bit of buzz with dazzling throws at pro day. Even Harbaugh, who recruited him before coaching him for three seasons, was blown away.

“The workout J.J. had — I mean, I’ve been to a lot of pro day workouts and watched quarterbacks throw — that was the best I’ve ever seen a quarterback do at a pro day,” Harbaugh said of the Michigan signal-caller. “Not only were his feet great in the individual drills, but then he started throwing, and it was like every throw was right there. I thought our receivers did a great job, too. They all had a great day. But that was the best throwing day I’ve ever seen. And then I hear coaches and GMs come up to me and say, ‘Hey, great job with J.J.’ 

“Like I predicted, once they were around him, I was hearing the stories about how he is on the board, how he is on the field, the little things, the intangibles. It was absolutely no surprise whatsoever. But yeah, there was raving. I mean, it was great to hear, incredible to hear — and I know it was sincere. It was unsolicited, but it was numerous GMs, numerous head coaches. They couldn’t say enough good things.

“And it was. You could just see it, right? His pro day, literally I have never seen a better one.”

The Chargers, who possess the No. 5 overall pick, have a standout quarterback in fifth-year pro Justin Herbert, so they won’t draft one in the first round. But there are several quarterback-needy teams that could pick a signal-caller high, and Harbaugh said they couldn’t go wrong with McCarthy.

“I’ve said it before — it’s well-documented — I think he’s the best quarterback in the draft,” the former Michigan head man explained. “That’s just what I think; it’s my opinion. He’s the one who plays quarterback. Of all the quarterbacks that are in the draft … there are great quarterbacks in the draft, [but] I think he plays quarterback the best of any quarterback in the draft.”