TheWolverine.com Podcast: Balas and Skene on Michigan win over Rutgers, Harbaugh contract, more
Michigan handled Rutgers, 31-7, Saturday and improved to 4-0. The Wolverines still have plenty to work on, including the offensive line, but the defense rose to the occasion once again after giving up an early touchdown. TheWolverine.com’s Chris Balas and former Michigan offensive lineman Doug Skene break it down after head coach Jim Harbaugh‘s Monday comments.
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Harbaugh said he was more impressed with the Michigan win after seeing it on film, noting not one player performed poorly in victory. Grad nickel Mike Sainristil made one of the big plays of the game with a 71-yard interception return on a fourth-and-2 play with the score 17-7 Michigan.
“I lost where the ball was,” Harbaugh admitted. “First I thought it was on the ground. He was just scooping it up. It could have been a fumble and our guys are trained in practice, if the ball’s ever on the ground and we’re hopping on that mistake or trying to pick it up and advance it, even on completed passes in practice. Our guys are picking them up. Mike — it was an incredible play when I got to see it from the different angles.
“The way he kept his feet … first the ball skills, which he has tremendous ball skill. The athleticism, the balance. I mean, we do the slack block control, and he’s really good at it … it would have been on the ground, but for him to stay up and and then get into making the moves he did and take it back to the crib, as the young people like to say …”
Was a beautiful, beautiful thing, the Michigan coach said.
“His leadership, it’s constant,” Harbaugh continued. “He just affects everybody he comes in contact with in a positive way. I’m sure you’ve seen that. You see the same thing that we do — loved by the players, loved by the coaches, and it’s great to see. He’s already a Michigan legend right? And to see him continuing to add to that it’s just a beautiful, wonderful, wonderful thing.”
We talk about that, Michigan offensive line play, Harbaugh’s contract (what’s the hold up?) and more in today’s podcast.
