41 days until Michigan football: Retired RB Isaiah Gash has 'big place' in Jim Harbaugh's heart
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.
Michigan football will be without a running back that made one of the biggest plays of the 2022 season this fall. Isaiah Gash, a former walk-on who earned a scholarship, was forced to medically retire due to undergoing a knee cartilage transplant surgery.
Gash had a costly drop late in the game against Illinois last November, when Michigan found itself in a dogfight with the Fighting Illini one week before upsetting Ohio State in Columbus. Junior quarterback J.J. McCarthy went right back to him, though, in a play that helped save an undefeated season. On fourth down, Gash converted with a reception to keep the Wolverines’ drive alive, before kicker Jake Moody nailed a game-winning field goal in the 19-17 victory.
“Isaiah Gash, I think you all know the story of his toughness, physical and mental as a boxer,” Harbaugh said postgame,” head coach Jim Harbaugh said after the game.
While rattling off a bunch of different names during fall camp last August, as Harbaugh does, he discussed Gash’s boxing background. The thing that’s most apparent about boxers is that they “don’t flinch,” Harbaugh said. That was true in the Michigan win over Illinois.
“Dropped the ball and comes back on the fourth and four,” Harbaugh continued. “And that’s a new play for us. We just put that in this week. That was a [senior running back] Blake [Corum] play all the way. Blake got the most reps on it. Blake was the guy we wanted to run that play. I think Isaiah had one practice rep on that play.
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“But we talked about it on the sideline. He said he got it, he would he be able to execute it. And he did a fantastic job doing it in the game. The most critical, critical moment, picking up that fourth down.”
“So I’m really happy with Isaiah Gash. Cemented a big place in my heart.”
And while Gash didn’t have the most memorable career at Michigan, fans will never forget what he did to help the Wolverines win 13 games for the first time in program history.
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