Michigan EDGE Jaylen Harrell on 'bulldozing' Ohio State's Donovan Jackson, postgame text exchange with Jim Harbaugh
Oftentimes this season, when the Michigan Wolverines football defense has needed a big play, senior EDGE Jaylen Harrell has delivered. He had a forced fumble and the pressure leading to a Kris Jenkins pick against Bowling Green. He got in the face of the quarterback before a Will Johnson interception against Purdue.
Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh has called Harrell a “tone-setter” who “makes the magic happen when you need to make it happen.” That’s why it was no surprise that it was Harrell who hit Ohio State quarterback Kyle McCord on junior safety Rod Moore‘s game-sealing interception in a 30-24 win over Ohio State.
Moore said he “called game.” Harrell helped him do it.
Harrell and sophomore defensive tackle Mason Graham ran a twist, with the former going inside and the latter looping outside. Harrell ran right over Ohio State left guard Donovan Jackson before getting to McCord.
“I came in, and it wasn’t really open, so I kinda just bulldozed my way through,” Harrell said. “Ran him over and then [got to the] quarterback.
“I was really excited — too excited. I got a flag. If Rod didn’t catch that, it would’ve been bad, so I think God he did. I won’t do that again.”
Michigan was called for a 15-yard excessive celebration penalty. If Moore’s interception, which was reviewed, was overturned, Ohio State would’ve had time to take multiple shots at the end zone.
“Coach [Harbaugh] definitely did [say that to me],” Harrell said of coaches getting on him and teammates for the flag. “I shot him a text after, because [graduate linebacker] Mike B[arrett] did the same thing at Penn State, so I shot him a text like, ‘My bad, Coach.’ He said, ‘Beat me to it, pal.’”
Michigan has quickly flipped the switch and moved onto Iowa, the next ‘biggest game’ of the season. With a win, the Wolverines are in the College Football Playoff as either the No. 1 or No. 2 seed. With a loss, they’re likely on the outside looking in.
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“It was a fun day, a fun, eventful day. We got the win, but the goals we want are still ahead of us,” Harrell said. “So, we gotta let that go and focus on Iowa and focus on winning the Big Ten championship. Ohio State was a big win, but there’s more to do and more to come. So just hone in on our details, lock in on the next opponent. O-State is over with, tryna focus on the next game.
“We haven’t really talked too much about the Ohio State game. We’ve been all focusing on Iowa and preparing.”
Michigan knows the importance of the task ahead.
“Iowa’s a great team. We fall asleep on them and we could be the ones crying at the end of the game talking about what we should’ve done, having regrets.”
The Hawkeyes have struggled mightily on offense. Their 22 touchdowns on the season rank tied 130th nationally and are a full 37 less than Michigan has scored. Iowa has rushed for 4.1 or more yards per carry in four games, though, and will try to run the ball against the stout Michigan defense that leads the country in points allowed per game (10.3).
“They play a lot of big personnel, [so we’ll play] a lot of base defense and stuff like that,” Harrell said. “They’re a physical team. They might not be the greatest in the statistics in offense, but they’re winning, so that’s all that matters. We can’t take them lightly. They like to run the ball, so we have to shut off the run and earn the right to rush the passer. They like to get big and run the ball down hill.”
