Michigan football notebook: Good Samaritan Jim Harbaugh, backup QBs, Meechie and more
Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh was driving during the Ann Arbor ice storm when he came upon police officers working on a downed tree blocking the road. He pulled his van over, but rather than wait, he grabbed a pair of gloves and got to work.
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“On 2/22/23 at approximately 8pm in the middle of the ice storm Ofc Howard Cooper was at Devonshire and Londonderry to remove a large tree that was blocking the road when a van pulled up,” Ann Arbor police tweeted, with video. “The driver then parked and got out of the vehicle. To the surprise of Ofc Cooper, the good Samaritan was (Jim Harbaugh)
@CoachJim4UM who wanted to help clear the road. Ofc Cooper then gave Coach a pair of work gloves and the two of them went to work.
“After about ten minutes they were able to, inch by inch, get the entire tree moved to clear a lane for traffic to pass through. We thank Coach Harbaugh for being a valued member of the Ann Arbor community and helping out Ofc Cooper.”
Today, Harbaugh addressed the media in his first press conference since the Fiesta Bowl. Harbaugh and his ninth Michigan team are back to work in defense of back-to-back Big Ten titles following a season with several highs and lows.
One of the highs was something that preceded one of the lows — a picture of the moment shared with Dametrius “Meechie” Walker, an honorary member of the Michigan football team, and Harbaugh and his players last fall.
Walker was a highly rated recruit out of Muskegon before he fell ill with osteosarcoma. He was back in Ann Arbor and received the game ball after an Oct. 15 win over Penn State.
Sadly, he passed away Dec. 9 last year. His memory lives on, however, and will be commemorated at Schembechler Hall for years to come.
Michigan backup quarterbacks are competing
Michigan had a very capable backup quarterback on the roster last year in Davis Warren, who beat his own illness to earn a scholarship at U-M after arriving as a preferred walk-on. Warren hopes to take another step this fall, he told us recently.
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But he’ll have to earn the backup job. Indiana transfer Jack Tuttle and sophomores Alex Orji and Jayden Denegal are also in the mix, Harbaugh noted today.
“Backup quarterback-wise, Davis Warren, Jack Tuttle, Alex Orji … Jayden Denegal is already off to a really hot start this spring,” Harbaugh said. “So is Jack Tuttle. He’s been really good in the first two days.
“All four of those quarterbacks are really engaged, have had really good offseasons with [strength] Coach [Ben] Herbert and the staff in the 6, 7 weeks they’ve been in the winter cycle.”
He feels comfortable and then some about the room, he added.
“We can’t really call it right now after 2 days of practice who the backup QB is, but I feel really good about the quarterback room,” he said.
Amorion Walker leads, but the “other” cornerback position is up for grabs
Will Johnson has one side of the field solidified as a starter at corner, and sophomore Amorion Walker is off and running to win the other corner job. Several others are in the mix, however, Harbaugh said Thursday.
“Mike Sainristil, of course,” he said … Sainristil is expected to start at nickel. “We’re really excited about the young guys. Keshaun Harris, Myles Pollard, Kody Jones, Ja’Den McBurrows. Also, Jyaire Hill and Cameron Calhoun. That group hasn’t played a lot at corner in games, but we believe are going to be really good players.”
