TheWolverine.com bye week Chat: Michigan football, hoops, more
Our weekly noon chat. Today, we answer all your questions related to Michigan Wolverines football, recruiting, basketball, and much more.
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We talk about the Michigan running backs and what to expect down the stretch after both Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards ran for 160-plus against Penn State. The Wolverines’ line is dominating up front, and the backs are doing the rest.
“It’s tremendous,” Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh said. “I think everybody sees the talent and the one-two punch when they’re on the field. It’s phenomenal.
“The leadership of those guys is off the charts. They do that differently, as well. It’s a one-two punch in terms of how they go about it. First, Donovan, his personality is high-energy. It’s enthusiasm, love of football. He’s never had a bad day. He’s got a quarterback’s personality. I’ve known quarterbacks like Donovan Edwards, just from their play demeanor and their personality, day-to-day. He’s like that. Just love of the game … he exudes it.”
She does Corum, he added. The Michigan junior is always a step ahead.
“Blake has that same love of the game,” Harbaugh said. “Now you’re talking about a real example of laser focus. Nothing is getting by him. They could be rolling the secondary from right to left, they’ve got a disguise on him, and he’s locked in on who he’s going to protect. As soon as the ball snaps and the look changes, he’s a step ahead of everything.
“The cerebral side … that’s much like a quarterback, as well. Nothing gets past him. He trains with an enthusiasm unknown to mankind. It’s just an example of … I watch him out there sometimes and I know what the play is going to be. It’s like I’m in his head as he’s ticking through what his next move is going to be. Such a high level, AP type of stuff.”
Both Michigan backs lead that way, he said, and they’re both great examples in different ways, in different personalities.
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“So good for our team, and the production speaks for itself,” the Michigan coach added.
Michigan basketball’s Juwan Howard has high expectations
On the basketball side, Michigan head coach Juwan Howard has a new-look team, but he’s excited to see what they can do. And he’s likely to get his first pledge tonight from power forward Papa Kante.
“I guess you could take a wild guess,” the Michigan fourth-year coach said with a laugh about expectations for his team. “No changes. We’re always thinking about winning and growing and working hard to go out there … [meet] our biggest challenge and also one of our biggest goals, and that’s winning championships. And not just one.
“Our goal always is we look at and identify that we are playing in one of the toughest conferences in college basketball. I will say the toughest conference, and that’s the Big Ten. From that level of all the great coaches and players that play in the Big Ten, that’s always going to be a challenge, because teams do a great job of scouting you and vice versa.
They also get to know each other’s tendencies so well, he noted. That added to the challenge and Michigan and everywhere else in the Big Ten.
“And then you face your opponent again in the Big Ten Tournament,” he said. “So … that’s another one of our goals. To win that championship. And then last but final, the ultimate NCAA championship. That’s something I’ve always been peeking at, scratching the surface since the time when I played here at the University of Michigan, and haven’t done it yet. But I’m always fired up about it.
“Let’s go!”
