Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh: 'All the focus is on Ohio State'

COLUMBUS — Jim Harbaugh won’t be coaching on the sidelines Saturday afternoon in Michigan Stadium against Ohio State. He’s finishing out his three-game suspension, which was handed down from the Big Ten following its investigation into the Wolverines’ sign-stealing operation.

But, as has been the case the last two weeks, Harbaugh will be able to do everything but coach in The Game. That includes meeting with the media.

Harbaugh held his weekly press conference Monday. Lettermen Row has a rundown of everything he said, plus quick hitters from interim head coach Sherrone Moore’s presser.

What Harbaugh said about The Game…

Q: What would you say your respect level is for Ryan Day and the Ohio State staff right now?

HARBAUGH: “It’s all about our preparation for Ohio. The days, the minutes, the hours, everything leading up to this game. You know, that’s where our focus is. Preparing ourselves and plannin. Going to practice and then execute. So I mean, anything else is irrelevant when you get into this kind of big game week.”

Q: Could you speak to last week — where you watched the Michigan-Maryland game, who you watched it with and what you saw?

HARBAUGH: “I watched the game at my brother’s house. Great to watch it with him. And what I saw was a great and glorious win. Really happy with the team, and good to be around his football mind, too. We accomplished what we what we went there to do and got the mission done.”

Q: With you on the sidelines for a game of this magnitude, how do you prepare your staff for the all extra things they have to take on Saturday against Ohio State?

HARBAUGH: “Empowering people, it’s really that. Empowering our coaches, empowering our players. And just an amazing job that they’ve done. Amazing effort. The way our players have gone about things. Coaches, players — I mean I just think back over the last, five, six weeks especially. It’s just been like a high-pitch siren. Like a deafening, ear piercing noise and, just after a while, you start to tolerate it. And then before you know it, you just block it out. So stay on course, that’s what our team has done. And just keep the priorities right. And keep the priority straight, which is faith, family and football.”

Q: What was your reaction to the firing of linebackers coach Chris Partridge? And who’s idea was it to elevate Rick Minter into that role?

HARBAUGH: “It was my idea to elevate Rick Minter.”

Q (follow up): And your reaction to Partridge’s firing?

HARBAUGH: “I think that statement was put out by our university and described the situation. I don’t have anything to add about it.”

Q: Last week, it seemed like you were looking forward to the opportunity to speak in court. What exactly changed to make you guys respond the way you did?

HARBAUGH: “Like I just said, the school put out a statement about that. And they addressed the situation. I don’t have anything further to add to it.”

Q: You mentioned how your team has dealt with the ‘high-pitched siren.’ Do you think this week will be the biggest challenge of how you and your team deal with it?

HARBAUGH: “It’s like the ‘Ted Lasso’ show. What comes out of that is ‘believe,’ and I’m just so proud, just so proud of our team. Despite that noise, our locker room’s in one piece. Like Ted, for me, locker rooms, a lot like my mom’s bathing suits — I like to see them in one piece. We’ve got that, and it’s amazing. And there’s so many lessons to be learned, many life lessons that our young guys are learning at this age, and it’s how the world works. And keeping those priorities straight: faith, family and football. We’re battle tested and ready to go. And now it’s just, it’s all Ohio. The week’s all about Ohio. Working really hard to get ready for this game. Using the hours, the minutes, the days to hone our focus, get prepared, playing, practice and go execute the game.”

Q: What have the last few weeks showed you about the challenges of sustaining success?

HARBAUGH: “Stay on course. One thing about the noise, and it starts to be tolerated, and it just gets blocked out — just staying on course, staying on the high road shortens that time to make that happen.”

Q (follow up): Are you confident that you won’t have to have any other staff changes?

HARBAUGH: “We are in position to be in position. That’s what we know. 11-0, they’re 11-0. And all focus and preparation is on this game. As it should be.”

Q: You mention all the noise. What’s it been like to hear all of these things and not be able to say anything to defend yourself?

HARBAUGH: “Like I said, I mean it’s ear piercing at first, then it becomes tolerable, and then you block it out. Stay on course.”

Q (follow up): How do you learn to tolerate it?

HARBAUGH: “Staying on the high road is one way to shorten that time down. But keeping the priorities right: I mean, faith, family, football. You keep those priorities straight, and other things become irrelevant.”

Q: Have you been given any assurances about your future from the administration?

HARBAUGH: “All the focus is on Ohio State. I can say that as many times — that’s just where we’re at. That’s the focus. And that’s part of the life lesson to focus on the task in front of you. And when you got a task in front of you, and it’s a big task, you got to use every day, every hour, every minute to plan, practice, get yourself right, get yourself in position to go out there and play to the best of our ability.”

Q: Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr., does he remind you of anybody at any level or in any league, and what’s the key to slowing him down?

HARBAUGH: “He reminds me a lot of his dad. Great player. You got to slow him down. That’s probably the better word. We’ll do our best to do that, and everything works together: pass rush faster, the more pressure they can put on the quarterback, the better the coverage is going to be. Same with the coverage. The better the coverage is going to be, then that allows the pass rush to get home. Like any game, any time you play a team, team defense is going to be critical. It all works together.”

Quick hitters from Moore’s presser…

+ Moore was was asked what he thinks about the Ohio State offense. “They’re electric, they’re balanced,” Moore said. He noted that running back TreVeyon Henderson gives the Buckeyes the ability to run the football effectively. The offensive line is doing a good job gelling at the right time. Moore said skill-player-wise, Ohio State has weapons on the outside with Marvin Harrison Jr., Emeka Egbuka and Cade Stover. He also mentioned that quarterback Kyle McCord is “playing his best football.”

+ “I think defensively they’re really good, I think offensively they’re really good,” Moore said. Michigan’s focus is on what it control, and that’s the preparation for this matchup.

+ Moore was asked about the balance of Harbaugh getting across what he wants done during the and him trusting the staff in the moment on game day to make the right calls. Moore said the preparation in the offseason and during the season have prepared him and his fellow assistants to “think like Coach does” and make the decisions that he would want while remaining situationally aware of what’s going on in the game.

+ Moore was asked if he’ll go to Harbaugh about managing outside pressures for this kind of game. Moore said Harbaugh would probably be the person he’d go to. “I mean, he trusts us and has prepared us for these moments. So it’d be probably more so me than him coming to me,” Moore said. But Moore emphasized that it’s all about the players this week.

+ Moore said there are a lot more text messages and Facebook messages that come with being interim head coach. “Other than that, I’m the same person,” Moore said. “My kids still run the house,” he joked. There are more in-game responsibilities, he acknowledged.

+ Moore said that WR Roman Wilson, OT Myles Hinton, and OT LaDarius Henderson should be good to go this week.

+ Moore said quarterback J.J. McCarthy is “feeling good.” Sunday was the “best he felt,” according to McCarthy.

+ Moore was asked what the key is to get McCarthy going against Ohio State. Moore said getting him in rhythm is important. That means rolling out the plan (protection, route running, etc.) with a high level of execution.

+ Moore was asked what his players have proved in spite of the outside noise: “That they’re 11-0 and the No. 3 team in the country. They’re just out to prove that they’re the best team in the country.”

+ Moore was asked what he wants cleaned up after the Maryland game. “Just more detail,” Moore said. He said his players have already started working on that. “Just sustaining that same consistency we had in the first half in the second half,” Moore said.

+ Moore was asked what it would mean for the program for Michigan to win The Game in 2023: “We all know what it means,” Moore said. “It’s The Game. It’s the one you practice, you play for, you work for all year. So we all know the stakes. And that would give us a chance to go to repeat our Big Ten title.”

+ Moore was asked about balancing McCarthy’s playmaking ability — which, at times, has led to interceptions (like last week) — limiting those turnovers. “Just let him be him,” Moore said. “Let him be him. When you’ve got a really good player, you can’t put the handcuffs on him. You’ve got to let him play. He made the mistake, and he learned from it. And he won’t make it again. So that’ll be huge for us as we go down this stretch.”

+ Moore was asked if the Ohio State defense is the best he’s seen on film: “Yeah, I mean, besides our defense, I think they’re the best one,” Moore said. “The stats speaks for themselves, and you see it on film. They’re good at every position, they’re deep at every position.”