JEFF SEIDEL

Jim Harbaugh raves about new wave of Michigan football freshmen

Detroit Free Press

Back in the old days of college football —“Whoa, Nellie!" and "Fum-BLE!" Way back when "GameDay" was the actual day, not a TV show on ESPN, freshmen football players had a well-defined, under-the-radar role: Sit on the bench, stay in the shadows, keep your mouth shut, learn the fight song, get used to college, get bigger and faster and stronger, get over that first bout of home sickness and learn from the upperclassmen.

So it came as no surprise, back in 1982, when Michigan coach Bo Schemblechler redshirted a young, fiery quarterback named Jim Harbaugh, putting him on the shelf for a season, making him wait his turn.

Then, in 1983, when Harbaugh finally found the field, he threw just five passes.
Back in those days, players were brought along at a glacial pace.

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But those days are long gone, especially at Michigan, now that Harbaugh is coaching the Wolverines. Now, college football has hit hyper speed, and Harbaugh could care less about age. He burns a redshirt every time he turns around.

Last season, Harbaugh played 17 true freshmen in Michigan's season-opening win over Hawaii. And it’s not like the Wolverines were lacking for top-tier talent, not when you consider Michigan wound up with 11 players taken in the NFL draft.

The Harbaugh doctrine is pretty easy to define: If you are good enough to play, you play.
Which sounds like a mantra devised by a guy who loves to compete and hated sitting on the bench for a season.

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“As I’ve said, they have license and opportunity to get in there and play,” Harbaugh said.

On Friday night, as Harbaugh talked about the current group of freshmen, it was pretty clear that trend is going to continue. The reasons are numerous: Because Harbaugh has done such a fantastic job of recruiting, and so many young players are walking onto campus with ridiculous skills and talent, and some of them have already adjusted to college life after enrolling in January, and, well, Michigan has some serious needs.

Especially at receiver.

Harbaugh went out of his way to praise a talented group of freshmen receivers that includes Donovan Peoples-Jones, Tarik Black and Oliver Martin.

“The receivers are doing really well,” Harbaugh said. “DPJ and Oliver Martin and Tarik Black are making a lot of plays. They really are. They are making superb, athletic types of plays. You rarely see freshmen doing it the way they are doing it.”

Finding a new set of receivers is critical considering Michigan lost Amara Darboh (106th pick to the Seattle Seahawks) and Jehu Chesson (139th pick to the Kansas City Chiefs).
Nico Collins, another freshman wide receiver, is also in the mix, although he is behind the others because he didn't enroll early.

“I guess Oliver and DPJ and Tarik are going to be out there, probably Nico, too, at some point,” Harbaugh said. “(Fullback) Ben Mason and then those defensive linemen are going to be in the mix for sure.”

Ah yes, Ben Mason.

He is an old-school bulldozer from another era.

“The other guy, giving everybody a run for their money, is Ben Mason," Harbaugh said. "He’s just a wonderful, wonderful physical football player. He will help us this year. He will help us win games. He is climbing up the depth chart. He is made to be a fullback. Every day, you just get excited to watch him play.”

After Harbaugh spoke about several freshmen, it dawned on him that he forget to mention Ambry Thomas, a cornerback from Detroit King.

Thomas is another freshman who figures to contribute right away.

“He’s been sensational,” Harbaugh said. “I love him. Not too many guys on the team I get along with better than Ambry Thomas. He’s mature beyond his years. I love that about him. There is no softness whatsoever. Out there every single day. People in the area should be really proud of him. He’s a real ballplayer.”

While Michigan has plenty of talent along the defensive line, a pair of defensive ends, Luiji Vilain and Kwity Paye, could crack the eight-player rotation.

“I think our back-ups on the defensive line are going to be some young guys,” Harbaugh said. “There is quite a battle going on there.”

Harbaugh also mentioned Josh Ross, I mean, James Ross, no, I mean, Josh Ross.

Josh, a freshman, is following in James' footsteps.

“James Ross is really playing well,” Harbaugh said, mixing up the names. “I call him James half the time, to his face. He laughs. He’s a real hitter. It’s hard to imagine what he was like in high school. He’s hitting guys in the college game like that.”

Shoot, even Michigan’s punter could be a freshman.

“Will Hart is really punting well, but Brad Robins (a freshman from Westerville, Ohio) is the real deal," Harbaugh said. "They are neck and neck. I’ve never had a freshman punter punt as well as Brad Robbins has.”

You could argue there is a negative to playing so many freshmen — it reduces the number of potential fifth-year seniors, who are the backbone of most successful programs.

And it takes some creativity to use freshmen. Chris Evans, now a sophomore running back, said Friday that he was used last year in only certain packages or in certain plays because he didn't know the blocking scheme.

But there is a benefit to playing so many freshmen. When Harbaugh tells a top recruit — “If you come to Michigan and you are good enough to play, I’ll play you right away,” — well, the kid can believe it.

And that’s bound to bring in even more talent.

Contact Jeff Seidel: jseidel@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @seideljeff. To read his recent columns, go to freep.com/sports/jeff-seidel/