Michigan Football: Has quarterback mediocrity sidetracked Jim Harbaugh?
By Peter Arango
Michigan football has a great coach in Jim Harbaugh. But during this first three seasons, the coach has been unable to find a quarterback.
Despite fielding an exceptional defensive unit and an increasingly impressive running game, and running up a 14-0 lead in the first half, Michigan was essentially incapable of keeping up with the Ohio State’s two quarterbacks, starter and dangerous running phenom J.T. Barrett and substitute gunslinger Dwayne Haskins.
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The loss of this year’s Big Game moves Jim Harbaugh to 1-5 in his three-year match up with Michigan State and Ohio State, not the most significant of statistics in evaluating a premiere coach, certainly not against Harbaugh’s demonstrated success in restoring Michigan’s credibility as a nationally ranked program, taking the 49ers to the NFC Championship games in his first three seasons, establishing Stanford as the top dog in the PAC 12, taking San Diego to the Pioneer Championship two years in a row.
Harbaugh’s a heck of a coach, but after a very promising first and second season, the narrative seems to have darkened. A young Michigan football team started reasonably well, tough on defense and working out kinks on offense. By the start of conference play, the secondary had matured, the offensive line had begun to jell, and a strong slate of running backs had emerged.
The elephant in the room, however, was inconsistency at quarterback. Wilton Speight, John O’Korn, Brandon Peters each took a turn, each managed a few fleeting moments of competence, and each found a way to yank defeat from the jaws of victory.
Had Harbaugh not been beatified as a “quarterback whisperer”, mentor to Andrew Luck and Colin Kaepernick, the dismal condition of quarterback play at Michigan might have been less appalling. It’s pretty clear now that even the most inspiring coach can only do so much with players not ready for prime time. The odds are against quarterbacks who can’t run, can’t pass, and can’t learn how to hold on to the ball.
if Harbaugh has a golden touch it may be in creating a climate of “smash mouth” offense and defense, full of testosterone and attitude. His wooing of Don Brown as defensive coordinator may turn out to be the best piece of recruiting Harbaugh has done at Michigan, and that defense almost pulled Michigan football and Harbaugh through this season. Penn State, Michigan State, Wisconsin, Ohio State are all very good teams, however, balanced enough and talented enough to reveal weaknesses in coaching that might have gone unnoticed had the offense been able to bring consistent pressure to their better opponents.
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It’s not about Harbaugh’s coaching; it’s about Harbaugh’s judgment. O’Korn is physically incapable of moving outside the pocket and is no threat as a runner. He is often so concerned about on-coming pressure that he seems a deer in the headlights, ducking, throwing off-balance, ignoring open targets, over throwing open receivers.
So, without adjustment of the offensive schemes, he starts against Ohio State. No, Speight can’t play and Peters wasn’t cleared. Too bad Michigan football doesn’t have a 6’5″ four star recruit sitting on the bench, a kid identified as the 6th best qb recruited last year. Oh, wait. Dylan McCaffrey couldn’t enroll early, was redshirted, and sat while three quarterback projects did not really work out.
The game didn’t mean all that much for Michigan; the Wolverines had already fallen off the radar, lost a top 25 ranking, and were out of contention in the conference. What does matter, however, is the nasty tinge of humiliation attached to the team this year. No mojo. No buzz. No magic in the air. Fans will survive and show up at the Big House again next season, but who will be there to meet them?
What four or five-star project is going to want to see Harbaugh arrive in his pajamas for a sleep-over this winter? What stud receiver from Florida, Texas, or New Jersey wants to come to Michigan where it seems quarterbacks go to die? And, what promising young quarterback wants to spend a season the way McCaffrey spent this season, watching incompetent quarterbacking from the bench.
It’s been a tough season Michigan football and its fan. This fifth straight loss to Ohio State is mortifying. After the game, O’Korn, visibly upset, made the sort of statement that demonstrated his failure to understand his role on the team and in this defeat.
The Land of 10’s account of the loss suggested that O’Korn had placed much of the blame for the game’s outcome on his shoulders:
“You come here to win this game,” O’Korn said. “Our senior class wasn’t able to do it. I hold myself responsible for a lot of that. It sucks. I can’t imagine a worse feeling right now.”
Hey, John. Your senior class? Mason, Hurst, Kugler, McCrary, Winnovich, Hill? Those seniors?
They played well, John. You were the quarterback, the leader, and you were responsible for causing the offense to stall in the second half..
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The question is, who shows up for camp next year? Which highly recruited high school seniors, says, “Yup, I want what I saw on the field this season?” That’s where the next chapter in the story of Jim Harbaugh begins.