Michigan Football: Luke Fickell attacks Jim Harbaugh about transfers

Former Ohio State coach Luke Fickell blames Michigan football and Jim Harbaugh for the NCAA’s decision to deny James Hudson immediate eligibility.

Ever since Big Ten Media Days last month in Chicago, there has been a lot of talk about transfers and Michigan football.

Of course, Michigan football head coach Jim Harbaugh opened that door when he addressed the topic and said he believed every player should be given a free pass — the chance to play right away after a transfer regardless of the issue.

Harbaugh proposed the rule during his main press gathering at Big Ten Media Days, then went on and addressed transfers even further in an interview with ESPNU. It was during this interview that Harbaugh stirred up controversy. Some believed he questioned the legitimacy of a mental health issue put forth by former Wolverine James Hudson as a reason for his decision to leave UM.

While Harbaugh has said he wasn’t talking about Hudson specifically, it was easy for some to connect the dots because Hudson had an appeal to play right away at Cincinnati denied then later said he left the Michigan football program because of depression.

Once Harbaugh said his piece, it immediately became a trending topic and the coach was attacked for how he handles mental health. Many said that the views he expressed were part of the problem, although many forgot just proposed a change that would benefit all players.

Soon after critics went after Harbaugh, former players such as Henry Poggi and Jared Wangler came to his defense. That seemed like the end of things until Cincinnati head coach Luke Fickell decided to re-litigate the issue, this time laying most of the blame at the feet of Harbaugh.

Here is what Fickell had to say via The Athletic:

"“Here’s what I believe in the whole waiver process: the number one, most important thing, and all the power, comes from the school that a kid is leaving. No matter what. (Michigan) didn’t back the waiver. They can say what they want to say, but the only thing they said that was positive was that if the NCAA chooses to make (Hudson) eligible, then they would accept it — that they didn’t have an angle. They are just trying to cover their ass. And I’m really, completely disappointed in it. They can say they didn’t undermine it, but they didn’t work to help the kid out.”"

Fickell went on to say that he called Harbaugh to talk about Hudson, just as he had done with Nick Saban and Alabama and Ryan Day at Ohio State in regards to other players. In revealing their conversation, Fickell said he received a cold tone from Harbaugh.

"“I called him to say that I don’t know what’s going on with all these waivers, but I know James is here. Are you guys going to be vindictive against him, or do you want to help this kid? All (Harbaugh) said to me was, ‘I’m not going to lie. I’m not going to lie. And I don’t know why we’re talking.’ It was really cold. I talked to Nick Saban because we have a transfer from Alabama. I talked to Ryan Day because we have a kid from Ohio State. We have a kid from Michigan, so I wanted to reach out, not to ask about the kid, but acknowledging that this kid has some issues and are you willing to help him? Or what are you willing to do? And it was pretty cold.”"

While Fickell certainly does a good job of making Harbaugh out to be the bad guy, the bottom line is that Harbaugh was absolutely justified when he said, “I don’t know why we’re talking.” He also pledged to tell the truth, which apparently, Fickell didn’t like.

Hudson tried to appeal the first ruling and was denied, meaning he won’t be able to play until 2020. The Athletic reported that his appeal was denied because the new school (Cincinnati) is more than 100 miles away from his hometown and second, there was no documentation of mental illness at the University of Michigan.

Essentially, the Hudson side believes Harbaugh and Michigan ignored the issue, thus no documentation, and then didn’t do anything, later on, to help Hudson gain eligibility.

However, that seems to oversimplify the issue.

This Tweet by Justin Williams of The Athletic, who wrote the story with Fickell’s comments, reference an interview with Ben Bredeson at Big Ten Media Days which notes Hudson was frustrated by changing positions and other things.

It’s certainly not as clear as Fickell makes it out to be and there is no magic wand Harbaugh could wave to get Hudson eligible. Ole Miss didn’t help Shea Patterson and he still got the go-ahead, so Fickell’s thought process is flawed.

Fickell wants to make Harbaugh the scapegoat when the real problem is the NCAA and a system of rules that are confusing, if not downright unfair. That’s why Harbaugh proposed a change instead of pointing fingers and spreading falsehoods.

The University of Michigan, through Sean Magee, backed its head coach:

“It’s simply not true. This had nothing to do with James as an individual, but again, we weren’t putting ourselves in position over the NCAA to judge who gets a waiver or not. If you look around the country and reasons why stories like this are so prevalent, the NCAA hasn’t shown to this point what the direct precedent is. If people are looking for precedence, you aren’t going to find it.”