2B - Tuesday, January 22, 2013 SPORTSTUESDAY COLUMN Two weeks ago, Jim Har- baugh arranged for small laminated sheet to be hung above every San Fran- cisco 49ers locker. Players from different decades, from Randy Moss to Patrick Wil- lis to Colin Kaepernick, peered above their lockers after ateam meeting to investigate. Each sheet was different. STEPHEN J. The white plaques had NESBITT each player's recruiting rankings, college logo and a grainy photo from high school. Some, like Moss, had No.1 rankings splashed across the sheet. Others, like Ray McDon- ald, were nobodies, unranked and forgotten. Harbaugh asked only that the 49ers look back at themselves and remember. "Coach really wants us to tap into what we wanted to be at that time," safety Donte Whitner told the Los Angeles Times. "When you look at this picture, it's like, 'At this moment, what did I want to be?"' What they wanted to be was never in question. They wanted to be champions. On Feb. 3, the 49ers will battle the Baltimore Ravens in Super Bowl XLVII in New Orleans. On one sideline, Jim Harbaugh. On the other, John Harbaugh. The 49ers are right where they want to be. Harbaugh never made a lami- nated sheet for himself. "They didn't have the Internet back in 1982 that I'm aware of," he told reporters with a laugh. But he surely knows the answer to the question he asked his team: What didyou want to be? Jim Harbaugh wanted to be a champion. He spent much of his child- hood inAnn Arbor, around the bend from Ann Arbor Pioneer High School, where he and John both starred on the dusty prep football field across the intersec- tion from Michigan Stadium. The sons of a journeyman assistant coach, Jack Harbaugh, who found his footing as an assistant coach under Bo Schem- bechler at Michigan, the boys The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com The Making of a Champion were born to coach. When their father accepted a defensive coor- dinator position at Stanford in 1980, the boys parted ways, John to play defensive back at Miami (Ohio), Jim to finish his last two years of high school in Palo Alto, Calif.' Hold on. You know what hap- pens next, sure, but just hold on. Step back and think of what you know about Jim Harbaugh right now. What is he? Who is he? Today, Jim is one of the fieriest head coaches in the NFL. He's gruff, he's tough, he's aticking time bomb on the sideline. He has an edge. Hisbrother is noth- ing like that. His father really wasn't either. Jim was the son of a coach, the brother of a coach, the brother- in-law of a coach. Even one of his babysitters was a coach. But it came from somewhere else, somewhere beyond the reaches of the Harbaugh coach- ing tree. If we're on the same page here, you're thinking one thing: It all comes back to Bo. It always does. Never a touted recruit despite his peerless coaching pedigree, Jim almost didn't return to Ann Arbor. He isn't'your prototypical 'Michigan Man,' you see; maybe it's hard to cultivate that death- less loyalty when your father coaches at five different schools since you entered grade school. No, Jim didn't come back for the block 'M,' or for the winged helmet or for the maize and blue. He came back for Bo. "I really didn't think I'd be back here," Jim admitted in 1985. "But, when I came here for my visit, sitting in Bo's office, he said he wanted me and I said, 'OK, I'll come.' It was as easy as that." It makes sense, really. Jim was raised to understand the value of a coach, a maker of men. And Bo was the epitome of coach. He was fiery, he had sideline antics. He sure had an edge, too. "He always seemed larger than life to me. I put him on a pedestal," Jim said after his senior season. "Now, I view Bo more as a human being. He's both a coach and a friend. "I still realize, though, that I'm playing for a living legend." He liked Schembechler's style, his tenacity, his demand for excellence. He once told the story of when he overslept a team meeting by five minutes during his freshman year. "Bo was mad," Jim recalled. ASSOCIAT ED PRESS Former Michigan quarterback Jim Harbaugh (left) will face his brother, John (right), as head coaches in the Super Bowl. "He made me go sit in the back,sous efforts to dismiss the guaran- years before landing in the NFL said I'd never take a snap for tee, Jim's words were plastered as special teams coordinator for Michigan, said he was going to throughout the football building the Philadelphia Eagles. He spent call my dad - which he did. at Ohio State. In front of 90,674 a full decade with the Eagles in "But if I had a dollar bill for frenzied faithful in Columbus, that position. But he was never every guy Bo said would never Jim threw for 261 yards and engi- a head coach. Though the pieces play a down at Michigan, I'd be a neered an offense that - thanks were in place, he was never a rich man." to a 210-yard rushing effort champion. As quarterback, Jim wanted for runningback Jamie Mor- Neither was Bo, you'll remem- to be a champion, wanted to give ris, gained a total of 529 yards her. The Harbaughswere ball- that living legend his deserved . against the Buckeyes. boys for him, they'd throw on the ring. After an injury-shorted Michigan leapt Ohio State sideline during practices when sophomore season, Jim led Mich- in the Big Ten standings with a their father was an assistant igan to a 10-1-1 record, a Fiesta 26-24 victory and punched its coach at Michigan. Bowl victory over Nebraska and ticket to the Rose Bowl. But they've been fighters, a No. 2 ranking in the final polls And, most iniportantly Jim's innovators, winners every step of in 1985 - the highest ranking in statement held. the way. Schembechler's tenure. "I'd have said it myself if I had If you look at Jim's resume, That wasn'tgood enough. Jim any guts," Schembechler told you'll see that he was an assistant bolted into the Heisman Trophy Sports Illustrated the next week. coach for Western Kentucky conversation after rattling off from 1994 to 2001. It doesn't nine consecutive victories to match up, does it? He was in the begin his senior season. NFL then, suiting up for India- But the wheels fell off on Nov. The Harbaugh boys never napolis and Baltimore and San 15, 1986 and the dream came to were champions. Diego and Detroit and finally an end. The lights on the Michi- They took vastly different Carolina before retiring in 2001. gan Stadium scoreboardblinked: routes to the mountaintop - Jim was never on the sidelines Minnesota 20, Michigan 17. The one carving outa lengthy NFL for the Hilltoppers, but he and wild-eyed Harbaugh was beside career, the other was following his brother shaped the program. himself. Two days later, he made a more difficult route, climbing Their father, Jack, was the coach, a guarantee. He had to. the winding coaching ladder - and in 1994 his program lost "I guarantee you we'll beat but that one, final victory eluded funding, scholarships and had to Ohio State and be in Pasadena on both. dock two coaches. New Year's Day," Jim said. "Peo- Jim finished third in the Heis- As they told Michael Rosen- ple might not give us a snowball's than voting. He spent 15 years in berg of Sports Illustrated in this, chance in hell to beat them in the NFL. He was one play away the definitive story of the Har- Columbus. But we're goingto. from the Super Bowl with India- baugh brothers, they picked up "We don't care where'we play napolis in 1995. But he was never the slack. John, working for Cin- the game. I hate to say it, but we a champion. cinnati, helped create recruiting could play on the parking lot. After injuries hampered his lists from afar while Jim signed We could play at 12 noon or mid- career at Miami, John took to the on as an assistant coach to help night. We're going to get jacked sidelines. The mild-mannered scout and recruit. up, and we're going to win." older brother was an assistant "(Jim) saved us," Jack told Despite Schembechler's furi- coach for five college teams int10 Rosenberg. "He saved the pro- gram." It was Jim's first taste of coaching. But he never won that championship. Jack did, but only on account of his sons. The Hill- toppers won the NCAA Division I-AA title in 2002, when Jimwas a quarterback coach with the Oakland Raiders. Jim jumped into the head- coaching vacancy at Stanford in 2007 after justthree years as head coach at the University of San Diego, a Division I-AA pro- gram, and took.a 1-11 Cardinal team to12-1 in just four years. He walked to his ownbeat. He ruffled some feathers, spoke his mind just like he did before that game against Ohio State. Bo wouldn't necessarily have liked the content, but he would have liked the conviction and, most importantly, the thick skin. After leading the Cardinal to an Orange Bowl victory in 2011, Jim bypassed jobs like the Michi- gan head-coach position to take the helm of the 49ers. And now the Harbaughs are here, arrived at the summit of the sportsworld. It should be no real surprise. John and Jim were brought up with the perfect mixture for a coach - raised on football, raised by a coach, and babysat by a coach. Yes, babysat. Dave - McClain, alongtime Wisconsin coach, was Jack's teammate at Bowling Green, where their wives were also roommates. In 1984, when preparing to face aMichigan team quarter- backed by first-year starter Jim Harbaugh, McClain grinned and remarked, "I babysat Jim Har- baugh. I hope he remembers his old buddy." Jim remembered, but he still bested the Badgers, 20-14. Heck, even their sister, Joani, married a coach - Indiana bas- ketball coach Tom Crean. The Harbaughs learned from the best, taught by legendary coaches from the beginning. There's no reason to think they would have ever failed. And they haven't. Failure isn't in their pedigree. No NFL team has missed the playoffs with a Har- baigh as head coach. So, what didyou want to be? These Ann Arbor boys only wanted to be champions. Now that's only a step away. - Nesbitt can be reached at stnesbit@umich.edu or on Twitter: @stephenjnesbitt. Despite Graj ales, Iowa dominates struggling Wolverines at home By MAX COHEN Daily Sports Writer The dejected faces that lined the Michigan sideline said it all. A Friday night that started with an excited sellout crowd packing Cliff Keen Arena ended before all the wrestling even finished, as the 18th-ranked Wolverine'wrestling team (0-3 Big Ten, 6-4 overall) was-blown out by No. 4 Iowa, 33-10. Michigan - with the excep- tions of 149-pound redshirt junior Eric Grajales, who earned a major decision over his opponent, and heavyweight fifth-year senior Ben Apland, who earned a medical forfeit over his opponent - struggled all night against a dominant, experienced Iowa team. "We've got to learn some- thing from this, that's for sure," said Michigan coach Joe McFarland. "We've got to get better." The Hawkeyes' lineup was stacked from top to bottom with nationally ranked wres- tlers that thwa'ted any efforts by the Wolverines whenever. they threatened to score points. From the first match - when 125-pound Michigan redshirt junior Sean Boyle held his own against top-ranked Hawkeye Matt McDonough for the first two periods before McDonough closed with voracity to earn an 8-2 decision - Iowa countered nearly everything the Wolver- ines had. 'Everybody has their own areas that they need to get a MEN'S TENNIS 'M' impresses early By THEO DUBIN victory. DailySports Writer "They (the crowd) were so helpful," said Franks. "It was The 2013 regular season got ' probably so difficult for my off to an exciting start for the opponent to play at our place Michigan men's tennis team as with all the kids there." it knocked off"TCU, 4-3, at the Added King: "The score kept Varsity Tennis Center on Satur- getting closer and closer. It day. turned into a war and it was just Bucking the trend of the past me and Barrett. The home-court few years, the Wolverines' sea- crowd definitely helped with son started off against a high- everything." quality opponent, instead of a With King cruising to vic- warm-up match. Both teams tory, the outcome of the match competed with high intensity, depended on Franks winning a evidenced by all three opening tiebreak in the third set. Despite doubles matches going into tie- playing from behind for most of breaks. the last set, Franks was able to The doubles combinations of showcase his most focused and junior co-captain Shaun Bern- aggressive tennis to pull out the stein and senior Evan King, as crucial tiebreak points. well as sophomores Michael Zhu "I thought (Franks) was and Alex Petrone, both won to amazing," said Berque. "He's had secure the doubles point in the a couple doozies, but I haven't best-of-seven points dual-match seen anything better than this. format. Under pressure like that, we "I think the energy and fight needed his match. I thought was really good in doubles," said it was an incredible effort. He Michigan coach Bruce Berque. played really good tennis and he "But I don't think our execution competed like a beast. was as consistent as it needs to "I've seen it before so I can't be." say I'm shocked, but this is a After the drama of the close very special win for him." doubles matches, the crowd Michigan's victory did come became a factor - frustrat- at a cost, as nagging back and ing the Horned Frog players stomach injuries forced Bern- and coaches, and boosting the stein to miss his singles match.@ energy level for the Wolverines' Bernstein's availability will singles lineup. be a question mark going into "It's definitely a positive to next week's ITA Kickoff match have that kind of energy in the against Santa Clara. building," said Berque. "The The Wolverines will look to energy is great, and the cheering capitalize on the unusual early is terrific." test TCU gave them and prema-0 Down 3-2 in team points, the turely shake off the typical early dual match came down to King season cobwebs. and junior co-captain Barrett "Competitively and compo- Franks. Once again, the crowd sure-wise, I give (the team) an spurred the Wolverines towards A-plus," said Berque. Redshirt junior Eric Grajales was one of the few bright spots for the Wolverines on Friday in a loss to Iowa. little bit better at," McFarland said. "We've got to keep plow- ing forward and keep our nose to the grindstone." Against Iowa, Michigan's lineup featured five wrestlers who either had never started in Big Ten competition before this season or who are not a regular part of the lineup and started because of injuries, making the adjustment to facing a top team like the Hawkeyes very diffi- cult. The inexperienced Wolver- ines provided brief glimpses of hope on a night where little seemed to exist for Michigan. One example was 141-pound redshirt junior Mike Hillock, who wentinto his match against No. 9 Mark Ballweg having competed in only one dual meet this season for the Wolverines. Hillock provided a jolt through the packed arena with an early takedown to take the lead in the match. But as the trend of the night continued for Michi- gan, Hillock failed to capital- ize on a near fall opportunity to pin Ballweg, who responded to a deficit at the end of the first period by taking a lead in the second period and never look- ing back on his way to an 18-10 major decision. The lone Michi- gan wrestler to capitalize on the opportunities given to him on Friday was Grajales. Ranked No. 11 in his weight class, Grajales continued to serve as a steady hand for the Wolverines, garnering three takedowns and a near-fall while accumulating 2:17 of riding time on his way to a 12-3 major deci- sion. The win improved Grajales to 3-0 in Big Ten dual meets this season. As a team, Michigan can only continue to work hard until wrestlers get healthy and gain experience. "We have these last two months of the season to figure out what we're doing wrong, tweak it, get better," Grajales said. "And hopefully finish out the season (well)." The Wolverines will look for their first Big Ten dual- meet victory of the season next Sunday as they take on No. 21 Northwestern at Cliff Keen Arena.