The Michigan Daily - SPORTSMonday - Monday, November 20, 1995 - 3B
Qusto &Anwer
Jim
Harbaugh
DARREN EVERSON
Darren to be Different
Cane 7r'
Surely, Mr. Roberson, my
application got lost in the
mail.
I sent you a job application a couple
of weeks ago - it was for an opening
in your athletic department - but I bet
some Cliff Clavin look-alike mistak-
enly dropped it down a gutter or
something.
That has to be it. Otherwise, if you
got my application, you wouldn't be
reading another awfully mediocre
column of mine right now. No, sir;
you'd be sitting in my office at
Schembecher Hall, asking me how my
first few days as Michigan's football
coach have been.
During last Monday's news confer-
ence, when you officially gave my job
to Lloyd Carr, you said that you
received 40 to 45 "applications" for the
permanent head coaching job, four or
five of which you seriously considered.
Well, Mr. Roberson, consider this: I
happen to be the manager of an
intramural flag football team, a 5-1
intramural flag football team. And I've
led them to this mark at Mitchell Field,
Ahose turf is kind of like Michigan
Stadium's would have been during the
Purdue game if the 100,000 fans had all
brought their 9-irons and taken
chipping practice during each stoppage
of play.
As impressive as this is, you did say
that wins and losses aren't everything. I
couldn't agree more.
tBesides my proven track record on
the gridiron, I believe I match up
favbrably with Carr, former Michigan
as tant Bill McCartney, ex-Dallas
each Jimmy Johnson or anyone else in
every way.
First, I'll put up my SAT scores
dainst any of' em. Second, I've shown
" alty to this school that Carr and the
other candidates simply can't match.
n top of being a student here (and
nowhere else) since 1992, I've served
Nfiehigan in a way that Carr has been
unwilling or unable: I've been a
dormitory library assistant. And I left
only after the Ann Arbor Public Library
approached me with a far more
lucrative deal ($6.50 per hour) than
what I already had.
True, Carr's been here since 1980.
But you can rest assuredMr.
Roberson, that if I wasn't so busy
trying to get the alphabet down back
then, I would've been here for you -
for Michigan.
One other thing Carr appears to have
over me is his ability to relate with the
players, with whom he's been through
years of glorious victories and heart-
breaking losses.
But have they been through Orienta-
tion together? I think not.
Defensive back Woody Hankins and
I have - summer of 1992, Mr.
Roberson. And if you thought four
months of full-contact practices and
games were tough, obviously you
haven't suffered through University
walking tours, bus tours and informa-
tion sessions --days of them.
Two-a-days have nothing on
Orientation.
So I've bonded with, well, 1/90th of
the team, and my credentials are
certainly beyond question. But if I were
you, one question would still stand out
in my mind:
How bad does this kid want to win?
To that, I have two words for you:
real bad.
I know I've been critical of the
Wolverines at times, Mr. Roberson. But
believe you me, no one wants to beat
the stuffing out of our Big Ten foes
more than me.
Take Purdue, for example. I once
lnew a girl who went there; who
knows, she might still go there. To
make a long story short, we're not on
the best of terms anymore, which was
tvtally her fault, of course.
That being the case, Mr. Roberson,
do you think anybody wants to broil the
boilermakers more than yours truly?
No way! If I was coach, I might win
some and I might lose some, but I
guarantee you I'd beat those people all
the wavu hacke to ndniana pprv chancI~
Former Wolverine discusses his NFL career, Michigan
Jim Harbaugh was Michtgan's top
signal-caller from 1985-1987. He
started the 1984 season at 3-1 but suf-
fered a season-ending injury when his
arm snapped against Michigan State.
Heledthe Wolverinestoa10-1-I record
and a No.2 ranking in the polls after
beating Nebraska in the Fiesta Bowl.
Harbaugh capped the '85 season as the
first Big Ten quarterback to lead the
nation in efficiency. He finished his
career at Michigan with a 22-15 loss to
Arizona State in the 1987 Rose Bowl
and an 11-2 record.
Harbaugh was drafted by the Chicago
Bears in 1987 where he played until he
was let go in 1994 by head coach Dave
Wannstedt. Harbaugh was picked up a
week later by the Indianapolis Colts.
Harbaugh has experienced new found
success this year as he has been ranked
among the top passers in the NFL.
In an interview with Daily Sports
Writer Nancy Berger, Jim Harbaugh
discusses his career at Michigan, his
feelings on Bo Schlembechler and his
career in the NFL.
Daily: You broke your arm early in
yourcareerin Michigan. Wereyoucon-
cerned that it would threaten your fu-
ture football career later on?
Harbaugh: I realmydidn't know at the
time. That was my first year playing and
I really didn't know if I would have a
career to be threatened. I was just trying
to play and do my best at that point.
D: Does the injury to your arm pose
any problems to you today?
H: No it doesn't except my arm is
crooked, still to this day.
D: Has your ability to run been the
biggest asset in your career?
H: Yeah, probablyone of them. I don't
know how many assets I have, depending
on who you talk to. I mean at Michigan
we ran the option when I was there. I
always enjoyed that part of it., As a pro, I
have continued to like to run on plays. It
is just kind of fun to get out there.
D: Was there any specific advice that
Bo Schembechler gave to you that was
particularly valuable to you later on in
your career?
H: There have just been so many. I
kind of consider those to be the good
old days when I played at Michigan and
playing for Bo. There is so many. There
are so many great stories and things he
said that it is kind of hard to come up
with just one. I looked at Bo and kind of
idolized him when I was playing there.
D: Was playing for Bo Schembechler
what attracted you
to play at Michi-
H: It really was.K
I grew up in Ann
Arbor as a kid and
my dad coached for
Bo. I used to go to
all the games when
I was growing up
and it was kind of
always a dream to'
play at Michigan
and playing for Bo.
I definitely always
looked up to Bo. It j
was more than just
things he said it was
just his example
that he set. He was
very dedicated to
Michigan. His
character, he just
set a great example for everbody that
played under him in how he acted on
and off the field.
D: Do you considerplaying the Rose
Bowl one of the crowning achieve-
ments in your college football career?
H: That was definitely always my
dream and one of the big reasons that I
went to Michigan. Unfortunately we
lost there but it was still neat, getting a
chance to play in that game.
D: How was Mike Ditka's approach
to the game different from Bo
Schembechler's. Was there a big dif-
ference between their coaching styles?
H: There's difference and there are a
lot of similarities. I think that they both
loved the team that they were coaching
for and they had an intense desire to
win. They were both extremely com-
petitive. I think that they were both
good for the game, so I looked at them
as having a lot of similarities.
D: Did you feel that there was too
much pressure that was put on you in
Chicago to win?
H: All week during practice, they
told us that when the corner backs or
defensive backs were off the receivers
like 10 yards that they wanted me to
audible to a hitch pattern, which is a
five-yard stop basically. I did that and
right when I did that, the corners came
flying up and one of our receivers didn't
get the audible. Todd Scott was basi-
cally sitting right there when the ball
got there. It was just one of those plays.
I would love to have it back.
D: Do you think that the defenses are
purposely trying to
kock the quarter-
backs out of the
game today? Do you
think that the NFL
rules for protecting
the quarterback are
sufficient enough?
H: I really think
that the rules that are
inplacenowhelpthe
quarterback. I think
that you could just
tell that the past
probably five years,
the rules like not be-
ing able to take two
steps and hit the
quarterback after he
has thrown has re-
ally helped. The de-
fenders are really
conscious of that, I
think. This year we are seeing a lot of
fines being given for players that hit with
their helmet or hit the quarterback in the
head, either with their helmet oran elbow.
I really think that it is helping. You are
kind of in a defenseless posture when you
are back there.
D: What player or players do you
fear the most when you look across at a
defensive line?
H: A couple of the most intimidating
players are Greg Lloyd from the Pitts-
burgh Steelers, definitely. Reggie
White, without a doubt, of Green Bay.
Those type of players are almost im-
possible to block with just one guy.
Those are the two that come to mind the
fastest.
D: Do you think that the salary cap
has watered down some of the compe-
tition in the NFL?
H: I don't think that it has watered
down the competition. I mean you got
the same players playing but the scale,
of what people are paying is different.
If it weren't for the salary cap a player
like Steve Bono would be in San
Fransisco not in Kansas City. I don't
think that certain teams can stockpile a
lot of great players, so I think that it has
definitely contributed to the parity in
the league. It has made teams more
competitive. All you have to do is look
at how well the expansion teams in their
first yearwith free agency. Carolina has
won like four games and Jacksonville
has won three I think. In the past years,
if you had- an expansion team, they
would be lucky if they has won one
game. With free agency they have been
able to go out there and start from
scratch and it has really helped them.
D: What kind of defensive forma-
tions do you see more in the AFC than
you saw in the NFC?
H: Pretty much, the defensive choice
among defensive coordinators is a four-
three. They play four defensive-line-
men and three linebackers. That is pretty
much common throughout the league.
There are a couple of AFC teams who
still play a 34 defense, which is three
down linemen and for linebackers. That
is like Buffalo and New England butthe
four-three is really kind of like the de-
fense of choice.
D: After your career in the NFL is
over, what do you foresee yourself do-
ing? Would you consider working in
the NFL in a different capacity?
H: I see myself going into coaching,
probably starting at the college level.
H: When I was playing in Chicago,
that was a couple of years after they had
won the Super Bowl. The team was start-
ing to decline and people were getting
older. People still expected the Super
Bowl every year. We just didn't have a
team that was good enough. I think a lot
of people looked at me as kind of like the
person to blame. Looking back on it, I
think I got a lot of that abuse.
D: What did you see on the field that
made you change the play to an audible
against Minnesota a few years ago?
Michigan men's cross country looks to rebound at NCAAs
By Mark Snyder
Daily Sports Writer
For three months, the men's cross-
country team has focused on a single
goal, but today it is time to realize that
challenge.
The NCAA Championships, held to-
day at Iowa State University, are
Michigan's shot at redemption. After a
disappointing finish at last week's
NCAA District meet, the Wolverines
slipped into today's race by receiving a
wild-card bid based on theiir past per-
formances and national ranking.
The team's fourth-place finish last
Sunday in West Lafayette did not meet
expectations, which were aiming to-
ward a second-place conclusion. But
the team is looking to vindicate itself.
"The guys are trying to concentrate a
little more this week," Kevin Sullivan
said. "Last week, we had a lack of
concentration. Everyone's trying to fo-
cus a little more, we don't went to have
a bad race like we had at Districts."
Coach Ron Warhurst will make one
substitution in the lineup that ran last
weekend. Instead ofsenior Kris ggile,
who ran at Purdue, freshman Todd
Snyder will compute in his first meet
since the Big Ten Championships three
weeks ago in Minnesota.
Revenge will need to come on the
feet of the Michigan runners. Senior
Today's, 'meU;LIt NA
What: Mel's crassountry NCAAs
Where: Iowa State
Whe: All day
Wh* Micijigan and other top teams'
Theo Molla, running his last cross-coun-
try race, has come on strong at the end
of the season. His second-place finish
in the squad at the Big Ten meet estab-
lished him as one of the team's runners
to count on.
Running alongside Molla will be Big
Ten Freshman of the Year John
Mortimer. Mortimer finished eighth at
Districts and began to make a name for
himself at the national level.
This is not to forget Michigan's ace
in the hole, All-American Sullivan. He
is attempting to win the individual na-
tional championship with a victory.
"It's pretty wide-open this year, with
myself, Kevin Goucher from Colorado,
and Arkansas has some good runners,"
he said in regard to his individual title
chances.
Sullivan has never won the individual
title, finishing third and fourth overall
in his two attempts. He was defeated
last year by a runner from Penn State
who is also returning this year.
This will be the junior's last college
race of the year. He plans to redshirt
himself for the track seasons (both in-
door and outdoor) to concentrate on his
preparations for the Olympic trials.
Sullivan, a native of Brantford,
Ontario, will be trying to gaina spot on
the Canadian team for the Games in
Atlanta next summer.
The method to his maddness will be
running in a group. Sullivan hopes this
will be the key to a victory in the 10,00-
meter event.
"I'm going to throw myself in the
lead pack and try to hang on," he said.
Filling out the roster for the Wolver-
ines are juniors David Barnett and Ryan
Burt, along with sophomore Don
McLaughlin. This is the squad which
Warhurst expects to come through in a
big w 1' 0-n.
This meet is the chance for Michigan
to finish with a high national ranking
and improve on last year's seventh-
place finish at the Championship.
"I think we're a top ten team,"
Sullivan said. "It's going to take seven
guys running their best race (for us to
succeed.)"
Unlike other sports, cross-country
runners do not have to adjust their
technique for the wavering weather
conditions. Despite frigid tempera-
tures here in Ann Arbor, the team is
expecting a milder climate for the
race today.
The forecast call for temperatures in
the 50'sand clear-championship
weather.
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