In 
January, 
Harbaugh 
hired 

another 
familiar 
face 
to 
coach 

the tight ends — his son, Jay. An 
offensive assistant for his uncle John 
in Baltimore for the previous three 
years, Jay has emulated his father’s 
NFL tendencies.

“You certainly watch, and you 

tend to know who does what well,” 
Jay Harbaugh said. “Some teams are 
better with tight ends than others. 
Some teams do really good stuff with 
backs out of the backfield, so if you’re 
looking for a certain idea, you know 
which teams to look at, whether 
it’s third down or red zone. There’s 
certainly some of that.

“We’re open to getting ideas from 

anywhere.”

The increased focus on tight ends 

has put Butt in the spotlight. In five 
games, he has 19 catches for 234 
yards — both second on the team — 
and a touchdown.

Other stats tell 

even more about 
Michigan’s 
new 

approach: Butt has 
been targeted 5.8 
times 
per 
game 

this season, which 
ranks 10th in the 
country and first 
in the Big Ten among tight ends, 
according to rotogrinders.com. He 
has also taken 19.08 percent of the 
receiving workload, sixth in the 
country, and his eight catches in the 
season opener at Utah were the most 
by a Michigan tight end since 1995.

Those 
numbers 
give 
the 

Harbaughs, father and son, reason to 
believe in their scheme.

“I think that from the get-go 

(the tight ends) were really, really 
excited to be a part of this team, and 
I think it’s obvious why, with the 
opportunities in terms of playing 
time,” Jay Harbaugh said. “And 
the diversity of assignments and 
responsibility is kind of unparalleled 
at this level. No matter what anybody 
says, it’s really not close in terms of 
what we ask them to do.”

* * *

It’s one thing to focus on the pro 

style, but to execute it, a team has to 
have the players and the coaches, 
but it also has to watch the film — 
which Michigan does, at length. 
The Wolverines have spoken about 
watching tape from different sources, 
even high-school games, to gain ideas.

“Shoot, I’ve watched a lot of 

everybody,” 
Jay 
Harbaugh 
said. 

“The (Kansas City) Chiefs have done 
some nice stuff recently. I would say 
probably them the last couple weeks. 
They’ve done some pretty good stuff. 
(The Carolina) Panthers as well, and 
then the (New England) Patriots are 

always good.”

If 
that’s 
where 
Harbaugh’s 

focus lies, then Michigan’s tight 
ends coach’s intentions are in 
the right place. The Patriots’ Rob 
Gronkowski, the Panthers’ Greg 
Olsen and the Chiefs’ Travis Kelce 
rank first, second and eighth, 
respectively, among NFL tight 
ends in targets per game. If the 
Wolverines’ trends continue, their 
tight ends could soon be in similar 
positions.

Michigan 
also 
takes 
ideas 

from 
other 
college 
teams 
— 

when it watched West Virginia 
and Maryland play to scout the 
Terrapins, for instance. But the 
Wolverines are so similar to 
some NFL teams and so different 
from some college teams that 
sometimes, it doesn’t make as 
much sense.

“I think our 

offense 
lends 

itself to looking 
at 
NFL 
tape 

more than other 
colleges,” 
Jay 

Harbaugh said. 
“Probably 
just 

because it makes 
more 
sense 

for us to, because there’s more 
carryover in terms of protections 
and formations.”

The 
other 
positions 
have 

pro applications as well. The 
defense uses multiple formations, 
frequently rotating between the 
3-4 and the 4-3. There, Dierdorf 
sees shades of the NFL.

Fifth-year senior Jake Rudock, 

a graduate transfer from Iowa, 
where he started for two years, also 
has a big responsibility. Michigan 
sends multiple plays in from the 
sideline, forcing Rudock to call one 
at the line.

“You go to the line and everyone 

on offense is prepared to run 
one of several different plays,” 
Dierdorf said. “It requires a lot of 
coordination, a lot of smart people 
listening and anticipating what 
they’re going to hear from the 
quarterback in terms of what play 
they’re going to run.”

Whatever the most important 

factor may be, the NFL focus has 
put the Wolverines in a position 
to contend for the Big Ten title in 
a year no one thought they could.

If 
Michigan 
hoped 
NFL 

concepts would help give the team 
a leg up on the competition, that’s 
just what they have done.

5
TheMichiganDaily — www.michigandaily.com
FootballSaturday — October 10, 2015
4

By JAKE LOURIM

Managing Sports Editor

Jim Harbaugh and one of his 

many football influences watched 
from the sideline during Michigan’s 
game at Maryland on Saturday. Over 
the past nine months, Harbaugh 
has alluded to countless people who 
have helped him become Michigan’s 
head coach — just as many on the 
field as off of it.

Last week, he didn’t have to go 

far to get an outside perspective 
on his team’s 28-0 thrashing of the 
Terrapins. His brother, John — the 
head coach of the NFL’s Baltimore 
Ravens — stood beside him at 
various points during the game.

Harbaugh has drawn from many 

people in his transformation of 
Michigan football from a 5-7 team 
that missed the postseason to a 4-1 
power that ranks No. 2 in the nation 
in scoring defense.

Two 
weeks 
ago, 
after 
the 

Wolverines 
romped 
to 
a 
31-0 

victory 
over 
Brigham 
Young, 

Harbaugh admitted he borrowed 
a play John’s Ravens ran the week 
before for a touchdown. Against 
Maryland, redshirt junior wide 
receiver Jehu Chesson broke loose 
for a 66-yard touchdown run, and 
John Harbaugh said that play came 
from the Ravens, too.

Five weeks in, on a Michigan 

team 
with 
eight 
former 
NFL 

coaches, the league has made a 

sizable impact.

“I don’t know the percentage, 

but it has,” Harbaugh said Monday. 
“It’s there. … (I) enjoy watching it 
as a coach. You don’t feel like it’s 
stealing. It’s research. But yeah, 
there are a lot of good ideas that 
come from high school coaches, 
college coaches, pro coaches.”

Between coaches, schemes and 

formations, Michigan is starting to 
look more like a professional team. 
The eight former pro coaches have 
worked for a total of eight different 
teams. Harbaugh takes a screen 
pass from here and an end-around 
run from there until he has a viable 
approach.

“I think our offense is a little more 

of an NFL-style offense scheme-
wise,” said sophomore offensive 
tackle Mason Cole. “Besides that, 
getting coached by NFL coaches, 
they’ve all been there. Just learning 
from those guys is an incredible 
experience.”

In little time, the Wolverines 

have 
entirely 
changed 
their 

appearance. And there’s still a lot 
more to come.

* * *

After 
Harbaugh 
took 
the 

Michigan job in late December, 
he didn’t waste time installing his 
vision. He didn’t wait for his first 
recruiting class to reshape the roster 
the way he wanted it. At Stanford 

and with the San Francisco 49ers, 
his team was loaded with fullbacks 
and tight ends for his power 
running scheme. This year, the 
Wolverines have seven fullbacks (if 
you count fullback-tight end hybrid 
Henry Poggi), more than double the 
three they had last year.

Fifth-year senior Joe Kerridge, 

redshirt junior Bobby Henderson 
and senior Sione Houma returned. 
Nick 
Volk 
converted 
from 

linebacker, Poggi from defensive 
end. Sophomores Joe Beneducci 
and Deyanco Hardwick joined the 
team.

Several 
times 
this 
season, 

Michigan has lined up in tight sets 
with three men in the backfield, 
a somewhat rare formation, even 
in the NFL. Harbaugh’s influence 
created that opportunity.

It came straight from the NFL, 

too, because power fullbacks are 
a dying breed in college football. 
While the Wolverines have seven 
on their roster, 12 teams in the top-
25 poll have zero. Just five other 
teams have three or more.

“I think it’s just a different style 

of football,” Cole said. “You don’t see 
that a lot in college football anymore. 
I think it’s good.”

One of the five fullback-heavy 

teams is Stanford, which Harbaugh 
built in a mold similar to the one 
he has started with Michigan. In 
between, he picked up tools in the 
NFL. When he reached the NFC 
Championship Game in each of his 
first three seasons in San Francisco, 
tight end Vernon Davis was in the 
top two on the team in receiving 

yards and touchdowns each year.

Dan Dierdorf, who now serves 

as the radio color commentator 
for Michigan football, was an All-
American offensive lineman under 
Bo Schembechler from 1967 to 1970 
and then a Hall of Famer for the 
St. Louis Rams from 1971 to 1983. 
He sees the similarities between 
Michigan’s style and a pro style from 
the broadcast booth.

“(Harbaugh) played quarterback 

his entire life. He coaches like 
he plays linebacker or he plays 
offensive guard,” Dierdorf said. 
“He coaches knowing the value 
of winning the battle at the line of 
scrimmage.”

Before he coached in the pros, 

Harbaugh developed future pro 
tight ends in Coby Fleener and Zach 
Ertz at Stanford, and he’s on his 
way to doing the same at Michigan. 
The day before fall camp started, he 
called junior tight end Jake Butt one 
of the best NFL tight end prospects 
he has ever coached.

Under Harbaugh, the Wolverines 

have eight tight ends (plus Poggi), 
up from six last year, but their 
development has allowed them 
to use three on the field at once. 
In the top 25, only Alabama and 
Mississippi possess more tight ends 
than Michigan.

‘M’ renaissance has 
NFL’s fingerprints

ALLISON FARRAND/Daily

Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh has borrowed material from NFL teams in reshaping the Michigan football team in his first year.

ROBERT DUNNE/Daily

Fifth-year senior fullback Joe Kerridge has seen the field more in Harbaugh’s system, which emphasizes the power game.

Tight ends coach Jay Harbaugh (top 
right) has overseen one of Michigan’s 
most important position groups, led by
junior Jake Butt (bottom right), who 
has been one of the Wolverines’ most 
important offensive weapons.

ALLISON FARRAND/Daily

GRANT HARDY/Daily

“You don’t feel 
like it’s stealing. 
It’s research.”

