Can Michigan actually beat Georgia?
Jim Harbaugh has been pretty animated this offseason, even for Harbaugh, can the Wolverines deliver on his talk of fielding the most talented team in history?
Earlier this offseason I asked a question which hasn’t really received just a ton of traction, even though others like Bruce Feldman have asked a similar question.
It was…
I actually live in Michigan, very close to the University in fact, but I don’t consume a ton of local media save for periodic perusal of my friends’ work at MgoBlog.com
So I’m not entirely sure how confident the mood is around the program. It seems relatively quiet from the fans, which probably means high hopes people are afraid to vulnerably lay out for fear of being crushed.
You know who’s not been quiet though?
Jim Harbaugh.
First he noted that Michigan now has a “beat Georgia” drill they run at every practice. It’s apparently some old fashioned, mano a mano, slobberknocker drill to practice physicality in the run game and run defense. Georgia also emphasizes drills like that but much of what makes the Dawgs special is that they emphasize it with uniquely powerful athletes. I think Michigan will always struggle to beat Georgia at their own game in the trenches, at least between the tackles. More on that in a moment.
More recently he made another goal for this team, beyond beating Georgia and winning a National Championship. To produce 20 draft picks in the next NFL Draft, five more than Georgia’s 15 in 2023.
That’s a lot. It’d be the most ever, in fact.
This whole offseason narrative by Harbaugh is a lot and comes alongside him potentially being suspended for the first four games for refusing to work with the NCAA on an investigation they did into Michigan. Let’s unpack some of this.
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