The 2016 season opener went very well for Michigan, as the Wolverines trounced Hawaii by 60 points while Michael Jordan looked on with delight. However, there was one conspicuous absence for Jim Harbaugh's team and that was in the form of All-American cornerback Jourdan Lewis.
Videos by FanBuzz
During the game, ESPN analyst Ed Cunningham speculated that Lewis could be suspended as an explanation for his absence, but after the contest, word broke that he was simply banged up and being held out as a precaution. During his press conference on Labor Day, Harbaugh took the liberty of calling out Cunningham... in front of the entire media and various cameras.
Jim Harbaugh condemns Ed Cunningham's suspension speculation on Jourdan Lewis https://t.co/enBNcV8E2p
— MLive Sports (@MLiveSports) September 5, 2016
The full response can be seen above, but here is a transcription:
"He was getting close to being healthy enough to play in the game. He was working through something - had nothing to do with off-field suspension. I heard Ed Cunningham got way out over his skis, speculating that it was some kind of suspension. Jourdan Lewis is one of the finest guys we have on the team - football character and off-the-field character...just total character. There's few, if any, better than Jourdan Lewis. I just wanted to clarify that."
This is probably too aggressive given that Michigan is famous for not releasing any information about player availability, and Harbaugh could simply be using Cunningham as a vehicle to pump up one of his best players from a character standpoint. Still, it isn't every day that you see a (very) famous head coach calling out an ESPN analyst by name and Jim Harbaugh certainly isn't shy.
