Jim Harbaugh isn't exactly an "open book" when it comes to dealing with the media as the head coach of the Michigan Wolverines, but on Tuesday, he provided a very revealing answer.
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As part of the Big Ten Network's preseason tour, Harbaugh was made available for a 5+ minute interview and it can be found here:
How does @umichfootball's Jim Harbaugh plan on using Jabrill Peppers? See that & more in this must-see interview! https://t.co/Z0nUgMEeqz
— Michigan On BTN (@MichiganOnBTN) August 16, 2016
While the entire exchange is quite interesting, the closing part of the conversation was particularly noteworthy, as Harbaugh opened up about what kind of effect the outside rumblings can have on the program and the coaching staff:
"The predictions and things like that are not coming from our team. You never want to take anybody's word for what you can do. A lot of times it's people trying to put you down. Other times they're building you up so they can put you down."
"I think there's probably more people out there that would like to see us fail than would like to see us do great. The one thing we can control is how we work out and how we prepare and getting ourselves to be confident because of our preparation. Not because of what somebody else is saying about us."
The majority of pundits have been very positive about Michigan but, as with any program, that means the detractors are preparing for an onslaught if things do not go according to plan in Ann Arbor. The Wolverines enter the season without a definite at the quarterback position and, with that, the expectations could be slightly out of control.
Still, Harbaugh and his staff have every reason to be confident in the roster that the group has assembled and blocking out the noise has worked to this point. Now, we see if that can continue.
