Why the Wolverines head coach sees this game as less of a challenge and more of an opportunity.
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It’s a word that seems has been used more than any other once Michigan’s VRBO Citrus Bowl opponent in Alabama was announced:
Opportunity.
The Wolverines aren’t shying away from facing a team that has been in every single College Football Playoff since its 2014 inception, that is, until this year. The Crimson Tide haven’t just been there, they’ve been in the final game every year save for that first year.
So while you’d think that Michigan would call it a challenge, perhaps it’s looking at it in more optimistic terms. That is, to say: an opportunity.
“Great opponent on New Year’s Day,” head coach Jim Harbaugh told Jon Jansen on Learfield IMG’s weekly Inside Michigan Football radio show. “Big challenges for the team and the coaches. And opportunity. The opportunity of thinking you’re a good team and wanting to go out and prove that.”
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And that’s why it seems like there’s a concerted effort by players to play in this game.
Josh Uche, the talented SAM linebacker who also plays defensive end depending on the play, already announced he would forgo his final year in Ann Arbor to try his hand in the NFL. However, he’s still going to play in the bowl game, he’s said.
In fact, the Wolverines reportedly have had a full complement of players participating in the bowl practices, with a full intent to play on Jan. 1 when the time comes.
Some have said, like quarterback Shea Patterson, that no one should sit this game out, given the opponent and how the last game went. Others have looked at it as the best opportunity to prove their draft stock.
That’s how Jim Harbaugh sees it for the outgoing players. This isn’t just a chance to show that Michigan can hang with the best teams in the country after losing three games thus far — it’s a chance for the players who are about to depart to prove they’re among the best in the nation themselves, one-on-one.
“The thing that should be on the mind the most is the opportunity,” Harbaugh said. “Lavert Hill – what kind of opportunity he has to go up against the Alabama receivers and show how good he is. Josh Uche, you mention him, the opportunity he has going up against two tackles that will probably be drafted in the first 20 picks in the NFL Draft. Jon Runyan, the opportunity he has.
“I think the way they oughta think about it and the way their mindset should be is: they’re good, and they’re gonna go up against good players. And there’s an opportunity to show just how good you are.”
That said, there’s several players we haven’t seen that we very well could see in this game.
Michigan is using their bowl practices to prepare for Alabama, sure, but it also has been getting other players ready for the future. That includes several signees who haven’t even officially started yet who participated in practice this weekend in limited capacity.
But what about the players who either have been injured and are now healthy or those who just haven’t gotten playing time in games this season? Harbaugh notes the onus is on the staff to prepare for the Crimson Tide, and they are doing that. However, simultaneously, they are preparing for the future.
“The emphasis is getting ready for the game against Alabama, but surely, anybody can realize there’s an opportunity for players that were on the scout team that are gonna be getting ready for spring ball to take advantage and create an opportunity for themselves,” Harbaugh said. “Willing to see that. There’s guys that can play in this game and still keep a redshirt year. There’s an opportunity in that way. Josh Ross, Mazi Smith, David Ojabo. There’s plenty of guys that are taking advantage of these practices.”
We’ll know more about how that will all work out come Jan. 1, when the Wolverines and Crimson Tide face off at Camping World Stadium in Orlando at 1PM EST.
