Michigan DT And ‘Grade A Hater’ On The Rough Of Ohio State On Cotton Bowl Collapse…

Enough so that a defensive player from Michigan felt sorry for the Buckeyes.

While the Wolverines were in California getting ready to play Alabama in a College Football Playoff semifinal at the Rose Bowl, Kris Jenkins was questioned about the game. Multiple reporters on the scene report that Jenkins expressed regret for the way the Buckeyes appeared after freshman Lincoln Kienholz was forced to play behind a porous offensive line due to Devin Brown’s injury.

According to Dave Briggs of the Toledo Blade, Jenkins stated, “I didn’t like that at all.” We played a different team than that. Since I’m a hater, I don’t really care if they win, but I also don’t want to see them end their career in that manner. That was difficult.

Naturally, this was not the same offense that on November 25 in Ann Arbor scored 24 points. Kyle McCord, the starting quarterback, transferred to Syracuse. Marvin Harrison Jr., a star receiver, chose not to play. Julian Fleming, another starting receiver, put his name into the portal. Enokk Vimahi, who saw limited action, was moved from right guard to center to make room for Matt Jones, who had been benched for Carson Hinzman.

The outcome saw Ohio State average just 3.6 yards per play, go 2 for 15 on third down, and allow four sacks.

At first, neither Keinholz’s green status nor Harrison’s opt-out were known to Jenkins. Even Ohio State’s 3-0 opponent and self-described “Grade A hater” thought that was a hard way for his rival to lose.

Jenkins remarked, “A hater wants to see their rivals lose.” You simultaneously want your opponent to lose and don’t want them to. Because it’s even more satisfying to hate them when you play them and win.

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Jim Harbaugh: Jadyn Davis has ‘rare’ intelligence, athleticism…

LOS ANGELES One of the top recruits in Michigan’s 2024 class is quarterback Jadyn Davis, and Jim Harbaugh spoke about the incoming quarterback publicly for the first time on Saturday.

As Michigan gets ready to play Alabama in the Rose Bowl, Davis signed an early commitment with the Wolverines and has been taking part in practices in Los Angeles. Harbaugh and the Wolverines made the four-star quarterback, ranked among the top 100 players by 247Sports Composite, a priority this cycle. He should give the QB more talent and depth going forward.

Harbaugh gave his initial thoughts on the young quarterback and described how Michigan discovered Davis “pretty early” in the recruiting process. He stated the following:

Jim Harvey: Quite early. Quite early. He’s been named North Carolina’s Mr. Football twice. We could discuss a great deal about his past experiences, but the most recent is that he allowed us to watch him play and even coach him.

The thing that stands out is that, after reading just one book, you can give him a coaching point; I’ve given him four so far since he’s been here, and he understands it right away. The next representative is doing it precisely as I just described.

Simply put, it’s rare to have the intelligence and athleticism necessary to comprehend something and then, instead of putting in a lot of effort or spending a lot of time on it, just go ahead and repeat it.

He’s athletic enough to instantly mimic what you’re saying and has the ability to picture it. That is unique. That is something that I noticed right away.

But a great guy. I’m so excited to coach him

On the importance of Jadyn Davis reps as an early enrollee with Michigan

JIM HARBAUGH: I don’t know. I don’t know how important that is. But yeah, just jumping in and just watching how he handles himself, it’s kind of an important tool for me to see because you can tell — it’s like watching JJ, when JJ took the field for the first time.

Just the presence that he has and had, and to watch Jadyn do that, very interesting. How is he going to approach the first day. There it is. There’s the presence. There’s the genuine confidence. There’s the work ethic. There’s the humility. It’s great to see.

On the coaching points Jim Harbaugh has shared with Jadyn Davis

JIM HARBAUGH: His sights fixed on the goal. The quarterback has a propensity to look up and watch the ball when he throws a deep pass rather than maintaining constant eye contact with the receiver and the defender.

mentored him during the snap. Finding a coach for that is important because, like many guys, they don’t take a snap in high school.

I gave him a ball handling coaching point about how to get away from center quicker, and he instantly, instantly copied it.

I also included a side route that he can easily grasp. When I say, “Listen,” there’s actually an art to it—listening, truly hearing what the instruction is, being able to accept it, and then carrying it out.

However, pay close attention to what is said, accept it fully, and then use your divinely-granted abilities to carry it out as best you can. He possesses the ability to perform all three.

Michigan Rose Bowl practice footage…

Embedded above are exclusive practice clips from Michigan’s Rose Bowl preparation for Alabama.

Michigan entered the 2023 season with an opportunity to three-peat as Big Ten Champions and were able to accomplish the goal, beating Ohio State for the third straight season followed by a win over Iowa to take the conference yet another time.

Sherrone Moore’s team had a deep and talented offensive line that had the potential to produce ten or more picks in the NFL Draft in April of next year. Offensive coordinator Sherman Moore says that quarterback J.J. McCarthy has an exceptionally deep offensive line group that includes as many as ten players deserving of starting roles, and he also has the best running back tandem in the nation in Blake Corum and Evan Edwards. With two seasoned receivers and a tight end group with lofty ceilings, the Wolverines became one of the best overall offensive teams in the country.

Defensively, defensive coordinator Jesse Minter got great contributions from stars at cornerback (Will Johnson), safety (Rod Moore), linebacker (Junior Colson) and defensive tackle (Kris Jenkins, Mason Graham) along with a very talented edge group led by veteran Jaylen Harrell and high-ceiling players like Derrick Moore and Braiden McGregor.

Harbaugh was able to reflect on the Wolverines’ third straight conference title as they head to the College Football Playoff for the third straight year as well.

“Yeah, just as you would expect. Just a great thrill of victory, wonderful, wonderful feeling of winning. It’s what we dreamed about, what we hoped for, what we’ve worked for, what our guys prepared for.

“Put yourself in a position where you can win everything by getting in position.

“We’ve crossed off a lot of our goals on the goal sheet, and now we just need to win it all. We’ll focus exclusively on that, our upcoming opponent and our matchup with Alabama in the Final Four, and we’ll proceed as usual. We are going to play, get ready, practice, and give it everything we have.

On New Year’s Day on ABC, Michigan will take on Alabama in the hopes of competing in the National Championship game.