Michigan

Jim Harbaugh laments suspension, keeping him from No. 2 Michigan opener against East Carolina

Published

10 months ago

August 31, 2023

Press Room

Jim Harbaugh laments suspension, keeping him from No. 2 Michigan opener against East Carolina

Jim Harbaugh is used to being busy on Saturdays in the fall.

When No. 2 Michigan plays East Carolina on Saturday at the Big House, though, Harbaugh will have some free time.

FILE – Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh gestures during the first half of the Fiesta Bowl NCAA college football semifinal playoff game against TCU, Saturday, Dec. 31, 2022, in Glendale, Ariz. Michigan faces Ohio State on Nov. 25, 2023. This becomes huge if both the Buckeyes and Wolverines get past Big Ten title contender No. 7 Penn State.

Rick Scuteri / AP

Harbaugh will start serving a three-game suspension, imposed by the school in an attempt to lessen eventual punishment for breaking NCAA rules, when perhaps the best college team he has coached kicks off the season.

Harbaugh said going to his son’s game might be an option for his afternoon activities, adding he didn’t know if he would watch his team play on TV — or not.

“It’s uncharted waters,” he said

Harbaugh was knocked out of games as a quarterback at Michigan and in the NFL with a broken arm along with knee and shoulder injuries, but he said this blow hits different.

“I’ve heard people comment that it’s a slap on the wrist,” he said. “It’s more like a baseball bat to the kneecaps.”

Harbaugh’s game-day roll will be filled by defensive coordinator Jesse Minter against the Pirates.

“When you’re the head coach during the game, you’re the guardian of victory,” Harbaugh said. “That’s a tremendous responsibility.”

Offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore was suspended by the school for one game due to violating unspecified NCAA rules. Harbaugh said quarterbacks coach Kirk Campbell will call plays in place of Moore and an analyst will be elevated to fill out the game-day coaching staff.

“It puts a little bit of a chip on our shoulder for coach Harbaugh,” Minter said. “We certainly want to play well for him.”

Even without Harbaugh, the Wolverines are facing East Carolina with many of the players who helped them win two straight Big Ten titles and earn consecutive bids to the College Football Playoff.

“I’d rather them sit some of their players out,” Pirates coach Mike Houston said.

WALKING THE PLANK

Michigan is favored to win by five plus touchdowns, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.

While East Carolina has had a lot of relative success lately, it lost a lot of key players from last year’s team.

The American Athletic Conference team is coming off an eight-win season that included a victory in the Birmingham Bowl, which marked the program’s first postseason game since the 2014 season. A 2021 bowl appearance was called off due to COVID-19 issues.

Houston’s fifth team at the school has just four starters back on offense and six returning on defense.

The Pirates will break in a new quarterback after Holton Ahlers threw for 28 touchdowns and ran for six more last season, giving him 97 touchdowns through the air and 25 on the ground over five seasons. Keaton Mitchell, who ran for 1,452 yards and 14 touchdowns, is gone as are 1,000-yard receivers Isaiah Winstead and C.J. Johnson.

Houston, who didn’t release his depth chart, wouldn’t name a starting quarterback.

“We know who’s going to take the first snap and everybody else will find out on Saturday,” he said.

SHOW THEM THE MONEY

Harbaugh opened his weekly news conference, reading from handwritten notes on multiple pages for 5-plus minutes to share his opinion that student-athletes should share in the revenue generated in college athletics.

“The current status quo is unacceptable and won’t survive,” he said. “We capitalize on the talent, we should pay the talent for their contributions to the bottom line.”

FACING BIG NAMES

East Carolina has a history of facing Power Five programs, particularly from the ACC and SEC in recent years.

The Pirates nearly upset No. 13 North Carolina State in last year’s opener at home before missing kicks and losing by one point, falling to 13-64-1 against ranked teams. They’re 2-32 against top-10 teams and 0-11 against opponents in the top five.

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AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll

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Michigan

MSU’s Aidan Chiles and Michigan’s Alex Orji come together to support the community

Published

2 hours ago

July 1, 2024

Press Room

MSU’s Aidan Chiles and Michigan’s Alex Orji come together to support the community

DETROIT. (WILX) – On Sunday afternoon, two rivals came together to give back to the community. Michigan State Quarterback Aidan Chiles and Michigan Quarterback Alex Orji hosted the I AM Quarterback Youth Development Camp in Detroit.

Aidan is entering his sophomore season and his first chance to be a starting quarterback for MSU in the fall. Chiles has been extremely active in the community in the limited time that he’s been living in Michigan. One of the teammates that he’s gotten extremely close to is freshman wide receiver Nick Marsh. The two called each other twins and were both at the camp together, supporting the same cause.

Orji is currently in the middle of a battle for the starting QB role with Michigan and has been working hard to prove himself to the new coaching staff. Alex was running kids through drills on Sunday that he does in order to work on his craft. No matter if Orji wins the job or not it would be expected that the Wolverines would still use him as points with how dangerous he is running the football. Despite these two sides coming together for a good cause the competition will remain the same on the field.

“We want to beat them 50-0,” said Orji.

Michigan and MSU football will match-up on Oct. 26 with a battle between the two new looking teams.

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Michigan

Ex-Michigan State guard reportedly re-signing with Lakers

Published

9 hours ago

June 30, 2024

Press Room

Ex-Michigan State guard reportedly re-signing with Lakers

Max Christie is apparently staying put.

The former Michigan State guard is expected to sign a four-year, $32 million contract to remain with the Los Angeles Lakers, according to a report from ESPN on Sunday.

Christie was selected in the second round, No. 35 overall, by the Lakers in the 2022 draft. He has been a rotational player and averaged 3.8 points in 13.5 minutes per game with 10 starts in 108 games over the last two seasons combined.

A former five-star recruit from metro Chicago, Christie spent only one season at Michigan State. He averaged 9.3 points and 3.5 rebounds per game as a freshman in 2021-22 before declaring for the NBA draft.

Christie boosted his rookie scoring average from 3.1 to 4.2 points per game last season but his 3-point shooting percentage dipped from 41.9 to 35.6.

Staying with the Lakers means Christie will be in the same city as his younger brother. Cam Christie was selected in the second round, No. 46 overall, by the Clippers in the 2024 NBA draft on Thursday after spending one season at Minnesota.

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Michigan

Former Michigan State Star Lauds Former Spartan Teammate, Current NFL QB

Published

16 hours ago

June 30, 2024

Press Room

Former Michigan State Star Lauds Former Spartan Teammate, Current NFL QB

Former Michigan State quarterback Kirk Cousins is entering the next stage of what has already been a long, storied NFL career.

Cousins, who signed with the Atlanta Falcons this offseason, has joined a division that is already stacked with talent at the quarterback position, including names like Derek Carr, Baker Mayfield and former No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young, as well as rookies Michael Penix Jr. and Spencer Rattler.

Cousins’ former Spartan teammate, Brian Hoyer, who, of course, knows Cousins all too well, still has the four-time Pro Bowler at the top of that list.

While serving as a co-host on SiriusXM NFL Radio on Friday, Hoyer ranked his top quarterbacks in the NFC South, placing Cousins at No. 1.

“Kirk Cousins, Baker Mayfield, Derek Carr, Bryce Young,” Hoyer said. “Kirk Cousins, I think you’re going off of what he brings to the table, what he’s done year after year, he’s been very consistent when it comes to statistics. So, hopefully, he’s able to bring that to Atlanta, and that’s what I base that off of.”

Cousins was a redshirt freshman during Hoyer’s final season at Michigan State and served as his backup. Both quarterbacks went on to have impressive careers in the NFL, with Hoyer having played 15 seasons and Cousins now heading into Year 13. Hoyer was released by the Las Vegas Raiders this offseason.

Following his four seasons at Michigan State, Hoyer went undrafted and was signed by the New England Patriots in 2009. He would make 13 starts in 21 games throughout his first three seasons with the club before being waived at the end of 2012 training camp.

Hoyer then had a one-year stint with the Arizona Cardinals, played two seasons with the Cleveland Browns, one with the Houston Texans, one with the Chicago Bears, two games with the San Francisco 49ers, another stint with the Patriots, a one-year stint with the Indianapolis Colts, a third stint in New England and, most recently, the 2023 season with the Raiders.

Cousins is with his third club, having spent six seasons with both the Washington Redskins (now Commanders) and the Minnesota Vikings.

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