Michigan Wolverines head coach Jim Harbaugh is seen doing his patented pump up routine with his quarterback Wilton Speight before Michigan’s opener.
Jim Harbaugh is all energy, all the time as the head coach of his alma mater Michigan Wolverines. He was a solid quarterback in college and in the NFL, so he knows a thing or two about getting the most out of his players at that crucial position.
Harbaugh is known for his pre-game pump up ritual with his starting quarterback. He will hit his starting quarterback’s shoulder pads, knee pads, and helmet to get him amped up for his start. This is the first time he’s done this with redshirt sophomore Wilton Speight.
The best pump up routine ever.https://t.co/1uGCw7561G
— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) September 3, 2016
Speight is making his first career start for the Wolverines in 2016 against the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors of the Mountain West Conference in Ann Arbor on Saturday. If it wasn’t going to be the 100,000 plus capacity at The Big House that would get Speight jacked up to play Hawaii, Harbaugh’s pre-game quarterback ritual certainly did the trick.
Harbaugh has done this since coming to national prominence as the head coach of the Stanford Cardinal in the Pac-12. He did this with Andrew Luck a few years back. Harbaugh brought this pre-game coaching tactic to the NFL with the San Francisco 49ers. He did this last fall in Ann Arbor with quarterback transfer Jake Rudock.
Michigan has a season with great expectations in 2016. The Wolverines start the year as top 10 program in the country with a decent shot at winning the Big Ten and playing in the third annual College Football Playoff.
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Speight will have to play with poise this season to help get the Wolverines into the National Semifinals. Harbaugh might be full of energy, but is Speight ready to lead the Wolverines is a bigger question.