Desmond Howard wanted to see Greatness at Michigan

Submitted by Eyzwidopn on

First post... apologies in advance for any structural mistakes.

I saw this video of Deion Sanders (http://www.nfl.com/videos/back-2-campus/0ap3000000654324/Deion-Sanders-at-FSU-I-came-here-to-be-the-best-ever) addressing his alma mater and immediately thought  back to Desmond Howard on College Gameday in 2014 discussing "greatness" at Michigan at that time (http://michigan.247sports.com/Bolt/Howard-Not-Seeing-Greatness-At-Michigan-31510579).  Desmond said that he "... went to practice this season, and I didn't see anybody who looked like they wanted to be great," and that he "didn't see one guy on that field based on his practice habits that wanted to be great. The only guy I saw who had that kind of swagger about him may have been Jabrill Peppers. They were happy, but I didn't see anybody putting in that type of effort where they wanted to be great, and that's an issue."  

I don't think it's coincidence that you have two all-time college greats talking about wanting to be "great" first.  IMO, it seems since 2006 and the fallout from "The Game" that that type of desire has been eroding in Michigan's football program.  We can debate whether it was due to coaching or players simply lacking that mindset.  I personally think it was a combination of the two.  Enter Harbaugh.  

Harbaugh doesn't want to be second best at anything and we've all witnessed how his relentless competitive nature has brought a swagger, fight and determined focus back to the program.  When Harbaugh talked about signing up to sit at the big boy table instead of the smaller one by the kitchen (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4JFqtn3Q6A), I think that was his way of talking about being great, being the best and winning all of the trophies and rivalry games.  

When you look at what Lewis, Peppers, Butt, Wormley, etc., accomplished in 1-year under Harbaugh and how they're primed for All-B10/All-American seasons, or the way the recruits immediately talk about wininng NCs and going to the NFL, you realize that "being great" mindset is taking hold again!  Populate a team, a program with that type of desire coupled with the kind of football playing student-athletes Harbaugh is bringing in and it's easy to picture Towsley Museum adding more NC and Heisman Trophies soon and often.  

Desmond Howard wanted to see it and I think this is one of the best things that Harbaugh has done for this program and the players.  Thoughts? 

 

 

Michigan_Mike

April 28th, 2016 at 11:47 AM ^

This reminds me of the story about Charles Woodson and Marcus Ray quoting "Can't Knock The Hustle" before games. The best players always have that drive and a coach like Harbaugh will settle for no less.

Brofessor

April 28th, 2016 at 12:00 PM ^

I don't think we have to debate whether it was the coaching or the players. It was the coaching. Leadership sets the tone for the team. Can you imagine a player saying winning is just a statistic under Harbaugh?

UMCoconut

April 28th, 2016 at 12:12 PM ^

Honestly, it's just another banal sports cliche in the line of, "that team just wanted it more".  Following this line of logic, at one point Harbaugh made his players realize, "oh we want to be great!".  That's crazy.  College athletes almost to a number are insanely competitive, work super hard at their craft, and have committed large chunks of their lives to do so.  To think that guys like Jehu Chesson, Jake Butt and Jourdan Lewis simply didn't care enough to be great is a ridiculous simplification. 

I think a much more honest interpretation is that Harbaugh instituted a system that made players realize how much more was required of them in order to be successful on the field and more importantly, exactly how to get there.  He's a great coach, and great coaches create really clear roadmaps to success.  Some players decide it's too much work, but most buy-in and see results.  That's a lot different than convincing them that they should "want to be great".

Eyzwidopn

April 28th, 2016 at 2:20 PM ^

I don't think Desmond Howard, Charles Woodson or Deion Sanders talking about wanting to be and ultimately becoming "great" can be dismissed as "another banal sports cliche."  

True, there are a lot of competitive college athletes - and as many degrees of competitiveness amongst them.  There are athletes who love to play their respective sport(s) simply becasue they're good at it ; they play because it affords them an opportunity to get a scholarship or to get paid professionally; who play becasue they love the camaraderie with teammates; and those who simply love the competition playing provides.  Yet, none of them ever think twice about being the best at their position or want to be the greatest who ever played.  That's a different kind of mindset.

I think your points actually make mine.  You hear Jake Butt talk about loving football more under Harbaugh (http://www.mgoblue.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/102315aaa.html).  How is that possible for a young man who's been playing football most of his life to wake up one day and realize he loves it more.  How do players who think of themselves as competitive and thought they were working as hard as they could find out under Harbaugh that there's another level of competitiveness and hard work?  And if that's possible, then why isn't it also possible for some of these very same players to start to understand what wanting to be great really means?  That Harbaugh helped inspire them to think about wanting to be great for the first time?   

 

Richard75

April 28th, 2016 at 1:23 PM ^

Agree and disagree

Agree that "wanted it more" is generally off-base, at least in the context of a game. But to say that a former player (former Heisman winner, no less) can't identify a relatively lackadaisical practice when he sees one is also wrong.

The key word is relative. Of course all D-I athletes by definition are competitive, but they can't possibly all have the exact same level of work ethic and intensity. That is the ridiculous oversimplification. Michigan didn't have OSU-level talent, but they sure shouldn't have gotten pushed around by Minnesota on their own field. That they did spoke to what was going on in the program at that time.




Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad

Blue in Yarmouth

April 28th, 2016 at 3:08 PM ^

Having played sports at a very high level (not football, hockey) and having seen the varying work ethic of hundreds of elite athletes I think you are wrong. 

Many times you run into elite athletes that, throughout their entire life, have been far better than their competition without having to put in much effort to get there. The game just came naturally to them and they coasted along with a lax attitude regarding the work they needed to do. I was one of those people. 

For guys like me (and i'm sure many of the D-1 athletes) getting that far was easy. It's tgetting to the next level that requires the work. The desire to just float along, doing just enough to get by is tempting when contrasted with the hard work and effort that needs to be put in to get to that next level...the "greatness" level.

I wouldn't doubt for a second that many people on the team were in the "just happy to be here" boat and the previous staff didn't do anything to address that mentality. It was, by all accounts, a coutry club atmosphere, fun and games. When you are placed in an atmosphere like that the drive to get better erodes and you're left with complacency. 

Eveyone that knew me growing up thought I was a sure fire NHLer. I didn't get their because the desire to be great just wasn't there. I was happy being the big fish in a small pond and once I got to the CHL I just did what I had to do to stay therewithout putting forth the effort to get to the next level and as a result never got drafted or played in the NHL. 

My point is that a lack of desire can easily creep in when you aren't pushed hard enough and I wouldn't dismiss what Desmond says out of hand. If he (or any other elite athlete) tells you he sees a lack of desire with a team I'm going to believe what he said because i've seen the same thing in other instances. 

Hail Harbo

April 28th, 2016 at 1:59 PM ^

And cultures are determined by leadership.  If just enough is good enough, then it doesn't matter how great are the stars, the supporting cast, who is doing just enough to be good enough, will drag down the entire team.  Leadership is about getting people to do things they wouldn't ordinarily do and yes, even the great ones like Chesson, Lewis, and Butt need to hear that their best is still not good enough.  Harbaugh tapped into a depth of ability that, unfortunately, Brady Hoke simply couldn't achieve.  Hoke found some good players, no doubt about it, but make no mistake, Harbaugh was the difference between another losing season in 2015 and a 10-3 season culiminating in the thrashing of Florida.

Just as a for instance.  If Hoke had somehow survived 2014, just who do you think would have been under center for 2015?  I have an idea that just enough is good enough would mean that Shane Morris would have been the signal caller.  Certainly you would agree that Harbaugh's incessant need for greatness drove him to find a diamond in the Iowa cornfields in the name of Jake Rudock.  Wouldn't you?

OwenGoBlue

April 28th, 2016 at 3:12 PM ^

Agreed and it's not just work ethic. In football you really need the right circumstances (coaches being the biggest - glad we've got that covered!) to be great/awesome/better than everyone else.

There are a lot of incredible athletes working extremely hard, but that doesn't translate if you're never taught technique at the highest level or don't have a supporting cast (corners with no pass rush in front, RBs without effective offensive lines, QBs with no WRs, etc.). What happens to Brady if the Browns take him at the top of the 6th to backup Tim Couch?

I'm thrilled we've turned our biggest weakness under Hoke (assistant coaches) into a decided advantage across position groups.

HimJarbaugh

April 28th, 2016 at 12:14 PM ^

While I hate the idea of piling onto Brady Hoke, that was a big complaint of mine with his last two teams. I think he spent too much time focusing on tradition and three hour long powerpoints about Bob Chappuis. There seemed to be too much emphasis on why Michigan was great and not enough on making Michigan great at that time.

ijohnb

April 28th, 2016 at 12:38 PM ^

don't think he had the chops to be a big-time head coach and really focussed on history as a distraction.  It worked really well in his introductory press conference and he just tried to stretch that out as long as he could.  The moment when I realized that he was doomed was when Funchess came out in #1 and Countess in #2.  It was actually as though the last stitch effort was to try to "recreate" past greatness by using numbers associated with greatness.  When I saw that I basically said "Ok that's a wrap."  The ND beatdown a week later confirmed my suspicion.

In reply to by ijohnb

bj dickey

April 28th, 2016 at 2:20 PM ^

I'm not trying to defend Brady, but have wondered many times how much of that kind of stuff was forced onto him the current toysrus ceo. 

The Mad Hatter

April 28th, 2016 at 1:02 PM ^

He may be a buckeye, but he knows his stuff and respects the hell out of Michigan.  Of course he's old enough to remember the rivalry being something very different than it has been lately.  A while back I heard him lament about how we needed to get our shit together ASAP.  He actually sounded upset.

Parkinen

April 28th, 2016 at 6:33 PM ^

Yes. Spielman observed, correctly a couple of years ago, that what separates a NC OSU team from a decent Michigan team is depth. The starters have about the same level of talent. Where there is a big fall off is in the 2nd and 3rd strings. That makes a big difference come November. Spielman is a very bright football guy.




Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad

Ghost of Fritz…

April 28th, 2016 at 12:23 PM ^

If these five things happen, Michigan will most likely be in the playoff this year...

1.  O-line takes another step forward.  Signs of life against Florida.  Must pick up from there and get incrementally better over the season.  Any backsliding will spell doom for playiff hopes.

2.  QB situation works out well. Nobody gets to the playoff without outstanding QB play.   After spring we know that it very well could work out.  But we also know that neither O'Korn nor Speight are slam dunks, at least not yet.  Ruddock did not take off until the season was more than half over.  Thereafter he was very good.  O'Korn/Speight will have to be better in the first half of the season than Ruddock was in the first half of 2015. 

3.  No big time lag for Don Brown defense to take with the players.  Gotta be working well by late September, not mid November.

4.  LB situation must be better than last year, especially against spread teams.

5.  No key injuries.  An injury on the o-line or LB corps would be much harder to overcome than an injury in the defensive backfield or d-line. 

Harbaugh and staff give us the best possible shot for the things that coaches impact to work out very well this year. 

 

 

Ghost of Fritz…

April 29th, 2016 at 8:06 AM ^

The list of things that would have happened for Michigan to make the playoff (or end the regular season in the top 4) from 2008-2015 would usually have been 15-25 items long. 

For the first time since 2006 (some might argue 2007 at least based on pre-season expectation), Michigan actually has a very short list of things that have to go right to end the regular season in serious contention for a national championship.

Or, think of it this way.  How long is the list of items that have to work out for Penn State to make the playoff this year?  It is not just 5 things. 

 

 

Perkis-Size Me

April 28th, 2016 at 1:26 PM ^

I don't think he was wrong at all. It seems like for the longest time, Michigan was without an identity. It was a paper tiger in September, but fell apart and couldn't back anything up when the real part of the schedule came around in October and November. 

You can just see that Harbaugh has completely turned the mentality of the team around. Its a team that talks about toughness and actually backs it up. I think we could also see a big difference in the bowl game against Florida, where I can't remember who said it, but one player made the comment about wanting to break Florida's spirit in that game. You could tell that Michigan was beating on Florida so bad that eventually those guys just didn't want to play anymore. They had that killer instinct that hasn't been around the team in a long time. 

I feel great with the direction Harbaugh is taking the team, but he of all people knows how important it is to win those rivalry games. That was the only box last year that was left unchecked. We could win every other game on the schedule by 50 points and crush USC in the Rose Bowl by 100, but if we lose to both MSU and OSU, that season is an unmitigated failure. 

JamieH

April 28th, 2016 at 2:12 PM ^

I think it is easier to get players to buy in and put all the extra work into being great when they have a ton of confidence in the coaching staff.   If I'm playing for Harbaugh, he makes me want to put in 150% in the offseason, because I know he's going to have the team firing on all cylinders from day 1 and I don't want to be even half a step behind.