Your recruiting tactics are pretty creative. What went into tracking down a recruit's girlfriend?
"Yeah, I'm not going to take any recruiting questions. Not allowed to talk about recruiting, unfortunately."
Talk about what you have with Jake Butt and how he's doing.
"Jake, he's doing well. He's a very well-rounded player, brings a lot to the table. Really excited about him. He's getting a lot better and doing a lot to improve the detail of his game throughout his whole game."
How involved has Khalid Hill been able to be?
"He's been very involved mentally in what we're doing and getting stronger and getting prepared to come back at some point. Not sure when that's going to be, but from a mental standpoint he'll be very much ready to go when that does happen."
Ian Bunting – what's he got to do to get on the field this year?
"Just keep growing. He's gotten a lot better. He's the guy who's probably improved the most as spring's gone on here. I've been very pleased with him. Just like all the other guys he brings a tremendous work ethic when he comes out there and just grinds. He goes out there for the entirety of practice and the focus is always on getting better. I really love that about him. So he's really coming along, just has to get better at everything just like everybody else does."
There's not much of an age gap between you and the players. What's it like being just five or six years older than some of them?
"Uh, I don't know. It's fun. They're fun to be around."
Is it like a big brother relationship that you have with some of them or do you hope that it gets to that?
"Uh, No. I don't know. I just feel like their coach. Last year I was with guys who were much older than me and I didn't feel like I was their little brother, So I don't know. They're fun to be around, though. Feel like we have a good professional relationship as far as coaching and I feel there is good mutual respect there, I hope, and I really like being around them."
[Hit THE JUMP for the rest]
When Jim was hired there was talk of turning this into Tight End University. What's your vision a couple of weeks into this with the group of tight ends you've got right now?
"I really like them. We have a lot of versatile guy's that bring a lot of different things to the table; guys who are big, guys who are fast. They all can catch. They all can block and are getting better at blocking and I kind of envision all those guys coming along and then getting more guys so we have an army of big, tall, fast guys that will present problems for linebackers and safeties on other teams."
What are you taking from the time that you worked in the NFL back to the college game, and how are you applying it there?
"Really everything. I was kind of trained over the last few years in terms of different scheme and ways to approach the game so I would say that's kind of everything. Not a very fun answer."
What are you learning from this collection of experienced coaches here so far?
"Yeah, that's awesome. It's a really good group to be a part of. Guys came from all over and they're all tremendous teachers and tremendous leaders so being able to see different ways of answering the same questions is really what I've enjoyed. You can get very set in your ways in terms of this is how you answer this problem or this is the adjustment you make and you realize there's a lot more than one way to go about doing things, and I think from a personal level everyone has really benefited from having an open mind and adapting and finding new ways to do things and then you carry that with you the rest of your career."
You've worked for a few different personalities of coaches in coach Riley and then John Harbaugh in and now Jim. What are the differences in the interactions and what you're gathering from him?
"From my dad? I don't think it's really different. There's different small things, ways he approaches different problems, but he and my uncle are the same guy. There's certain small things where one might go left and one might go right on certain issues but eventually they end up in the same place in terms of what they want and how they want to approach the team and the game of football, so I don't think there's as big a difference as people believe."
What made you decide it was time to stop working for your uncle and start working for your dad?
"I was really excited to be around him. This is a tremendous place, a really special place to be, and there was a chance to be here from the get-go as it turned around and something really special started. I've never been a part of something from the ground up, I guess: I got to Oregon State and they were a good program and to Baltimore when they were really a strong franchise, so to get here as we're – I don't want to say rebuilding – starting something fresh and new, there's something special about being there from the beginning rather than coming in when the team's attitude is already set."
Did you always have aspirations of coaching and going into the family business per se?
"I always thought about it but I didn't know for sure until I was in the middle of high school-ish."
Any other career aspirations before that besides coaching?
"Yeah, I wanted to be a CIA agent or an FBI agent, which I would've been terrible at. Just awful. This was much better for me, I think."
How much did you hear about Michigan growing up?
"All the time. Nonstop."
What kind of stories? What kind of indoctrination did you get?
"Just told that it was the best at everything and all the great players and just over the years the great games and watching them with my dad and stuff, so just kind of a constant – not really over-the-top, but being told what a special place this was and really I see it now so I get it. I get why he always told me all that stuff because I’m feeling it now and being around all the people and Ann Arbor, you really get a sense [for] why my dad felt that way.”
Personally, what’s it been like to be able to work with your dad?
“It’s been a blast. I’ve really- I don’t know, I’ve enjoyed it. It’s been fun.”
Going back to some of those guys you learned about growing up, now you’re on the offensive staff with Ty Wheatley. Talk about your impressions of Ty and coach Drevno and the staff.
“Tyrone’s awesome. He’s a hilarious guy. Really fun to be around and knows so, so much. He really brings a great perspective having played the position of running back, but not just having played it; he played it in tons of different offenses and he knows from a player’s perspective when we say things and we teach things in the meeting room or on the field a lot of times he can catch things, catch problems before they occur because he’s so easily able to process things from their perspective. So in every way he’s been outstanding to be around and as a coach and you can tell the guys respect him.”
Can you talk about the Michigan legend tag that he also has?
“Yeah, it’s great when people, midwest kids, are coming here on a visit and they’ve heard their dad talk about Tyrone or maybe they remember him, that’s a cool thing. And then seeing guy who played here or grew up here, see that they’re coming back, that really gives the sense that there must be something to this place if guys want to return.”
Did you have a chance to coach with your dad on the 49ers? Was that an option and you went with your uncle instead?
“The timing of it, I really wanted to stay in Baltimore. I was really happy there and I liked my role quite a bit and I wanted to stay there for a little bit longer with Gary Kubiak.”
How excited are you to at some point play Nebraska and go against your old colleague Mike Riley?
“Uh…I don’t know. I haven’t really thought about that.”
Since you are still relatively new to having a position to coach how much experimenting are you doing versus having a tried-and-true method?
“I wouldn’t say I’m really experimenting. That’s a good question, though. I’m not experimenting, though.”
Did you ever feel like a celebrity kid when you were growing up?
“No.”
Why not? I mean, people know the Harbaugh name and know your dad.
“Mmhmm. Yeah, I mean, he was the celebrity. I was the celebrity’s kid, yes. I don’t know. I guess so. I wasn’t like Macaulay Culkin or something.”
/laughs
“Yeah, I was his kid so I did feel like that. I like to keep a low profile, so I don’t particularly enjoy being in the spotlight. You guys all make me super nervous.”
The fact that you’re a young guy and not specifically talking about recruiting, do you bring a different approach? Obviously there’s a lot of photoshopping going on, so do you bring a different sort of focus and attack?
“I mean, I certainly probably think about things through a lens- I see the world through a lens that’s closer to that of the guys we…I said I wasn’t going to talk about recruiting…than those people, so I think that’s helpful sometimes, or even from our own player’s perspectives it’s much different than the rest of the staff so just like it’s great to have people from different schemes- people from west coast scheme and this scheme and that scheme- all together from an offensive perspective I think it’s probably good just from an overall staff chemistry perspective. I’m kind of the young guy, but I get the short end of the stick on a lot of votes and stuff because I am also the youngest guy. I live with it, though.”
Do you think you could get Greg Mattison to do a photoshop?
“Yeah. Oh, he’s a wizard with the computer.”
Are you the youngest FBS assistant? You’re among the youngest.
“I don’t know. That’s your guy’s job.”
/laughs