Michigan football players react to Jim Harbaugh's 3-game suspension

Not even three hours had passed since news broke that Jim Harbaugh told Michigan football players ahead of Monday's practice that he was suspended for three games to begin the 2023 season, and a trio of Wolverines — sophomore Kenneth Grant and juniors Max Bredeson (a former walk-on) and Jaydon Hood — faced the media.

All chose to keep the specifics of the conversation behind closed doors, and appeared to be instructed not to say anything inflammatory, but still, their message was received loud and clear.

"I can’t really get into what he told us, but we ride behind him," said Grant, a defensive tackle. "We're definitely gonna bring some fire to the field coming with the next three games. We're gonna rally behind him for sure."

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Harbaugh and Michigan received a draft notice of allegations from the NCAA in January detailing a series of Level II recruiting violations from the 2020 season, including analysts serving in on-field capacities as a coach, contacting recruits during a COVID-19 dead period and watching players work out via Zoom during no-contact portions of the schedule.

Beyond that, Harbaugh faced a Level I violation, for reportedly "misleading investigators" when they asked questions about the other infractions. Harbaugh has alluded to some Level II violations, but consistently insists he didn't purposefully mislead investigators.

Harbaugh's suspension Monday, followed by a statement from athletic director Warde Manuel, was Michigan's first official confirmation of misdeeds.

“While the ongoing NCAA matter continues through the NCAA process, today’s announcement is our way of addressing mistakes that our department has agreed to in an attempt to further that process,” Manuel's statement read. “We will continue to support coach Harbaugh, his staff, and our outstanding student-athletes. Per the NCAA’s guidelines, we cannot comment further until the matter is resolved.”

As for the players, it was business as usual. None of the three athletes who spoke Monday are considered team representatives — none have even started a game — but all shared the same sentiment about the prevailing thought at practice on Monday: It's not a big deal.

Bredeson, a backup tight end (and potential fullback) added to the scholarship ranks at the conclusion of last season, called it "random news" and said things like that happen throughout the season. Grant smiled when probed for a fifth time about the situation before he alluded to the calendar, which has less than "two weeks" before U-M takes the Michigan Stadium field for its opener against East Carolina on Sept. 1.

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Hood, who Harbaugh has singled out as one of the linebackers quickly climbing the depth chart, said the team is handling it by taking advice from their coach, and delivered a line that matched Harbaugh's statement released by the program.

"Like coach Harbaugh says: 'Get better, not bitter,' " he said. "And that's exactly what we're gonna do."

Certainly, part of the reason Michigan doesn't appear worried despite the impending absence of one of the best coaches in America is because it has one of the softest non-conference schedules to open the season.

It starts with the opener against East Carolina on Sept. 2, followed by UNLV on Sept. 9 and Bowling Green on Sept. 16; all three schools are projected to miss out on a bowl this season.

Harbaugh has long said one of his top goals for the U-M program is to truly be a player-led team; Bredeson credited that for helping the Wolverines maintain their focus despite the distractions swirling around Schembechler Hall.

The junior cited running back Blake Corum as a leader by example. Nickel back Mike Sainristil, who is expected to be announced as a captain later this week for the second time, is the vocal leader, he said.

And while they do it in different ways, Bredeson said, both do a good job in keeping their teammates "grounded on getting better every day rather than looking ahead."

It's easy for the Wolverines to look ahead in their final week without a game looming. By this time next week, it will be time for game prep. Michigan will be chasing a national championship, something they've thought about since the clock ran out in December's CFP semifinal loss to TCU.

Harbaugh will be back for the heart of that chase, with Big Ten play opening at home against Rutgers on Sept. 23.

"The situation, like I said, it doesn’t really affect us that much," Grant said. "We rally behind coach. Whatever the decision is, we’re gonna stand by it and play our game: Michigan football. We're gonna come out and do what we do.”

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan football's plan for Jim Harbaugh's absence: 'Do what we do'