Michigan football practice observations: Jim Harbaugh goes 1-on-1 with prospect Jadyn Davis
CARSON, Calif — Michigan football practice was just a mile away from Compton, but it wasn’t NWA or Kendrick Lamar up first on the playlist.
Instead, the Wolverines went with "Dreams & Nightmares" by Philadelphia’s Meek Mill as they danced, practiced their handshakes and stretched during much of the 15-minute portion of practice the media was allowed to watch Friday afternoon at Dignity Health Sports Park, home of the MLS’s L.A. Galaxy. Eventually, they broke into separate position groups for quick work.
With so many cameras around, the No. 1 Wolverines (13-0) intentionally kept this portion of their preparation bland; avoiding lining up in any formations, running any plays or using any terminology that will come up on Monday.
Nevertheless, there were a few notable moments, highlighted by the amount of time coach Jim Harbaugh spent with early enrollee Jadyn Davis, a four-star prospect at QB.
TUNED IN: Michigan football's J.J. McCarthy finding his frequency before Alabama, Rose Bowl
Davis, ranked as the class of 2024's No. 7 quarterback by 247 Sports' composite rankings, is one of nine recent high school graduates who joined the Wolverines on the Rose Bowl trip and received some one-on-one time with the U-M coach.
Harbaugh, standing near quarterbacks coach Kirk Campbell, appeared to be working with Davis on his footwork when under center, showing him various angles on handoffs to the left and the intricacies of where and when to peel away and roll out.
The North Carolina native is the heir apparent to J.J. McCarthy, who has not made a decisions about if he will enter the NFL or come back for a senior season; Davis has has already impressed the current U-M starter who is 24-1 under center during his time in Ann Arbor.
"Extremely, extremely cool," McCarthy said. "I haven't been in this position where I've been the starter for two years and guys are coming in and just being able to have that relationship with such a great guy and great family. It clicked from the start."
Davis' future offensive coordinator, Sherrone Moore, described him earlier in the day as "smart, tactical, great arm, accurate," while McCarthy did little to slow down expectations as well.
"Tremendous athlete, tremendous thrower of the football," he said. "I trained with him a couple times this past summer, and the sky is the limit for him. Just such a great leader, such a great teammate. Just have so many good things to say about him, but I can't wait for him to show you guys."
Elsewhere, the linebackers got in some work under the eye of recently appointed coach Rick Minter, the longtime Cincinnati head coach and the father of defensive coordinator Jesse Minter.
As expected, Junior Colson, Michael Barrett and Ernest Hausmann led the three lines of individual work, while early enrollees Jeremiah Beasley and Cole Sullivan also ran though drills.
Offensive lineman Myles Hinton had a doppelganger in street clothes on the sideline — older brother Chris Hinton, who played for U-M from 2019-21 before departing early for the NFL.
Though he was undrafted, Hinton signed with the Los Angeles Chargers in 2021 and has played in five games in his NFL career: four in 2022 and one earlier this month against the Las Vegas Raiders, when he recorded a career-high four tackles.
Ticket prices on the rise at Michigan Stadium
After three consecutive seasons of dominance, Michigan football is raising its prices.
The program announced Friday that it will raise ticket prices for the first time since the 2021 season, jumping from $77.50 to $82.50 per ticket. U-M also revealed that pricing tiers across the stadium will be "modernized" to fit current industry standards after a recent analysis of other Power Five programs determined U-M had "undervalued" its prime seating locations.
“We've been evaluating the data and carefully weighing our options,” athletic director Warde Manuel said in a statement. “After evaluating multiple factors, including the changes coming to the Big Ten Conference due to expansion, the quality of our future football schedules, and benchmarking other football programs, we are taking this step to ensure the continued success and sustainability of our football program and future athletic operations.”
In recent years, the Big House has been home to five pricing tiers: Victors, Valiant, Maize, Blue and End Zone, however the per-seat contribution was the same for each of those tiers. Starting next season, the Victors and Valiant sections will be further split into three tiers: lower, middle and upper.
“After speaking with our peers and analyzing comparable football program ticket pricing across the country, we learned there was an opportunity to maintain value while generating additional revenue to support Michigan Athletics,” said Adam Dunn, associate AD of marketing/fan engagement and experience, in the release.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan football practice observations: Wolverines ready for 2024?
