Notes and observations from Michigan football Rose Bowl practice at SoFi Stadium
INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Michigan football had a change of scenery on Saturday. Practice moved from Dignity Health Sports Park to SoFi Stadium, the NFL home of the Los Angeles pro teams.
The Wolverines continue to prepare for Alabama in the College Football Playoff semifinal on Monday in Pasadena now that media day (earlier Saturday at the Rose Bowl) is in the books.
There wasn’t a lot of new information to glean in the first 15 minutes of practice that the media was allowed to witness, but Wolverines Wire’s Isaiah Hole was in attendance and gathered a few tidbits from Michigan’s practice.
Still in shells
#Michigan practicing at SoFi today pic.twitter.com/WjppRTx2Zf
— Isaiah Hole (@isaiahhole) December 30, 2023
Michigan continued to practice in shells, indicating there’s no hitting for the second straight day, which means the Wolverines have likely concluded that portion of their preparation.
Jim Harbaugh spent a fair amount of time with Jadyn Davis
At one point, Davis misplayed a handoff between him and his running back, so Harbaugh took him aside and showed him how his stance should be while in shotgun and emulated the handoff before instructing him to do it again. The second time around, Davis performed flawlessly.
Though many could protest that Harbaugh should be spending his time with J.J. McCarthy given he’ll be the one taking snaps against Alabama, it’s still great to see he’s actively coaching even those who have no shot of seeing game action.
J.J. McCarthy looked sharp through the air and on the ground
McCarthy continued throwing with zip on his passes, at least the ones we saw, but there was one snap he actually kept the ball and ran to the left toward the end zone. It appears as if he’s moving well without any limitations — which has not been the case since early November. Given the Wolverines will really need his legs to beat Alabama, that’s a welcome development.
Josh Wallace was in uniform
There were conflicting reports whether cornerback Josh Wallace was dressed at practice on Friday (we did not see him) but on Saturday, we spotted Wallace in uniform and working out as normal with the cornerbacks. So if there was any crisis there, it appears to have been averted.
More special visitors
On Friday, we saw Christopher Hinton at practice, and there were more special guests at SoFi Stadium on Saturday. The first starting receivers in the Jim Harbaugh era — Amara Darboh and Jehu Chesson — were watching practice. Chesson’s younger brother, Dale, is on the team. Darboh was just another alumni observer. A fellow media member shared that they saw Taco Charlton, but we did not spot him.
More early enrollees spotted
On Friday, we saw Jadyn Davis, Jeremiah Beasley, Jacob Oden and Cole Sullivan. While we saw them again on Saturday, we also spotted Blake Frazier and Jake Guarnera in Michigan football uniform for the first time (for us).
J.J. McCarthy coaching up Jadyn Davis
Similar to Jim Harbaugh, J.J. McCarthy has a big task at hand, yet he didn’t mind sharing some knowledge with Davis, pointing out something about a route, it appeared. Again, the weight of the world is on McCarthy’s shoulders. Even though Davis plays the same position (which McCarthy may or may not vacate after the season) and is internal competition for the moment, the junior quarterback had no problem taking time to help the next generation learn. This team truly is all about culture.
