Coach Jim Harbaugh & His Trick Play That Got Him The Win Against Ohio State

It is commonly known that Ohio State football defeated Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh.

The Buckeyes have defeated Michigan in five of their last six matchups since Harbaugh took over the Wolverines’ football team in 2015. When Ohio State visited Ann Arbor in 2021, Harbaugh’s team defeated the Buckeyes 42-27 to snap a five-game losing run.

But Harbaugh has dealt with Ohio State in more than just his capacity as a football coach. Prior to becoming a coach, Harbaugh competed as a quarterback for Michigan from 1982 to 1986.

In his four years of playing, Harbaugh ranks seventh in club history with 387 completions, eighth with 5,449 passing yards, 31 touchdown passes, and 22 interceptions.

Coach Jim Harbaugh & His Trick Play That Got Him The Win Against Ohio State

Jim Harbaugh is using stratagems for Michigan’s matchup with Ohio State. Saturday’s third quarter saw a third-and-short situation, and Harbaugh had Kalel Mullings in the backfield.

Calling a trick play during an important situation was a part of that emptying of the playbook. The Wolverines were on the move in the fourth quarter when linebacker-turned-running-back Kalel Mullings passed the ball to an open Luke Schoonmaker to prolong the drive.

It was something that was worked on all week, according to Harbaugh. Similar to the screen pass to Isaiah Gash, it was a play that Blake Corum was supposed to be in.

On the club roster, Mullings is classified as a linebacker, but he converted to the offence during the week since the backfield was lacking a player after Blake Corum suffered a knee injury. Mullings, a linebacker and running back, also switched to passing when he extended the drive by completing a jump ball to Luke Schoonmaker for 15 yards.

As the third quarter came to a close, the Wolverines still had control of the ball and were on the move to extend their 24-point lead. J.J. McCarthy added to his 3 touchdown passes with a run for a touchdown and the Wolverines led 31-20 in the battle of the unbeaten Big Ten teams.

“It’s a play we worked on,” Harbaugh said. “They were really crowding the line of scrimmage. It’s a play we’ve saved for the entire year, really built up for it. It’s a Blake Corum play, he’s had the msot reps on it. With Kalel kind of auditioning, just felt like he was the one to throw it. So very few reps that he had, what a guy. There’s nobody that will do more for the team than Kalel Mullings. Running back, linebacker, then we brought him back to running back early in August to really be a big back for us. Nikhai Hill-Green got hurt, so we had to keep Kalel at linebacker.”

 

 

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