Opposing coaches hate it. The NCAA President is not a fan. Yet if you ask Michigan football players what they think about Jim Harbaugh’s decision to take the program to Florida for spring practices, you’ll get a slightly different take on the matter.
Interestingly enough, at least one player is surprised nobody did ask the players what they thought. Tight end Jake Butt, who opted to stay at Michigan for his senior season rather than head to the NFL, is fully behind coach Harbaugh’s decision to take his players to South Florida for their spring practices.
“I sent out a tweet how I supported this because I saw guys ripping on (Harbaugh) about how this is our free time,” Butt said after Tuesday’s four-hour practice (h/t Angelique S. Chengelis of The Detroit News). “But no one asked us. No one asked us how we felt about it. You would have asked me, I would have backed him up right away, and I would really would encourage it for a lot of other people.”
Butt also mentioned that the setting allows players to be “out on the beach relaxing” after practices, which is especially nice because they don’t have classes or homework to worry about right now. He said he thinks more teams should implement trips like this, and called it “brilliant” by coach Harbaugh to have engineered the “free vacation.”
Senior tailback De’Veon Smith echoed Butt’s sentiments.
“For me, it was no big deal, really,” Smith said. “It’s football. It’s what we love. Plus, I’m on my last year, so there’s no time to be joking around going on spring break trips.”
Truly, the spring break trip to Florida was likely much better for the players than a visit to South Padre Island would have been.
NCAA President Mark Emmert recently ripped Harbaugh’s decision, saying his players would have “a hard time being students and doing what students want to do (h/t AP, via ctpost.com).”
It seems as if Harbaugh’s students disagree with that notion. Maybe next time a coach makes a bold move that goes against conventional wisdom it would be a smart move to ask his or her players what they think about it before launching into accusations about how such a move will affect said players.
Harbaugh continues to be a lightning rod in college football, and more specifically for Michigan football. While many are not keen on watching the man push the boundaries of what’s acceptable, his decisions and recruiting antics have certainly kept the spotlight on the sport during the offseason.