ANN ARBOR -- De'Veon Smith was like everyone else inside -- and outside -- Michigan's football locker room.
When it came to Jim Harbaugh, he'd read all the stories and heard all the tales. His new head coach was a bit crazy, people said. He's different. It'll be weird.
Hearing about it is one thing.
But seeing your head coach lying on the ground during practice to demonstrate the proper center-quarterback exchange technique?
Well, things get real at that point.
"He's really hands on with everything," the Michigan junior running back said with a smile Thursday. "When I first saw him (on the ground like that), I was like 'why is he doing this?' But I asked the centers the next day if that helped them and they said it did, they said that was the first time anyone had showed them something like that.
"So, I enjoyed it."
Things have gotten real for Michigan during the first five spring practices of the Harbaugh era, and they say they now completely understand why their new head coach has been successful everywhere he's been.
Under the previous coaching regime, a fair amount of the time allotted by the NCAA for practice work in the spring was spent in team meeting rooms.
Under Harbaugh, if Michigan's on a practice day, it spends its full four countable hours on the field -- non-stop.
Four full hours of Harbaugh yelling, running around, leaving no detail to chance and pushing his players to be as strong in the final 20 minutes as they were during the first five.
"If you told a football player, in college or high school or whatever, that they're going to have a four hour practice most of them will look at you like you're crazy," senior linebacker Joe Bolden said. "And we probably looked at him the same way when we got the schedule (for spring).
"But at the same time, somehow from 2:45 to 6:45, every second, there's some type of energy inside this building or on the practice field. He's definitely brought that to the table."
Harbaugh's energy is relentless, players say, and the fact that it remains constant throughout each four-hour practice is what pushes them to make it through every day.
Smith said the demand for energy and mental toughness every day has forced him to regiment out his sleep cycle in great detail this spring, something he's never really done before.
The energy has to be high, and the mind has to be sharp. Otherwise, it's not good enough.
And, of course, no detail is too small.
"Everything that you hear positive about him, you see it on the field, he just loves being out there," Michigan senior fullback Joe Kerridge said. "We were doing a walkthrough and all of a sudden we just stopped everything, and he wanted us to work on hand placement on the ball between the quarterback and running back for five minutes.
"Every position stopped, and that's what we did. He's just so detailed and it's been really good for a lot of the positions, especially on offense."
On Thursday evening, Harbaugh had his brother, Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh, speak with the team after practice. John will also serve as the keynote speaker at Michigan's coaching clinic Friday afternoon in Ann Arbor.
John told them a story about the constant battle of competition both brothers went through their entire lives, and how it made them into the coaches they are today. John recalled getting into fights with Jim when they were younger, having an advantage for a while because he was older, but always ready for Jim to grow, catch up and gain ground.
Those fights continued while Jim played in the NFL and John became a coach.
And even recently, during a family vacation at a resort, there were the two Harbaugh brothers, wrestling on the beach to decide who the tougher person was.
"That was crazy to me," senior corner Blake Countess said. "That they were still fighting as grown men."
But even if things seem strange at times, Countess says the team is beginning to understand there's a method to all the Harbaugh madness. His stories never make sense at first, but always finish with a point that hits home.
The energy never drops off, and eventually, the team figures out how to match it.
It's wild and sometimes weird, but it's also probably just what this group needs.
"He's energetic and he's passionate," Countess says. "He's going to let you know how he feels. If you have a coach that's always wired, it'll make you pick it up and finish.
"Especially when it's the head coach."
When it came to Jim Harbaugh, he'd read all the stories and heard all the tales. His new head coach was a bit crazy, people said. He's different. It'll be weird.
Hearing about it is one thing.
But seeing your head coach lying on the ground during practice to demonstrate the proper center-quarterback exchange technique?
Well, things get real at that point.
"He's really hands on with everything," the Michigan junior running back said with a smile Thursday. "When I first saw him (on the ground like that), I was like 'why is he doing this?' But I asked the centers the next day if that helped them and they said it did, they said that was the first time anyone had showed them something like that.
"So, I enjoyed it."
Things have gotten real for Michigan during the first five spring practices of the Harbaugh era, and they say they now completely understand why their new head coach has been successful everywhere he's been.
Under the previous coaching regime, a fair amount of the time allotted by the NCAA for practice work in the spring was spent in team meeting rooms.
Under Harbaugh, if Michigan's on a practice day, it spends its full four countable hours on the field -- non-stop.
Four full hours of Harbaugh yelling, running around, leaving no detail to chance and pushing his players to be as strong in the final 20 minutes as they were during the first five.
"If you told a football player, in college or high school or whatever, that they're going to have a four hour practice most of them will look at you like you're crazy," senior linebacker Joe Bolden said. "And we probably looked at him the same way when we got the schedule (for spring).
"But at the same time, somehow from 2:45 to 6:45, every second, there's some type of energy inside this building or on the practice field. He's definitely brought that to the table."
Harbaugh's energy is relentless, players say, and the fact that it remains constant throughout each four-hour practice is what pushes them to make it through every day.
Smith said the demand for energy and mental toughness every day has forced him to regiment out his sleep cycle in great detail this spring, something he's never really done before.
The energy has to be high, and the mind has to be sharp. Otherwise, it's not good enough.
And, of course, no detail is too small.
"Everything that you hear positive about him, you see it on the field, he just loves being out there," Michigan senior fullback Joe Kerridge said. "We were doing a walkthrough and all of a sudden we just stopped everything, and he wanted us to work on hand placement on the ball between the quarterback and running back for five minutes.
"Every position stopped, and that's what we did. He's just so detailed and it's been really good for a lot of the positions, especially on offense."
On Thursday evening, Harbaugh had his brother, Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh, speak with the team after practice. John will also serve as the keynote speaker at Michigan's coaching clinic Friday afternoon in Ann Arbor.
John told them a story about the constant battle of competition both brothers went through their entire lives, and how it made them into the coaches they are today. John recalled getting into fights with Jim when they were younger, having an advantage for a while because he was older, but always ready for Jim to grow, catch up and gain ground.
Those fights continued while Jim played in the NFL and John became a coach.
And even recently, during a family vacation at a resort, there were the two Harbaugh brothers, wrestling on the beach to decide who the tougher person was.
"That was crazy to me," senior corner Blake Countess said. "That they were still fighting as grown men."
But even if things seem strange at times, Countess says the team is beginning to understand there's a method to all the Harbaugh madness. His stories never make sense at first, but always finish with a point that hits home.
The energy never drops off, and eventually, the team figures out how to match it.
It's wild and sometimes weird, but it's also probably just what this group needs.
"He's energetic and he's passionate," Countess says. "He's going to let you know how he feels. If you have a coach that's always wired, it'll make you pick it up and finish.
"Especially when it's the head coach."
