Michigan’s special teams coordinator and safeties coach Jay Harbaugh put out a tweet detailing an interesting stat for the Wolverines.
One of the many Harbaughs on staff, Jay has been the special teams coordinator for four seasons in Ann Arbor and has done an excellent job. Draft choices are seldom used as evidence in favor of special teams coaches, but Jay is the exception. In last year’s draft, Michigan had both a kicker and a punter get selected. Jake Moody went in the third round and Brad Robbins in the sixth. Even better, former long-snapper Camaron Cheeseman was drafted in 2021! How’s that for a piece of trivia.
Wait … really?
As you try to recall the last successful kickoff return against the Wolverines, think about how long you are stretching your memory. J.J. McCarthy had yet to enroll, the team was in the midst of a 2-4 season and Joe Milton was the quarterback of the future.
Of course, the situation has drastically improved since then. Michigan’s last three seasons have yielded a combined record of 40-3, three Big Ten titles, one Rose Bowl win and an undisputed national title. That’s a pretty good run if you ask me. And if you ask Jay Harbaugh and others around the program, you’ll probably find that they credit that streak with terrific special teams. They wouldn’t be entirely wrong, either.
Michigan has used a couple of kickers during this stretch. It was Tommy Doman this year, and Jake “Money” Moody in the two prior seasons. Moody is starting for the Niners as a kicker, and Doman seems to have an NFL future himself punting the ball.
Michigan’s kickoff unit has a certain energy that is lacking in other teams. The first 11 on the field after a touchdown take pride in their job, whereas other schools can see it as a consolation prize for not starting. Caden Kolesar deserves a special shoutout here. The former walk-on has been a standout teamer and may earn himself an NFL camp invite because of it. Kolesar was named the team’s 2021 special teams player of the year and followed up his award-winning season by winning six special teams player of the week awards over the next two seasons. Kolesar contributes on other special units as well, but a large portion of his work is done covering kicks.
