Jim Harbaugh Says Johnson May Play This Weekend; Rudock Not Bothered By Criticism
By Ashley Scoby
@AshleyScoby
With Michigan football, there's never any shortage of talk and social media attention surrounding the program. Oftentimes, especially when the starting quarterback throws three interceptions in the season-opener, that talk turns sour.
But according to head coach Jim Harbaugh, that quarterback – Jake Rudock, former Iowa quarterback and a graduate transfer – isn't letting that talk get inside his head.
"Jake's got a thick skin," Harbaugh said. "He understands competition. He understands playing the position. It's not his first time playing a major college football game. I think he understands."
Rudock will have a chance to redeem his lackluster performance this Saturday, in the Wolverines' home opener against Oregon State. And he might have some more help behind him: According to Harbaugh, running back Drake Johnson could possibly play this weekend.
Johnson has been rehabbing a torn ACL (the second time he's torn that ligament in his knee), but has been getting closer to a return to the field.
"There's a possibility he could see action as early as this week," Harbaugh said.
If Johnson does play this weekend, expect him to have the right footwear. Last week, Harbaugh showed off his own quirkiness by taking the socks off his own feet and giving them to Johnson at a youth day camp, captured on video by a fan.
"He was wearing some kind of tennis sock," Harbaugh said. "That's just always something that's offended my football sensibility, not to be wearing football socks. Football socks should come up to the knee or halfway up the leg, in my opinion. … Drake is a football player so I felt like he should be in football socks."
Regardless of players' fashion choices, they'll have a chance to notch the first win of the Harbaugh era in Ann Arbor this weekend. The sock-conscious head coach said that a big focus against Oregon State will be in the secondary.
"That'll be our goal this week, to tackle even better and see if we can't get our hands on some balls, pass breakups, tipped balls, interceptions," he said. "Looking to be more handsy in the secondary, see if we can't create some turnovers of our own."