OSU's Smith Says Harbaugh Won't Beat OSU; MSU's Mumphery Calls Michigan 'Arrogant' [VIDEO]
By: Jeff Riger
@riger1984
Thursday at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis brought a chance to talk to some of the better quarterback and receiver prospects out there. From Jameis Winston to Bryce Petty to Amari Cooper, guys lined up at various podiums around the room to tell how their experience has been.
Now while the stories and interviews have been interesting, I might as well admit that I don't care who is taken where and what these players have to say about the combine. So you're probably wondering what I'm doing here then?
Well, I have that answer...
Just because I'm not all that interested in where these guys land in the NFL, that doesn't mean that I'm not very interested in where they've been.
Former Ohio State receiver Devin Smith took the podium on Thursday afternoon and all I could think of asking him about was Michigan. How satisfying was it to beat the Wolverines 3 out of the 4 years that he played in Columbus? "It was a great feeling," Smith said. See, who cares about combine stuff when instead you can ask college kids to talk smack about their rivals? At least I think it's more interesting.
After Smith talked about beating Michigan so many times, I figured it was time to get his take on Jim Harbaugh and if his presence in Ann Arbor will change what has become a very lopsided rivalry.
"He's (Harbaugh) going to try to beat Ohio State, which to me personally, I really don't think will happen and that's not me talking trash, that's me just being honest," Smith said. You have to love Smith flat-out saying that Harbaugh won't beat the Buckeyes. If we're getting this much reaction from now former players, I can't wait to see what transpires when the actual season rolls around.
Of course it wasn't just Smith doubting the Wolverines. How could it be? There were ample Spartans in the house on Thursday as well. Former MSU receiver Keith Mumphery didn't hesitate to talk about how great it was to dominate the Wolverines during his time in East Lansing. "We beat Michigan 3 out of 4 years and if you want to count my redshirt year I would say 4 out of 5 and I'm not trying to be arrogant like them."
Now we're talking! I've been waiting all day to hear somebody call Michigan arrogant and Keith Mumphery got the job done. Kudo's!
Despite Mumphery's obvious disdain for the Maize and Blue he does believe that Jim Harbaugh will help the Wolverines get back to who they used to be. "It brings more excitement to the Big Ten, another great coach in the Big Ten and I feel like he could help their program a lot."
I'm a big fan of players that continue to talk about their college experiences even when they have bigger things on their plate. Yes, I root for Michigan and have hated MSU and OSU as long as I can remember, but that doesn't mean I can't respect both Mumphery and Smith for still hating on the Wolverines. In fact it's even more impressive that they continue to do it even when they don't play there anymore.
College football rivalries just never get old!
