Hawaii vs Michigan: Jim Harbaugh Press Conference Highlights

After Michigan's 63-3 victory at home against Hawaii, Jim Harbaugh had his press conference. Maize N Brew was on hand. Here are some highlights from the session.

Reassurance after Wilton Speight's Interception

"I wanted to see what he did on the next series. It's very difficult for a quarterback to throw an interception on a series and then come back and lead a touchdown drive the following series. It's always something I've been fascinated in watching.. quarterbacks. The really good ones can do that. They don't really think about the "I'm not gonna make another mistake." That's what some do but good ones don't."

"To see him start the next drive on the two yard line, that's as much adversity as you can have for a quarterback starting a series, starting a drive. Have thrown an interception on the previous drive, in the very first throw of the game, and then to find yourself on the two yard line.. but he responded in tremendous fashion. To lead a touchdown drive, make a big third down conversion throws, to make a good corner throw to Grant Perry that can be made, it can't be made any better. The slant he threw coming off the goal line can't be thrown any better. He had total command and I think it speaks volumes. It bodes really well for our team, it bodes really well for his career as a quarterback to have done that, to have come back off an interception and then the next drive going for a 98 yard touchdown drive. Now he's knows he can do it, and now we can expect him to do it. It was good for our team."

Inside Linebackers

"Our insiders backers are very athletic, and can run and get to the sideline, and still play very physical inside the box. Take on blockers, take on guards, take on backs. It's a step up in terms of athleticism when you look at Mike McCray, Ben Gedeon, and Devin Bush."

Defensive Effort and Coaching

"Overall effort on that side of the ball was outstanding, it was dominating. At the beginning for sure, and throughout the game. Don Brown has a great saying, I love it, which is "Solve problems with aggression." And our team played that way today."

"Our coaches worked our players as much as can possibly be done. And I thought it really showed out there. It really showed in the mental part of the game. I'm watching our defense go through the first half, even into the third quarter.. there wasn't even a mistake made. There wasn't an alignment mistake made, (or) a stance alignment mistake."

The Secondary

"The secondary play was outstanding. The coverage was tight. Two interceptions for touchdowns, you don't see that very often. I don't think I've been a part of that in a game except for just once. That was really impressive. I thought they were communicating well in the back end, and again, they were really right with their eyes and their feet in the secondary all day."

Michael Jordan

"Michael Jordan said to the team Friday night, something that I think resonated with everybody... he got good at basketball because he practiced it. That's such a great carry over for football because you get great at football by playing football. He said if you love it then you want to do it every day, and you want to do it as much as you can every day. He said it's like eating ice cream, if you love ice cream then you're going to eat it every single day."

"Was fantastic with the team. He spent 45 minutes. Really connected with them. Really told them things that they can take away and apply to their own game. Advice. There were tips. It was real."

"He was loose, he was funny with them, they couldn't get enough. It was great. It was a real honor having him on our sideline."

Third Down Conversions and Offensive Efficiency

"The protection was outstanding all day. That was a very attacking, aggressive defense we saw today, man-to-man coverage. Our guys were getting open, getting open by a step. And our quarterbacks were putting the ball a foot in front of the numbers."

"The chemistry between the receivers and the quarterbacks I thought was outstanding today and the protection was really good. And the running game was setting up a lot of the play-action. The precision was extremely well."