Jim Harbaugh gives kudos to Mo Wagner on Attack Each Day podcast

Michigan basketball forward Moritz Wagner only played 23 minutes in Sunday’s victory against Ohio State due to foul trouble, but still ended up with 12 points, seven rebounds, two steals, one assist and one block.

The stat line is okay, but one noteworthy observer had high praise of Wagner’s game, especially his hustle.

Michigan football head coach Jim Harbaugh was at the game Sunday with members of his coaching staff, along with several recruits. On this week’s episode of his podcast, Attack Each Day: The Harbaughs’ Podcast, the head coach raved about Wagner and his effort on the court.

“The competition on the court was outstanding,” Harbaugh said. “There was a run there in the first half where Mo Wagner was chasing a loose ball and then he chased it to one side then back to the other. I want to cut out that clip for our football players, too. And the emotion he had, I think it ended up in a jump-ball, he tied up one of (Ohio State’s) guys. But I thought that was a huge momentum change in the game, just the effort by Mo Wagner. The other players you could see were feeding off it as well, and so was the crowd. It was a great atmosphere, great win.”

Of course, Harbaugh is talking about the second play in this clip early in the game:

For better or worse, Wagner unleashes his inner beast when playing in a rivalry game. He torched Michigan State earlier in the season, and he would have done the same to OSU on Sunday had he not been in foul trouble. He also nearly had a double-double when the Wolverines played at Ohio State early in the season, so he clearly turns it up to another level when it comes to rivalry games.

As an athlete, I’m sure it’s always nice to get recognition from anyone on an individual play, but to get it from a guy like Jim Harbaugh must really be something. And Wagner deserves all of that credit because he played a huge role in their win last weekend.