J.J. McCarthy is supporting his head coach, Jim Harbaugh — even if he’s not at Michigan’s season opener.
As the Wolverines prepared for their first game of the season against East Carolina on Saturday at Michigan Stadium, the team’s signal-caller was seen wearing a “Free Harbaugh” shirt off the bus entering the venue before the game.
It appeared the top was a normal Harbaugh shirt with “free” written on a piece of tape above the name.
For the uninitiated, McCarthy was referencing the three-game suspension the school self-imposed on Harbaugh after the NCAA alleged that the head coach had “impermissible” interactions with recruits when coaches were not supposed to be in contact during COVID-19 regulations in 2020.
“The Michigan infractions case is related to impermissible on and off-campus recruiting during the COVID-19 dead period and impermissible coaching activities — not a cheeseburger,” NCAA vice president of hearing operations Derrick Crawford said in a statement. “It is not uncommon for the COI [committee of infractions] to seek clarification on key facts prior to accepting.
Harbaugh accepted the ban and will sit out this week, along with games against UNLV on Sept. 9 and Bowling Green on Sept. 16.
“I will continue to do what I always tell our players and my kids at home, ‘Don’t get bitter, get better,’” he said in a statement after the suspension was announced at the end of August.
So without Harbaugh, who has been the team’s head coach since 2015, McCarthy wore the shirt not only off the team bus but also on the field as he got ready for the game against the Pirates.
During the first quarter of the game, the team’s offense lined up in a single file behind the ball and all held up one hand with four fingers up, to honor Harbaugh and his old number during his playing days.
Even without Harbaugh in the fold, things started to click well for the junior quarterback, who started the game 7-for-9 passing with 90 yards and a touchdown as Michigan quickly went up 14-0 in the second quarter.
Harbaugh is expected to return to the sidelines on Sept. 23 against Rutgers.
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