We have not had a press conference transcript posted since Adam posted pressers from the Peach Bowl in 2019. I always loved reading the postgame pressers on mgoblog, so I decided to write these up myself. Keep in mind I wasn't in the room or anything, so many of the questions I couldn't hear or understand. I tried to give context where I could when I couldn't catch everything in a question. If anyone gets a better read on what's said than me, drop a comment and maybe a mod can make edits? I got all of this from the videos on mgoblue, so there may be additional questions I missed when they edited the videos from the beginning. Enjoy.

 

Coach Harbuagh

No question about it, there was movement, continual movement up front by the guys. And Hassan Haskins, they might have thought they saw a ghost but they didn’t, it was #25 Hassan Haskins. He was, he was running with great determination, great purpose, great ability. Five touchdowns on the day, ties a school record. He’ll probably break the season touchdown record before it’s over, held by Ron Johnson in 1968. It kind of gives you a glimpse of how good of a runner Hassan Haskins is.

Along with Aiden Hutchinson, and not just along but talk a little bit about Aiden I mean, his performance was also dominant. Single season sack record already. Definitely should be in strong consideration for the Heisman trophy. One of those two players, Hassan or Aiden, would be our Most Valuable Player.

Two guys, along with, Andrew Vastardis, Brad Hawkins, Jake Moody, there was, Brad Robbins, Andrew Stueber, Ryan Hayes, there’s a group of those guys that, I call them The Ones. They’re The Ones without them, we wouldn’t be where we are. So incredible performance again by Hassan, and also Josh Ross, would be, would be the eight. And Ronnie Bell, you know, those eight, I call them The Ones. Without them we wouldn’t be where we’re at. And so many other guys, so many guys that were committed, didn’t flinch, didn’t just fold at the slightest whiff of adversity. Just kept going, kept preparing, kept working, and where it shows is in production, I mean, just the way so many produced.

[inaudible… likely something about Gattis’ game plan]

It was really good, really good. Knew it was gonna be really good at the beginning of the week as he was putting it in and it was really effective. You know, I said, don’t be, players, coaches, defense, don’t be discouraged when they make plays, when they move the ball, when they score touchdowns, they’re going to. That’ll be the offenses’ job to respond, and our offense did. And the amount of stops today, especially those two right after the half was really good disguise, really good packages that we made them doubt what they were seeing. They were seeing one thing but they weren’t really seeing that and it was really effective today.

Coach I’m sure you hear some of the chatter and there were certain people and certain fans that believed this day would never [come]. That you seemed so steadfast that yeah, you could do it. How did you just keep the confidence going in your team and in yourself that this could happen and this would happen?

I don’t know if I got a really spectacular quote or anything like that for you, it’s just, you know, it’s just what you do. It’s what you do. You don’t, just keep working, keep grinding. When that, we knew it was gonna pay off. I mean we had this team, this team’s been, it’s beautifully soldered together as a team, as a true team.

There was the new, it’s a lot of new players, guys like JJ, Donovan Edwards, Andrel Anthony, Rod Moore, many others that produced. New staff that brought perspective, new perspective, new ideas, energy. There’s a long list of guys like that that were phenomenal, brought so much energy and perspective and juice to the squad. And then there’s the guys I like to refer to as the foundation, I mean they’re the foundation of the team, and that’s the biggest number of guys like, guys that were here in 2020, some were here in 2019, 18, 17, 16, going all the way back to 2015. Those are the guys, I mean they were raised, they learned that you don’t just fold or quit at the slightest whiff of adverse circumstances. So many in that group, so many of the coaches and players, Cade McNamara, Dax Hill, long, long list of guys.

And then the committed guys, truly committed guys, seniors on our team that have been here the longest, worked the most, have overcome some adverse circumstances, injury, other kinds of setbacks, now I’m just talking all players here, all those seniors. And the fourth group, The Ones, The Ones which, without them, we wouldn’t be where we are, I mean, guys that are literally willing to take the team on their backs, if there was like a train, a locomotive, if it was going down the tracks, they literally stopped it, picked it up onto their backs, turned it around, and started pushing and the rest of us started pushing too. Those guys, Aiden Hutchinson, Hassan Haskins, Brad Hawkins, Andrew Vastardis, Josh Ross, Moody, Robbins, and Ronnie Bell. Those guys, and Ryan Hayes, guys that we wouldn’t be where we’re at without them.

Jim you said it feels like the beginning. Can you elaborate on what you mean by that?

Yeah just, everything about the team, every day, every week, every month, going back to the beginning of this year, it’s just always felt like that. It’s just always felt like the beginning. You accomplish one goal and then go to the next, and then the next, and then the next. And now, winning the East Championship and on to the Big Ten Championship next week.

Jim, when did you realize that you’d be able to run on this Ohio State team, whether it was earlier in the week, earlier in the game?

I mean, back in spring ball. That was something we felt we could do and we wanted to get really good at it. Preparing for The Game as we had been, you know, really all season, didn’t seem like anybody tried that approach and we felt confident that our offensive line could move em, our receivers would block, and our running backs would be incredible, and they were. So, enjoying, been enjoying the incredible all season and knew that those backs would continue to be incredible today.

Led by Hassan, Blake Corum, saw him come back today and shake off what he was working through. Same with Donovan Edwards. There’s a real shining star, when I talk about the new and the energy they brought, I mean guys like Donovan Edwards, JJ McCarthy, Andrel Anthony, Rod Moore, what they brought has been tremendous.

Can you describe just the emotion from the final minute of this game when it was clear that the victory was yours until the point that you got in the locker room with your team? Seeing their smiles, seeing how hard you’ve all worked, and finally having this win after a long wait. How does that emotion compare to other wins, any other win in your career here at Michigan?

It feels like the best one, you know? [Laughs] Sure does. Yeah it really does. Get ready for next week’s, maybe next week’s will be the best, that’s why it feels like the beginning but, continue to do what we do. We’ll move on with humble hearts. Greatness doesn’t fear consequences. Fearless but not careless. Onward. That’s how it feels.

How long will you celebrate or enjoy this feeling?

I think this one is probably one that will go long into the night. I think all of Ann Arbor will be, right? I mean, there’ll be a lot of joy in Ann Arbor tonight, so, let them enjoy that win. The rest of, you got a lot of hours left in today. Tomorrow we’ll get onto our opponent whether it be Wisconsin or Iowa for the Big Ten Championship Game.

Jim, obviously you talked about…

Somebody had a call. What great, what Michigan announcer said that they’ll be celebrating long into the night? Was that a Bob Ufer?

Have a pizza party tonight, right? You obviously have been building to this all season, but what about this opponent and things that they have done in the past, things that have been said, all that has gone on in this rivalry, how much did that push you guys today?

It did, I mean there’s, yeah, probably things that you’re thinking of are the same that I’m thinking of but let’s move on with humble hearts, take the high road. But yeah, there’s definitely stuff that people said that spurred us on even more, sure. Sometimes people that are standing on third base think they hit a triple, but they didn’t.

 

 

Players (Cade McNamara, Hassan Haskins, and Brad Hawkins start; Aiden Hutchinson and Andrew Stueber come in later)

Cade McNamara: Yeah I think that energy has been present this entire year. It’s something that the energy, that confidence that we’ve had since really spring ball. And we knew that we’ve been playing these dudes really every day since January. I just couldn’t be happier to be a part of such a great team.

Can you just talk about how you rebounded from the pass that led to the interception and the mindset you had?

Cade: Yeah we had a little bit of a miscommunication and I forced the ball a little bit. But time and time again it’s just like however we respond, that’s the most important thing. I knew I had to just keep letting it rip and I knew I had trust in our defense and obviously H2 and the rest of the backs and the O-line and they had our back and we just really had a physically dominant performance the rest of the way.

Hassan, really an iconic performance, you had five touchdowns [inaudible… something about the offensive line].

Hassan Haskins: It’s an amazing feeling. I wanna thank every single one of my O-linemen today. They played their hearts out. I bow my head for that. This whole feeling is amazing and it’s a blessing, so we gonna keep it going.

Can either of you describe the feeling after the game with the fans rushing the field and celebrating that victory?

Cade: Yeah me and H2 were out there on the field for the both of us, and as soon as I took the knee and watching the rest of our teammates, we sat on the field, watching the snow fall down as the rest of the crowd rushed onto the field, it was truly a surreal moment. It’s something that we’ve dreamed of. Every 1:50, every 6am, this is, that feeling is why we do it. I just couldn’t be more happy for my guys and the rest of this team.

Brad you’ve been here the longest. Can you talk about how long you’ve waiting for this outcome?

Brad Hawkins: It’s been a long time. It’s an honor to be a part of this 2021 Michigan Football Team. I’m blessed. I’m just speechless man, it’s been a long ride and just doing it with the guys that love doing it, have passion doing it, that come out there every single day and work their tails off, those are the guys that I went to war with today and it came through for us. I’m just so blessed just to be part of this football team.

Cade you said that you’ve been playing them every day. What did you mean by that?

Cade: I mean every workout, every practice, every meeting, everything that we’ve put into this season, I mean, it got leaked that we got on our boards “What are you doing today to beat Ohio State?” and that’s something that we’ve kept in the back of our minds every single day that we enter Schembechler Hall. That’s what I mean by that, and we did enough to beat ‘em today.

Can any of you share what this feels like, the emotions [inaudible]?

Brad: For me, you know, I cried. You know it’s just so emotional. Such a blessing to realize that all the hard work, everything that you preach about, what we have inside of Schembechler Hall, what are you doing to beat Ohio State today? and today we beat ‘em and it’s just like so overwhelming and just a blessing.

Hassan… can you just speak to that third quarter how you really took control of the game? Hassan I know it was your defense but also for you, on this last day of yours here at Michigan, to put that performance you did in the third quarter, can you just speak to how you’re going to remember that and what it felt like going through it?

Hassan: Yeah it was, I told myself I’m not going down. We gotta win this ball game, and I just kept telling myself that. I stuck that, I put that in the back of my mind. And I went out there with determination to win. I felt like the whole ball team, offense, defense, we took that mindset that we ‘bout to, we gotta win this ball game. That was just my mindset throughout the whole game.

[inaudible… long question and I can’t hear any of it. The answer offers no hints. Sorry.]

Aiden Hutchinson: Yeah we were so dominant I think. Offensively, defensively, I mean the way the offense was moving the ball, I don’t know how many yards they had but they were moving that thing up and down the field. And defensively, we let up a couple of big plays which we knew we were gonna let up, but you know, we got big in the red zone on some of those drives. I thought we really played good, complimentary football.

Guys on defense, can you talk about how it seemed like they were a little shook and rattled from the start, fumbling snaps and pre-snap penalties?

Brad: You know, the crowd. The fans they had it rockin’ today. Just being that loud and just being in this type of environment I feel like that’s what happened. The fans helped us a lot today on that. Just going out there and for us doing what we do, just playing Michigan defense, and being settled and poised.

Aiden: I think that crowd was literally the loudest I’ve ever heard The Big House and the most invested, rightfully so but it was such an insane atmosphere and something that, you know, talk about a home-field advantage.

[inaudible, but I think he’s asking about what Aiden will remember the most from today…]

Aiden: Everything. Everything about it. Just the emotions, how we played. Going into this game, starting from January, all the work that we put in mentally, physically to get over that hump, if that’s what you wanna call it, and finally beat Ohio State.

For any of you guys, what does the win today mean for the rivalry going forward, now that Michigan has this win?

Cade: I think going forward, it’s been so long since we’ve beaten them. As Aiden mentioned it’s just been an accumulation of everything we’ve done and all the work we’ve put in. We knew that we could beat them and now we know what it takes, and now we just have to do that every single year. We even gotta get better, but, you know, they’re human too and we proved that today.

You guys have another game to play next week. [inaudible… he asks something about celebrating this win while preparing for next week.]

Cade: I’m extremely confident in this team and I love these boys and I know we’ll be prepared. It’s been a long time coming since we beat Ohio State and I know we can celebrate this for the next however many hours are left of this Saturday but come Sunday morning we’ll be ready to play in the Big Ten Championship.

[more inaudible, sad day.]

Andrew Stueber: Yeah it was a big emphasis to be able to run the ball this week. We thought that a lot of teams came out and maybe played a little scared against them, played a little timid. And that’s just not Michigan football, that’s not how we like to play as an offensive line, as a run game, and as a unit. I think we did a great job of just coming off the ball, playing our football, establishing a run game and opening up the passing game as well. Couldn’t be more proud of the offensive line, these backs did a tremendous job. And yeah, the biggest thing for us was just coming out and playing our football, not playing timid or scared and just being able to move ‘em off the ball.

Can you guys describe just how heated today’s game was? Obviously there was that video in the tunnel and then a little bit of a scrum on the field with Roman. Just how heated was the rivalry today?

Aiden: Yeah man, I mean, these guys have been disrespecting us, stepping on our jerseys, talking about hanging a hundred on us, doing all of the ‘rah, rah,’ doing all the talk, but we were about it today.

For all you guys, what do you think this win ultimately means for the program, regardless of what happens going forward, but just the significance of the victory itself and what it could mean long-term?

Cade: I think as I mentioned a little earlier, long-term we’ve set the expectation now. It’s been so long since we’ve beat Ohio State and you know, we did that today. And for the guys coming back, now we gotta do that every single year. As I mentioned again, we know what it took and we’re not done yet.

[inaudible… something about developing the right mindset as an offensive line.]

Andrew: Well I think after what happened in the 2020 season, we took it upon ourselves to start identifying this offensive line and building an identity that we wanted to be. And it started in spring, started in training camp, just building that intensity, that ability to move people off the ball, that ability to kind of become nasty as you said. So we’ve been building that all year. We’ve been able to run the ball on a lot of teams that other teams haven’t been able to. I think it showed, kinda came to a pinnacle in this game we kinda reached. We were able to come off the ball, hit their linebackers, and do something that a lot of teams failed to do. And that’s something that’s just an accumulation of everything we’ve done in the offseason, throughout spring ball, throughout camp, and throughout this season. You know Coach Moore and all the coaches have done a great job of coaching us up, and allowing us to do this. So couldn’t be more proud of just the whole O-line’s unit.

Aiden I believe you said down on the field that you manifested this. And when we talked to you Tuesday you talked about visualizing the outcome of the game. What did you visualize and how close was this to what you pictured?

Aiden: This was it right here. Visualizing storming the field. I wanted the goal posts to go down but I don’t think they’re down. But all that, you know, just crying, just we did it. It’s something that I’ve been thinking about for years now.

Aiden, you said earlier this week that the reason you came back to Michigan was to beat Ohio State. How long have you been sort of drilling this into your teammates and emphasizing to them how important this rivalry is to you?

Aiden: I told you guys at the Big Ten media days that we were emphasizing this game more. Everyone seemed to have a lot of questions about that in terms of how we were doing it. I told you to trust me, we were doing it. And I mean, you go out there, you see how we played in that dominant fashion. There you go.

[inaudible, mostly because Aiden knocked his mic over] …How emotional was it out there?

Andrew: Yeah I think it’s really important, especially on offense, to control your emotions in the beginning. And I think that you saw kinda later in the game we started getting more and more excited as we started to realize that what we said we were going to do came to fruition. So I think it’s really important as an offense to come out and control the emotions so that was a big emphasis throughout the whole week. But I know the defense always comes out and played full-force. They’re always excitable, so, you can talk more about that.

Aiden: Yeah I think we just played complimentary football. They made a big play on us, they might have scored, but our offense just responded and did what they had to do. I mean they were so elite today, can’t even talk about it anymore.

Aiden, don’t know if you knew this, but with your performance today you set the single season record for sacks at Michigan. What’s that mean to you?

Aiden: Man, um, it was crazy. I can’t really put it into words. I really just wanted to beat my dad, and I went a little farther. It’s so cool, and it’s a moment I can’t wait to share to my dad, you know, with him, wherever he is.

Aiden, can you paint the picture for me of the sign that says “What have you done to beat Ohio State today?” How big is it, when did it go up, where is it in the Hall, do you touch it, do you stare at it?

Aiden: It’s just an electronic image that we had in January. That’s something that we changed this offseason was really just staring them in the face and not fearing them and addressing them always. Everything that we did in that offseason, when it comes to training, when it comes to practicing, was to beat Ohio State.

[back to being inaudible… something about going up against the DEs in practice]

Andrew: I’ve been extremely lucky since my time here, we’ve had great defensive ends, and I can truly say that Aiden is I think the best of the best. His ability to do any move, he really has it all, and being able to go out there and see him do what he does best just gives me pure joy. You know, I know the struggles in camp, you know, getting beat by him and just seeing him do it to other tackles just gives me straight joy. I love when he beats tackles on the edge and when he, my favorite is when he bull-rushes them to the ground, which I think he did one play this game so you’ll see it on the TV…

Aiden: Yeah I love when he straps the ends up, alright, it goes both ways.

Andrew: But yeah, I love seeing it, it’s great.

Aiden, you’ve been going against Stueber and these guys for four years. At what point did you realize they were different as an offensive line or that they were gonna maybe have enough to do kinda their end of it?

Aiden: Yeah 100%, in the Beat Ohio drills, I mean, they were so competitive. And we were getting after it so hard. I knew in camp that we had some elite tackles, you know, in Ryan and Stueber, and I mean, you guys saw it as the season progressed, they barely allowed any sacks on the edge. They’ve been so elite. I can’t even go farther into it. It’s been great going up against them and getting those looks in practice and really just competing and having fun.

For both of you, Jim Harbaugh has taken a lot of heat and a lot of criticism for not beating Ohio State and not getting the program where you guys are going. How does it feel for each of you to be a part of the group that gave him this victory in this moment?

Andrew: You guys should have seen him in the locker room after the game. I’ve never seen him more happy, more excited. And you know, not just for himself, but for his excitement towards the players and how much he knows it means for not only the players but the coaches and everyone involved. He’s gone through some tough times, he’s kind of got, you know, he’s faced a lot of adversities since he’s been coach here. And to see him finally beat Ohio State, as a team, as a unit, we knew what this team was capable of and it all starts with him. He’s done a great job of coaching this team up, building on what the problems were last year and fixing those and adjusting those, bringing on new coaches and yeah he’s just done a tremendous job this year. And I couldn’t be more happy for him.

Aiden: Yeah kinda along the same lines. I kinda missed him after the game, but I just saw him before I got in here and I’m just so happy for him. I think he was 0-5 against them, so I’m so happy to be a part of his first win. To have a top five game at home and getting the win, it’s snowing, it was really like war out there. And I think he knew that, he understood that, and I’m just so happy for him and our whole team.

For both of you, was there a point in which you felt well before the clock hit zero that you were going to win the game and/or a point at which they started to kinda relent?

Andrew: I think when we came out in the second half, defensive started, and they did a tremendous job there. And then the offense came out and we only ran the ball down the field. And I think that’s when from an O-line perspective, when you’re able to come out after halftime adjustments, you know, having the time to be able to see what they’re doing, being able to adjust, when you come out and you only run the ball, you take it down the field, it says something about the confidence in themselves. And I think it’s the first time that they really faced adversity like that, and we just continued to roll, continued to roll ‘em. And that’s the moment that you felt the tide shift, from an offensive line perspective.

Aiden: You know, just me, when that offense scores fourth quarter, eight minutes left to go up two touchdowns, emotions started going down. You know, it was really hard to contain, just because I could feel it coming. I was so confident in our offense and our defense to get the job done. And kind of in that moment I knew that whatever happens in this game I think it’s over.

[completely inaudible, seems like a follow-up on Harbaugh’s quote about it being the beginning…]

Andrew: I think what he means by the beginning for this season is, you know, we’re just getting started. This is the first time we’ve played for a Big Ten Championship in a very long time. So to be able to say this is only the beginning after such a big win speaks volumes to how confident he is in this team. We gotta take it upon ourselves, like Cade said before, we’re gonna celebrate this victory for Saturday, but when Sunday comes around, our attention switches to the Big Ten Championship. And that’s what we’re focused on next, so that’s only the beginning for this team as far as championship-level play. I think that’s where this team is and I can’t wait to see us do it.

For both of you guys, you chose to come back and by fall camp you both were pretty confident in this team. I’m curious when, following the 2020 season, you guys believed this was possible, this kind of bounce-back, and also just kind of why you felt that way?

Aiden: I think we knew we were gonna bounce back. I don’t think anybody else did out of Schembechler Hall, but I think in our building, we all believed, you know, we got some talented guys on this team, and I think we can make a run at something. That’s what I was thinking. But yeah, no one else believed it, so, it just goes to show kinda our cohesiveness and our unity on our team and we all know what we are despite what anybody says about us.

Andrew: Yeah, I’ll just have to echo that. It started internally with us, through the grind of winter conditioning, summer conditioning, spring ball, camp, we started building our identity, and it really just started with us. No one believed in us, so who else better than us to believe in us? We’ve really kind of grown as a unit and as a brotherhood and this is probably the closest team I’ve ever been a part of. It’s been nothing but fun this whole year.