He came, and he conquered. University of Michigan head football coach Jim Harbaugh and his team beat rivals Ohio State for the second consecutive year last weekend. Now, the Wolverine football team is 12-0, and Harbaugh is getting all kinds of praise from his peers.
It’s not just Harbaugh, either. Both Michigan and Michigan State were well-represented on Tuesday (Nov. 29), when the Big Ten released its official coach and players of the year awards.
Harbaugh was named both the Hayes-Schembechler Coach of the Year and Dave McClain Coach of the year. The awards are voted on by Big Ten coaches and media members.
In addition, looking at the Wolverines, Univest of Michigan DE Mike Morris was named the Smith-Brown Defensive Lineman of the year, and kicker Jake Moody was named the Bakken-Anderson Kicker of the Year.
Morris has achieved 2q tackles and seven sacks during his senior year as an edge rusher. It’s an impressive list of statistics, which earned him the honors. Moody is a graduate student at Michigan. He’s also a finalist for the Lou Groza Award. His numbers show an impressive 26-32 with field goals this season with 131 points. He was also 53-53 on extra points.
Heading over to the Spartans, Michigan State punter Bryce Baringer was named the Eddleman-Fields Punter of the Year. He actually leads the NCAA with an average of 49 yards per punt and 2,450 yards total. In addition, Baringer was named one of three finalists for the Ray Guy Award given each season to America’s top punter. The winner will be announced Dec. 8 at 7 p.m. on ESPN. The other two finalists are Cincinnati’s Mason Fletcher and Rutgers’ Adam Korsak.
Redshirt sophomore linebacker Cal Haladay was named second-team All-Big Ten. He leads the Big Ten and ranks 10th in FBS with 120 tackles. Redshirt sophomore defensive tackle Simeon Barrow, fifth-year senior defensive tackle Jacob Slade and fifth-year senior safety Xavier Henderson all received honorable mention honors. Fifth-year senior Jayden Reed was named third-team All-Big Ten as a return specialist by the coaches and honorable mention by the media. He recently declared for the NFL Draft.