First look

In one of the greatest turnouts ever for the spring football game, some 60,000 fans gathered in the Big House April 4 to get the first look at Jim Harbaugh’s Wolverines. They also got a pretty good look at Coach Harbaugh, who spent much of his time on the field at Michigan Stadium, as opposed to coaching from the sidelines or perching in the press box.
 
As MGoBlue.com‘s Steve Kornacki reports: “Harbaugh started out by dropping 15 yards behind the defense before switching to a similar vantage point behind the offense. He usually would lean into the huddle to hear the quarterback make the call and interacted with players after plays.”
 
After all, Harbaugh is a “field” coach who likes to get as close as possible to make observations, offer encouragement, and occasionally pull a player aside for instruction, writes Kornacki.

(Read the full story at MGoblue.com.)

You oughta be in pictures

The excitement around Harbaugh’s first year at Michigan is off the charts. He has more than 230,000 Twitter followers who track his every move, 140 characters at a time. Now his social media feed enjoys the added luster of Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer David Turnley, an associate professor at the Stamps School of Art & Design. Turnley is documenting Harbaugh’s first year as the team’s head coach in a series of daily photographs titled “365 Days of Michigan Football.”  The series debuted just in time for the April 4 game.

Day 10: Attention to the Flag! @umich #SpringGame #GOBLUE @umichfootball Photo by @DavidTurnley pic.twitter.com/Stky1U5dwZ

— Coach Harbaugh (@CoachJim4UM) April 6, 2015

Team player

Turnley, who graduated from LS&A’s Residential College in 1977, has a special interest in the Harbaugh legacy. As a Michigan student he played briefly for the Wolverines under Coach Bo Schembechler and Harbaugh’s father, Jack.

Over the past 40 years, the documentary photographer and filmmaker has chronicled some of the world’s most important historical events, world leaders, and cultural icons. A Detroit Free Press staff photographer from 1980-98, Turnley photographed Nelson Mandela and the South African struggle, and covered such events as the Persian Gulf War, revolutions in Eastern Europe, student uprisings in China, and the disintegration of the Soviet Union. He has published eight books of his photographs and directed three feature-length documentaries including the award-winning Shenandoah.

(Top image credit: Eric Bronson, Michigan Photography.)