Despite Missing Out on Blake Corum and J.J. McCarthy, Jim Harbaugh Celebrates Michigan’s Remarkable Achievement in the 2024 Draft

The 2024 NFL Draft was quite an emotional rollercoaster for Jim Harbaugh. Thirteen of his former Michigan players were drafted, which was a huge moment for the Wolverines. The head coach was expected to grab some Michigan star players like J.J. McCarthy and Blake Corum for the Chargers. Though he missed out on them, Harbaugh still managed to get his hands on a couple of former Wolverines.

Harbaugh is a Michigan man in every way possible, and his commitment to them runs deeper. He’s so proud of the team that he even got an “M 15-0” tattoo after their perfect championship season. His pride for the program is always on display, and the draft was no exception. In a heartfelt press conference, the head coach couldn’t hide his excitement as he praised Michigan’s impressive draft results. 

Jim Harbaugh gets emotional over Michigan draft success

During a post-Draft press conference, Jim Harbaugh was asked about his former Michigan players getting drafted. “It got emotional for me,” he said. With visible emotion, he responded, “I’m a Charger now, but those are my guys.” The head coach couldn’t hide his pride for longer as he added, “I love seeing some of the records broken with the amount of guys at the Combine.”

Fresh off their national championship win, the Michigan Wolverines started crushing NFL records, too. They sent a huge group of 18 players to the NFL Combine and then topped it off by getting seven players drafted in the first three rounds. “I don’t know that’s ever been done,” Harbaugh said, counting on Wolverine’s record. He closed the interview on a heartfelt note, saying, “I got emotional in a good way for me.” It’s clear that even as he leads the Chargers, his heart still holds a place for his former team.

Harbaugh tries to bring Michigan flavor to the Chargers

Now Harbaugh couldn’t be more proud as half of his former Michigan players heard their names called in the first two days. Most impressively, seven Wolverines were drafted in the first three rounds, which is a true testament to Harbaugh’s coaching skills. The excitement started early with coveted quarterback J.J. McCarthy going 10th overall to the Minnesota Vikings. Now, this was the sixth time in a row that a Michigan player heard their name called in the first round. 

While many expected Harbaugh to get McCarthy for the Chargers, he missed out on the quarterback. Wolverines also thought he might target running back Blake Corum, but Corum ended up with a different Los Angeles team — the Rams instead. However, Harbaugh, the proud Michigan Man, didn’t leave empty-handed. He finally drafted one of his linebackers, Junior Colson, and wide receiver Cornelius Johnson. Even though he couldn’t draft all the Michigan stars he wanted, Harbaugh is proud of the winning team he built there. He’s determined to bring the same success to the Chargers by adding familiar players and coaches from Michigan.