BALTIMORE — The Baltimore Ravens have added four players from the University of Michigan over the last two years. Ravens head coach John Harbaugh and Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh are brothers who once faced each other in the Super Bowl.
The Harbaugh brothers have always competed with each other, starting from an early age. Now that Jim is in the college ranks, he is able to get players ready for the NFL, including his older brother’s team.
Defensive end Chris Wormley; defensive tackle Willie Henry; outside linebacker Brennen Beyer; and punter Kenny Allen have all made the move from Michigan to the Ravens in the last two years.
Wormley spoke about the similarities between the Harbaugh brothers after rookie minicamp a couple weeks ago.
“They both are hard-working coaches. There are a lot of similarities I see on the defensive side of the ball,” Wormley said during his press conference. “We work hard. The first day here was an hour-and-a-half, which was a little shorter than our four-hour practices with coach Harbaugh at Michigan, but it felt good to be back, and I could see a lot of similarities.”
Jim is a former NFL quarterback, having played for a variety of teams, most notably the Chicago Bears and Indianapolis Colts. While his background is on the offensive side of the ball, Wormley says he saw a lot of similarities on defense.
“There are a lot of similarities— a lot of the same calls, a lot of the same defenses,” Wormley explained. “When you see those words, and you see those defenses, it makes it a little bit easier to pick up on it and the adjustments in play calls are helpful.”
Henry made the jump from Michigan to Baltimore before Wormley, so he was able to give him a snapshot of what to expect. Wormley shared some of the things Henry told him.
“He said they go to work every day,” Wormley mentioned. “He said it is like Michigan 2.0, which is something that I am used to, which means we go to work every day. Every day, we work hard. We are going to stop the run on defense and then we are going to get after them on the pass. It is something I am looking forward to, whatever role my role may be.”
It is surprising that Baltimore didn’t add either of the Michigan wide receivers this season. The Ravens are in need of help at wideout, especially because of Steve Smith Sr.’s retirement.
Both Amara Darboh and Jehu Chesson were highly productive under Harbaugh at Michigan. Although the Ravens defense has been bolstered by the addition of former Michigan players, there is a good chance the offense will benefit as well in the coming years.