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Osborn’s potential brush with an NCAA violation came less than a year after Harbaugh chastised Ohio State’s Ryan Day during an August 2020 Big Ten coaches call about a Buckeyes assistant pictured working with players at a time when on-field instruction was forbidden. It was the latest instance that Harbaugh had taken a vocal stance about following the letter of the law. During his first season at Michigan, Harbaugh was rankled when the Wolverines were whistled for the famed “Intent to Deceive” penalty, moaning days later about the in-game call.
“I take the rules very seriously, understanding the rules, understanding the consistency, the clarity of the rules,” he said in November 2015. “Not just the rules, but the spirit of the rules, and doing everything that we can to follow the rules.”
What they can’t do, according to the NCAA, is coach.
But multiple people inside the program have said Osborn was doing just that.
Taylor Upshaw, one of the team’s eight newly labeled edge defenders, revealed as much during an April 5 news conference held in the final stretch of spring practice, when he told reporters Osborn was leading his position subgroup instead of third-year defensive line coach Shaun Nua.
“The reality is Nua is more like a D-tackles coach right now,” Upshaw said. “Coach Osborn is really our main guy. He knows what he’s talking about. He’s a good coach. You can tell just with his passion and the things he’s getting us right with our technique.”
Upshaw wasn’t the only one who raved about Osborn’s impact training the team’s collection of outside linebackers and defensive ends.
An anonymous Michigan edge player told the Free Press in May that Osborn helped refine his footwork and taught a different way to “flip our hips.”
He then added, “Coach Nua and Coach Oz, it's interchangeable...They are interchangeable, man. They serve the same purpose. They’re both coaches. Nobody is doing more or less.”
Asked in April if the football program could refute Osborn had been coaching as defined by the NCAA, a U-M spokesman did not provide a direct response.
“Our compliance office routinely reviews a wide range of NCAA rules issues, and forwards those findings to the Big Ten and NCAA should it be deemed appropriate under the established rules,” the email reply read.
But a week after preseason practice began this month, Harbaugh acknowledged Osborn overstepped his bounds in the spring.
“We’ve addressed that,” he said last Friday. “Like, early spring, I was coaching the quarterbacks and it's my job to be on that and make sure a guy is not over-coaching his position. Ryan Osborn is an analyst; he has got to do analyst duties. That correction has been made. We’re all on top of it. Myself included. Once we became aware of that, put a stop to it. ...Now they know, they know what the assignments are. That happened very early in spring ball.”
www.freep.com
Yet spring practice began Feb. 25 and Upshaw made his comments April 5, five days before the Wolverines wrapped up their on-field activities with an intrasquad game that wasn't televised.
Asked on Monday if Michigan self-reported Osborn’s activities to the Big Ten or NCAA, a U-M spokesman — referring to the previous emailed response — said, “We don't have anything to share beyond what was provided previously.”
“I take the rules very seriously, understanding the rules, understanding the consistency, the clarity of the rules,” he said in November 2015. “Not just the rules, but the spirit of the rules, and doing everything that we can to follow the rules.”
What they can’t do, according to the NCAA, is coach.
But multiple people inside the program have said Osborn was doing just that.
Taylor Upshaw, one of the team’s eight newly labeled edge defenders, revealed as much during an April 5 news conference held in the final stretch of spring practice, when he told reporters Osborn was leading his position subgroup instead of third-year defensive line coach Shaun Nua.
“The reality is Nua is more like a D-tackles coach right now,” Upshaw said. “Coach Osborn is really our main guy. He knows what he’s talking about. He’s a good coach. You can tell just with his passion and the things he’s getting us right with our technique.”
Upshaw wasn’t the only one who raved about Osborn’s impact training the team’s collection of outside linebackers and defensive ends.
An anonymous Michigan edge player told the Free Press in May that Osborn helped refine his footwork and taught a different way to “flip our hips.”
He then added, “Coach Nua and Coach Oz, it's interchangeable...They are interchangeable, man. They serve the same purpose. They’re both coaches. Nobody is doing more or less.”
Asked in April if the football program could refute Osborn had been coaching as defined by the NCAA, a U-M spokesman did not provide a direct response.
“Our compliance office routinely reviews a wide range of NCAA rules issues, and forwards those findings to the Big Ten and NCAA should it be deemed appropriate under the established rules,” the email reply read.
But a week after preseason practice began this month, Harbaugh acknowledged Osborn overstepped his bounds in the spring.
“We’ve addressed that,” he said last Friday. “Like, early spring, I was coaching the quarterbacks and it's my job to be on that and make sure a guy is not over-coaching his position. Ryan Osborn is an analyst; he has got to do analyst duties. That correction has been made. We’re all on top of it. Myself included. Once we became aware of that, put a stop to it. ...Now they know, they know what the assignments are. That happened very early in spring ball.”
How a new Michigan staffer strayed outside NCAA rule book, exposed Jim Harbaugh's hypocrisy
Several people inside Michigan's football program revealed that analyst Ryan Osborn was coaching. But he's prohibited from doing so, per the NCAA.
www.freep.com
Yet spring practice began Feb. 25 and Upshaw made his comments April 5, five days before the Wolverines wrapped up their on-field activities with an intrasquad game that wasn't televised.
Asked on Monday if Michigan self-reported Osborn’s activities to the Big Ten or NCAA, a U-M spokesman — referring to the previous emailed response — said, “We don't have anything to share beyond what was provided previously.”
