Not that he really cares, but Jim Harbaugh has at least one supporter when it comes to spring breaking in Florida.
Harbaugh’s decision to spend a portion of Michigan’s spring practice in Florida has brought out the detractors, from the SEC commissioner to his counterpart in the the ACC to at least one head coach in the former’s conference. But, as the Wolverines kicked off spring practice at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., this week, Harbaugh has an ally in the midst of the controversy. Sort of.
“I applaud the guy,” Florida State head coach Jimbo Fisher said Tuesday. “He’s doing things he has to do to be successful.
“Jim beat the rules. That fine. I applaud Jim for trying to do something different.”
Fisher also said he’s not concerned about any recruiting advantage the Big Ten school may gain by camping in his backyard. “Michigan always came to Florida and got players,” Fisher said, adding, “I promise I lose no sleep over it.”
That said, Fisher did question NCAA rules that permits Harbaugh to bring his team to a school in Florida for spring practice when he couldn’t accept an offer on the same campus to speak to other coaches at a clinic. From the Palm Beach Post:Fisher’s issue comes with the discrepancy in the rules. Fisher said he and three other coaches, including Alabama’s Nick Saban, were asked by IMG to speak at a coach’s clinic during the spring evaluation period in late April. Fisher agreed but was forced to back out when he was informed by the FSU compliance department that it would be an NCAA violation.
“I started thinking – We can’t speak on their campus during the evaluation period and they’re allowed to practice there when no coaches are allowed to be out (recruiting)?” Fisher said. “Don’t tell us we can’t speak at a clinic there but they can practice.”