ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- There are plenty of funny Jim Harbaugh stories out there, but it seems there's always an untold one that hasn't yet seen sunlight. With seven players from Michigan practicing this week for the East-West Shrine Game, College Football 24/7 canvassed most of the Wolverines contingent for their best Harbaugh dish, and the outgoing seniors were only too glad to serve one up.
Following practices Tuesday and Wednesday, here is what some of the Wolverines offered on their eccentric head coach:
"A lot of people know coach Harbaugh loves wearing his cleats a lot. Well, two years ago we played Utah in his first game, and it was at Utah. We took a visit to the Mormon Tabernacle. It was a mile-and-a-half walk and he made everyone get up early and we all walked over there. We get inside and we hear this 'click, clack, click, clack,' and coach Harbaugh's in there with his cleats on. And the Mormon Tabernacle's a pretty nice place, you know, marble floors. All the players are wearing sneakers, and we can't believe coach Harbaugh's got his cleats on -- he's always got those things on." - OL Kyle Kalis
"After our Utah game his first year, he was frustrated with the wide receivers' blocking, so the Monday after the game, he tried to demonstrate on the podium. He gets a little running start, blocks the podium, and the whole thing just falls apart, wood shattered everywhere. I think he was as shocked as we were. We didn't really start laughing until we saw he was making light of it himself." - OL Erik Magnuson
"He was showing us a pass route in practice my junior year, it was in fall camp. And he starts running really hard, and when he planted to cut, he pulled his hamstring. He tried to play it off like nothing happened, but we all saw the tweak. You could see on his face it was killing him. Finally by the end of the day, I think he had to see the trainer." - RB De'Veon Smith
"One time, he told us as a kid he got hit by a mail truck and was in a cast, and was still playing football with it. Then they had to rebreak it -- I can't remember if it was his foot or his arm -- because he kept playing on it and made it worse. I mean, who gets hit by a mail truck? It could only be you, coach Harbaugh." - DB Dymonte Thomas
*"He told us before one game how he got in a fight with a guy in his younger days. He connected with the first punch, then he said he got beaten up after that. I don't know what the lesson was, but something about getting the first punch in." - DB *Channing Stribling
*"It has to be the hamstring pull for me. I mean, we all knew he was hurt and he didn't want anyone to know, but it was obvious. I think he limped on it for two weeks." - DB *Lano Hill
*Follow Chase Goodbread on Twitter **@ChaseGoodbread*.
