Harbaugh: 'Battery' Of Rudock, Butt, Chesson, Darboh Is Best In The Country
By Ashley Scoby
@AshleyScoby
In the first week of the college football season, when Michigan quarterback Jake Rudock threw three interceptions and his team lost 24-17 to Utah, Wolverines fans had their doubts.
Michigan had a formidable defense, but an offense that had trouble scoring, they said.
Fast forward a couple of months, and Rudock has steadied himself significantly. He hasn't thrown more than one interception in a game since that first week against Utah. He passed for six touchdowns in an overtime victory last week against Indiana.
And the fifth-year senior's leadership, and the way it has evolved this year, has earned the praise of head coach Jim Harbaugh.
"He's an outstanding leader and he leads from a team perspective. I don't think his leadership is about him," he said. "That's what our team senses. He's an individual with strong morals and a strong set of values and our players trust him. They see how hard he works. No one outworks him. … He's committed to our strategies of what's best for the team, and he's very accountable."
Rudock has plenty of help in front of him, too. Wide receivers Jehu Chesson and Amara Darboh, as well as tight end Jake Butt, have all been important cogs in making Michigan's offense run.
And according to Harbaugh, that core foursome is playing better than anyone else in college football. Michigan was able to connect on several deep balls against the Hoosiers, and it's an area of the game that has gradually gotten better and better for the Wolverines as the season continues.
"It was good to hit those (deep balls), get a big chunk and our receivers are catching the deep ball, tracking it, taking the intermediate ball," Harbaugh said. "Jehu Chesson taking an intermediate pass and taking it all the way for a touchdown; Jake Butt has been that way, creating the big play. I truly believe Jake Rudock, Jake Butt, Jehu Chesson, Amara Darboh, those four as a tandem, as a battery, are playing as well as any tandem in the country."