RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA – The reactions were varied, almost as much as they were abundant, when Jim Harbaugh spent part of a recruiting trip to Los Angeles last month climbing a tree.
Some people considered the behavior completely ridiculous for an adult. Others thought it was entirely appropriate … just as long as Harbaugh also fell out of the tree.
That’s the way it is with Michigan’s polarizing football coach, a one-person viral video bomb, a guy who’s so popular in part because he’s so unpopular, a man who generates a buzz as consistently and convincingly as any product ever bottled by Budweiser.
Even if you think Harbaugh puts the twit in Twitter, you have to admire his ability to use every available avenue to promote his program and attract attention and talent.
And then, when a particular avenue isn’t available to Harbaugh, you have to admire his ability to slash-and-torch a path – with the subtle elegance of the Tasmanian Devil – to his desired destination anyway.
Dylan Crawford certainly admires Harbaugh, so much so that the Santa Margarita High wide receiver has signed to play starting next season for the Wolverines, a decision that was such big news NBC televised it live nationally.
So, what was Crawford’s reaction when Harbaugh, in a longing to reach for a star, decided he’d first try to get closer by climbing that tree?
“Right when I saw that I was like, ‘Good move, Harbaugh! Get my boy! Get my boy to come to Michigan! Get him!’ ” Crawford said. “Sure enough, he did. Harbaugh can do whatever he wants. That’s the man right there.”
Harbaugh did land Loyola cornerback David Long Jr., who has been friends with Crawford going back to their days playing Pop Warner together.
The two now will be teammates in a program that – on the field – might not yet be the center of the college football universe. But – everywhere else – Michigan and the infatuation surrounding its head coach represent the strongest gravitation pull in the sport, or maybe you haven’t seen the recent photo of Harbaugh posing, inexplicably, with Kenny G and Larry the Cable Guy.
It seems the grown-ups are the ones more annoyed by Harbaugh and his sometimes bizarre methods than the kids, especially the grown-ups who coach in the Southeastern Conference or run the NCAA or post comments on websites such as sbnation.com, which just featured a story under the following headline: “Jim Harbaugh is weird.”
Since the kids are the ones who ultimately matter in college football – the kids doing the actual blocking and tackling – Harbaugh probably didn’t care what you or I thought of him sleeping on the floor of a player’s house after resuming recruitment of the kid the moment a NCAA-mandated dead period ended at 12:01 a.m.
“This is stuff that we like,” Crawford said. “It just lets you know he’s a normal person. He’s not some crazy dude that you have to be afraid of. I don’t fear him, but I certainly respect him.”
For the record, there were no sleepovers in Crawford’s recruitment. Harbaugh, unlike when he met with that kid from Texas, didn’t present Crawford with a state-shaped cake. He didn’t even dab for Crawford and his parents.
In December, Harbaugh and assistant coach Jedd Fisch visited Crawford, the three posing for a photo, arms wrapped around each other, both coaches smiling proudly while Crawford kept a stone face. But before posting the photo to Twitter, Crawford did attach a winking emoji.
Michigan began courting him before Harbaugh did, Brady Hoke offering Crawford a scholarship following his sophomore season, Crawford almost accepting on the spot, so enamored was he after catching passes with a few other players in an otherwise empty Big House.
When the Wolverines made their coaching change, Crawford’s only concern was if the scholarship offer still stood.
“You know you’re going to have a chance to be great because he’s going to push you to be great,” Crawford said, and you know who “he” is as well as I do. “I’m just looking forward to it. It’s a special place, and it will be even more special with what’s to come.”
At Michigan’s Harbaugh-inspired “Signing With the Stars” event, a gathering that featured, among others luminaries, Tom Brady, Ric Flair and the voice of James Earl Jones, Desmond Howard was the one who announced Crawford’s name.
It’s not a bad touch, having the official welcome come from a Heisman Trophy winner who now spends his Saturdays telling ESPN’s audience who to watch in college football.
“I guess you could call them little things, but they’re really big things,” Crawford said. “Michigan does a lot of special stuff that you love as an athlete.”
Before trying to make his name at his new school, Crawford plans to change it. He said he’s going to go by Kekoa Crawford at Michigan, Kekoa being his Hawaiian name, one that means so much to him that it’s tattooed above his heart.
Crawford’s mother, Karen, is from Hawaii and gave him a middle name that translates into “Warrior” or “The Brave.”
“I used to dance hula,” Crawford said, smiling. “My mom made me do it. I wouldn’t say I did it as much as I was forced to do it. A little embarrassing.”
Somewhat amazingly, Harbaugh must have been unaware of this. Otherwise, he almost surely would have arrived at the Crawford home wearing a grass skirt and coconut shell bikini top, right?
Hey, I’m not kidding. Just check the Internet. There’s unfortunate video of Harbaugh running around shirtless while playing with a bunch of kids.
“You gotta get players, right?” Crawford said. “I’m not mad that he’s going out there and getting the best players. We’re going to be competing against the best, I know that. If you’re big-time and you want to play big-time football, you gotta have the players.”
Thanks to Harbaugh, Michigan is getting the players, from tree tops to bedroom floors, one beautifully odd-ball moment at a time.
Contact the writer: jmiller@ocregister.com
