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00:00 Um, you know, just extremely honored to be in this position again.
00:04 Um, you know, just great effort throughout the entire season and, you know, the job's not finished
00:10 yet. So still got a lot more to go and excited for this week. Looking forward to it.
00:14 As a reminder, if you'd like to ask a question,
00:17 please raise your hand in the chat. Our first question for JJ will come from Larry Lage.
00:22 Larry, you can unmute and ask.
00:23 Okay. Uh, JJ, can you describe your interactions with Jim Harbaugh on game day at the stadium?
00:30 Like when's the first time you kind of see him face to face? What does he do with you, say to you,
00:35 um, now that he'll be back?
00:37 Um, I actually haven't gotten the opportunity to see him face to face.
00:42 I think I've seen him on the radio a couple of times.
00:44 Um, but I haven't seen him in person.
00:46 Um, now that he'll be back, um, I actually haven't gotten the opportunity to see him,
00:52 uh, since Saturday, but, uh, you know, I saw him in the morning, obviously, and just, you know,
00:58 he told me to do me, go out there and have fun. And it was pretty simple,
01:01 just the same things he tells me every week.
01:03 So I'm sorry, on game day, I think we see some of the clips of him,
01:08 like pounding you in the shoulder pads when he's with you on game day, um, as he will be like,
01:13 when, you know, is it after you do meditation? Like, do you have like a timing or routine with
01:18 him? Like, and does he hit your shoulder pads like that and kind of get you ready physically,
01:23 uh, every game is that, or just sometimes.
01:26 Yes, that's every game. And it's usually like right before kickoff, he'll come and find me.
01:31 And, uh, you know, he just, he's all about like getting that first hit and the butterflies just,
01:36 you know, get disintegrated from your body. So he tries to do his best to kind of simulate that.
01:41 And, uh, yeah, it's a nice little weekly tradition that I can't wait to get back.
01:45 Our next question comes from Tony Garcia.
01:49 Yeah. Hey, JJ, uh, you keep saying the last couple of weeks, uh,
01:54 jobs not finished. Uh, can you just talk about the balance between
01:57 keeping things one game at a time, uh, knowing that there are bigger
02:02 goals ahead while also knowing this is a big 10 championship. And obviously this was,
02:07 I mean, something that this program was yearning for just a few years ago.
02:11 Yeah. I think, you know, the interesting thing about this group is that we don't really keep
02:17 it one game at a time. We keep it one day at a time and try to focus on, you know,
02:21 all the daily victories that are presented to us every single day. So I think it just keeps us,
02:26 you know, on that one track mind that coach Harbaugh always talks about and trying to win
02:30 the day at the end of the day. It's not about, you know, the, the game on Saturday as much as,
02:35 you know, what are we doing today to be, you know, our mantra beat Ohio state. We treat it
02:41 every single day like that. So it keeps it pretty simple to stay, you know, in the present and
02:45 focused on the day at hand in the task at hand. Our next question is from Adam Rittenberg.
02:53 JJ is kind of following up on what Larry asked me. What are some of the other things that coach
02:58 Harbaugh brings on, on game day that maybe you haven't had the last few weeks that you're really
03:02 looking forward to having that just for yourself and just for the team as a whole?
03:06 Um, just, you know, his presence, you never know what's going to come out of that man's mouth, but
03:12 when anything that does, it's just always at the right time and, you know, the right words that
03:17 are said. So I feel like just having him around the locker room, you know, pregame where he just
03:21 kind of goes around everybody and pumps them up in some way, you know, go kill him, champ,
03:26 go out there, do you just little stuff like that, that makes a huge, profound impact.
03:31 Our next question is from Andrew Khan.
03:35 JJ, hey, I'm wondering if you've had any communication with your old pal,
03:42 Alan Bowman, and you know, if you're aware that, yeah, he'll be playing for a championship on
03:47 Saturday too. Wow, I didn't even know that, but, you know, so happy for him. You know,
03:52 we talked a little bit during the season, just on FaceTime, seeing how he was and how we were doing,
03:58 but, you know, so happy for him. I know how he attacks every day, just the love he has for
04:04 getting better and, you know, for the game of football, just so, so awesome to see him,
04:09 you know, be in the stage he's at right now and perform the way he's performing,
04:13 because he deserves all of it. Our next question goes to Elliot Clough.
04:19 Hey, JJ, Elliot Clough, Rivals. Obviously, this is the second time in two years you've faced the
04:27 Iowa defense. That's a lot of the conversation around this game is, for at least the Iowa media,
04:34 is around the defense, as it is every week. What kind of challenges do they present for you, and
04:40 do you feel like you maybe have a little bit of an edge going back to that film from last year and
04:46 looking at this year? You know, Coach Ferenc does a great job of making sure that they're well
04:52 coached and in the right spots at all time. I feel like that's something about the Iowa defense
04:58 that makes them so good all the time, is their discipline and, you know, their techniques and
05:03 their coverages and everything about it. They don't do a lot, but they do it really, really well.
05:09 And obviously, they have some athletes back there that can make plays and, you know, get to the ball
05:14 and disrupt the ball in the air. So, I'd say the biggest thing, though, is just their discipline
05:19 with, you know, the rules and just not getting out of, you know, what they do and allowing,
05:25 you know, busting coverage or rushing lanes to open up for me to scramble. So,
05:30 they're just very fundamentally sound. Our next question is from Angelique Chengelis.
05:36 JJ, two quick ones. Jim today was talking about the media attention, all the noise around the
05:44 Michigan-Ohio State rivalry, and he hopes people can put it in perspective that it's not healthy
05:50 for the student-athlete, is what he said. And did you notice that? And is that noise, does that
05:56 affect you guys during Michigan-Ohio State Weekend? And also, I was going to ask about your
06:00 lower body injury, your lower leg injury. Yeah, I can see where Coach Harbaugh is coming from
06:07 when he says that. I did a really good job of whatever big game it is, I just like delete all
06:13 my social media. I try to stay off it as much as possible because, you know, whatever you consume,
06:18 you know, visually, it does have an effect on you, whether you like it or not, or whether you allow
06:24 it to or not. So, I just try to, you know, completely cut out all the noise and just
06:28 focus on what's in front of me and stay in present with my teammates. And my lower leg injury is
06:34 almost perfectly healed. I mean, it was a rough couple of weeks, but, you know, the athletic
06:39 training staff did a tremendous job and, you know, I attack treatment every single day. So,
06:44 it's doing good, but appreciate you asking. Got time for a couple more questions for JJ.
06:49 Our next one goes to Aaron McMahon. JJ, just from a competitive standpoint,
06:55 I know Iowa wasn't on the schedule before the season started.
06:57 Were you hoping to, you know, go up against Keith at all?
07:02 I was. I wanted to, you know, just be able to see him again. You know, it's just amazing to see how
07:08 both of our journeys turned out. And, you know, it was obviously at the forefront of our mind at
07:14 the beginning of the season to have that chance to play Cade and Eric again and just be able to
07:19 see the guys at the end of the day, because two great guys, you know, just be awesome to be,
07:23 you know, on the same field with them again. So, yeah, it's pretty cool. Even though they're not
07:28 playing, it'll be great to see them. Our next question is from Brandon Brown.
07:35 Yeah, JJ, both Coach Harbaugh and Coach Moore have said that they don't want to coach the
07:39 playmaker out of you. And sometimes when you throw a ball, it's, oh, no. And then, oh, man,
07:43 that was amazing. I'm wondering, do you ever feel that throw to Roman, for instance, was right
07:48 between two Ohio State players. Do you ever let one go second guess it for a moment and then realize,
07:54 you know, it worked out how it was supposed to? How does that play out in your head?
07:57 Oh, yeah, I'm a risk taker. You know, I feel like it's a lot of situations in football where if you
08:04 miss that opportunity to take that chance, you won't ever get it back. So, you know, I just
08:09 always err on the side of doing all the little things right throughout the week. So then when
08:14 it does turn out to be, you know, those 50/50 balls or those, you know, kind of risky chances
08:20 that I take, you know, I'm putting in the work through the week of, you know, just making sure
08:24 that they end out on our side and favorable to us. And, you know, that specific play,
08:31 I was just doing film study all week on number 25. And whenever he turns his head, he doesn't
08:35 look at the quarterback. So once I saw him put eyes on Roman, I knew he was only covering the
08:39 width of his shoulders and I just let it rip. Our last question for JJ comes from Mello Williams.
08:46 Just on winning the Big Ten East and congrats, best wishes to Indy this weekend. Iowa has the
08:58 number seven ranked defense and is great at creating turnovers. How important will it be
09:03 for Blake Corm to have a good game rushing the ball? I think it all comes down to, you know,
09:09 obviously Blake's great and he's going to find, you know, the space and open holes and stuff like
09:15 that. But it just comes down to our offensive line seeing, you know, with Zach going out,
09:19 it would be great to see them mesh really well this week and, you know, be on the same page with
09:23 everything at the running game, passing game. But Blake's going to get his. He's just a tremendous
09:29 player where it's like, you know, if it isn't blocked the right way, he's going to make it
09:34 right. And that's what's so special about him. So he's going to make his plays, but the offensive
09:38 line, it's going to be a great challenge for them to, you know, be on the same page every single
09:42 snap.