Jim Harbaugh has done some crazy-ass things during his recruiting trips, but none might be more strange than what happened on a recent trek to Iowa.
While in Iowa City, Iowa, Harbaugh got to meet a man with some significance in his life. As a 6-year-old, Harbaugh ran into the street after a ball. He ended up being hit by a car while chasing the ball. Forty-seven years later, Harbaugh reunited with the driver who hit him.
With Dan McGivern of Iowa City. Driver, when I ran into traffic & took on his car @ age 6 #LifeSaver #DefiningMoment pic.twitter.com/UOM055euuY
— Coach Harbaugh (@CoachJim4UM) January 26, 2017
As a result of this incident, Harbaugh ended up breaking his leg. He explained the incident further on his radio show last November.
“John and I had gone to school, our first day at Roosevelt Elementary,” Harbaugh recalled of his brother. “First day we’d move there, found some kids to play with after school.
“It was getting dark. John said, ‘We gotta go.’ So we picked up our stuff and we’re running. I was trying to put my jacket on over my head all at once. And I was just following after him, and he crossed the street. Busy street there. The next thing I know, I woke up in a hospital bed. I’d got hit by a mail truck. Broke my leg in two places. Had a cast on for about six months. I was in the first grade. Second half of first grade.”
Harbaugh followed up his original tweet with some humor.
For comprehensive Life Insurance coverage, call Dan McGivern at 319-351-4307 pic.twitter.com/m0d0Af1TpQ
— Coach Harbaugh (@CoachJim4UM) January 26, 2017
While this encounter is much more interesting than any recruiting effort, it seems like a good idea to include who Harbaugh was going after on the trip.
Harbaugh was in Iowa presumably to visit Iowa City West receiver Oliver Martin, a four-star target whose profile has raised over recent weeks and months. Michigan has talked to him for months but he also has given Notre Dame, Michigan State, Iowa and Auburn serious looks. Martin received a visit from passing game coordinator and receivers coach Pep Hamilton earlier this month, along with U-M grad assistant Joe Hastings, who played receiver for Harbaugh with the San Francisco 49ers.
Only Harbaugh would be out there in the community drinking milk with the guy who hit him back when Harbaugh was six. For most people, this sort of incident definitely qualifies as a beer-drinking situation.
