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Jim Harbaugh responds to ‘erroneous’ claims by Luke Fickell concerning James Hudson’s waiver
By Paul Harvey
Published:
It seems the James Hudson saga is still a sore spot between Jim Harbaugh and Cincinnati head coach Luke Fickell.
Hudson left the Wolverines for the Bearcats after 2018 and appealed for an immediate eligibility waiver, citing mental health as one of the reasons for his transfer. Unfortunately, the NCAA denied the waiver in July, meaning Hudson will sit out the 2019 season.
The story resurfaced Tuesday with comments that Luke Fickell made to The Athletic, claiming Michigan did not back the waiver request. According to Justin Williams, Fickell believes Michigan did not work to help Hudson:
“Here’s what I believe in the whole waiver process: the number one, most important thing, and all the power, comes from the school that a kid is leaving. No matter what. (Michigan) didn’t back the waiver. They can say what they want to say, but the only thing they said that was positive was that if the NCAA chooses to make (Hudson) eligible, then they would accept it — that they didn’t have an angle. They are just trying to cover their ass. And I’m really, completely disappointed in it.”
Not to be outdone, Harbaugh took time to respond to Fickell’s comments during his Tuesday evening press conference. He admitted to talking to Fickell about the waiver in March, but Harbaugh said his understanding of the waiver process is different than what Fickell was asking:
Harbaugh said he spoke to Fickell in March: "I said, ‘Coach, my understanding of this is you seem to think there’s something that this is some kind of coach-to-coach, we’re going to work a deal here, and that’s not my understanding of how this process works.’ "
— angelique (@chengelis) August 14, 2019
Harbaugh didn’t stop there, labeling Fickell “erroneous” and stating that Michigan did not block Hudson’s waiver:
Harbaugh when asked where it's coming from that Michigan blocked Hudson waiver: "Coming from Luke Fickell. He’s erroneous erroneous. Michigan did not block the waiver. We wish James Hudson well. … The way the process works right now, those waivers are decided by the NCAA.
— angelique (@chengelis) August 14, 2019
Regardless of the back-and-forth between the coaches, Hudson remains ineligible for 2019 and will have to sit out this season. It will be interesting to see if Fickell has another response in store after Harbaugh’s latest comments.
For more on Fickell’s comments from Tuesday, be sure to check out The Athletic (subscription).
Paul is a lifelong fan and student of all things college football. He has been covering college football since 2017 and the B1G since 2018.