As of Thursday morning, one of Michigan’s key defenders was not with the team in Florida.

Head coach Jim Harbaugh confirmed that Michigan safety Daxton Hill is not with the team at the moment, as the Wolverines get ready to take on Georgia on Friday night.

“His status is going to be questionable,” Harbaugh said. “He’s working through something right now. We’ll know more today whether he’ll be able to play.”

Hill was an All-Big Ten selection this season for the Wolverines, picking up 65 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, 2 interceptions and a fumble recovery as well.

The junior safety, and former 5-star recruit, has played multiple defensive back positions for Michigan this season. Hill likely would’ve been a key part in covering Georgia tight end Brock Bowers, who leads Georgia in every major receiving category.

Related: Georgia pass game could get big boost if Michigan All-Big Ten safety absent from Orange Bowl

“He’s a heck of a player,” Michigan defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald said. “I think the first thing you have to have is an awareness on where he’s at, and if he’s out of place you have to understand that. And then just understand the things that he likes to do from certain positions so we can help try to slow him down as best we can.”

We’ll learn whether or not if Hill —along with other players that may have been impacted potentially by COVID-19 — are available on Friday during the game. Both schools have remained tight-lipped about how the virus has impacted their teams.

Kirby Smart shares details on Dan Lanning

Oregon wrapped its season on Wednesday night with a 47-32 loss to Oklahoma. The next time the Ducks play, it will be with Lanning as their new head coach.

Before Lanning fully takes over in Eugene, Ore., he has some unfinished business to take care of, as he will remain Georgia’s defensive play-caller ahead for the College Football Playoff.

Smart understands the balancing act Lanning is attempting, as Smart himself did it during the 2015 College Football Playoff. He stayed on to serve as Alabama’s defensive coordinator while getting things up and running at Georgia.

“We talked about it,” Smart said. “There’s not a 24/7 continuum on being just the coordinator. There’s guys that have other things on their mind, and he delegates his time. I trust Dan. He’s done a tremendous job here.”

Related: Dan Lanning wants to ‘finish the right way’ with Georgia football as he makes big moves at Oregon

A big reason Lanning has wanted to remain with the team and finish out the season is because of the relationship he has with this group of players.

Smart echoed that sentiment when speaking on Thursday morning.

“He’s loyal to Georgia, he’s loyal to these players that he recruited,” Smart said. “He knows for his sake and Oregon’s program’s sake he wants to play well. He’s as invested in this process as everybody is. That’s not a major concern for me having him call the defense being the head coach at Oregon. I’ve seen it done many times and very confident that he’s giving us every effort he has.”

Lanning and Smart both spoke about how it has been a collaborative defensive effort this season for the Bulldogs, with Trey Scott, Jahmile Addae, Glenn Schumann, Will Muschamp all having input on the defense.

Schumann and Muschamp will serve as co-defensive coordinators after Lanning moves on to Oregon. But Georgia won’t go too long without seeing Lanning, as his first game as a head coach comes against Georgia to open the 2022 season.

Shirts vs. Skins

One of the more humorous moments from the final media availability before Friday’s game came when Smart and Harbaugh were discussing the time the two were at a recruiting camp together in Alabama.

You might remember that event well, as the Michigan coach famously took his shirt off during the camp.

“I could never do that,” Smart said. “He can get away with that a lot better than I can, so I have to keep my shirt on. But he has a lot of energy, and I know the recruiting events I’ve been to and the camps, he certainly coaches with a passion and style that I certainly admire and respect.”

Harbaugh responded quickly, explaining why he took his shirt off on that summer day.

“Yeah, that was shirts and skins,” Harbaugh said. “I wasn’t trying to take my shirt off to show off or anything. Certainly not a lot to show off. But it was an old-fashioned shirts and skins game.”

Harbaugh also recalled the time he got to meet Hank Aaron while on a recruiting trip through the state of Georgia.

“Meeting Hank Aaron, spending time with him and getting to know him,” Harbaugh said. “Later he became an honorary captain for us at a Michigan game. His granddaughter went to Michigan. That was a really special day getting to cross paths with the great Hank Aaron and also Coach Smart at that camp.”

The next time Harbaugh and Smart cross paths will be on Friday night, as Michigan takes on Georgia at 7:30 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on ESPN.

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