After losing five straight games, the Michigan football team clearly needed a change of pace entering last Saturday's game at Minnesota.

So senior defensive back Brandon Harrison made two significant changes.

The first was a haircut.

Harrison, who last cut his hair soon after the Capitol One Bowl on New Year’s Day, went to redshirt junior defensive end and “team barber” Andre Criswell. Criswell took Harrison’s hair down from unwieldy mane to a close-cropped cut.

“It was too much, man,” Harrison said. “There was hair everywhere. It got pulled a lot of times.”

The haircut was personal, but for the team, Harrison’s biggest change last week was moving from strong safety to nickel back for the team’s 4-2-5 base package against the Golden Gophers.

Harrison's move to nickel back meant that he spent the week leading up to the game practicing with the linebackers, a switch he enjoyed.

“Linebacker’s been so much fun,” Harrison said. “I’ve always wanted to be a linebacker since I was little, but I wasn’t the tallest guy.”

On the field in Minneapolis, the new defensive alignment was a success. Harrison’s performance stood out in particular. Lined up closer to the line of scrimmage than he was as a safety, Harrison had a significant role in stopping the run and pressuring the quarterback.

Michigan’s defense held Minnesota to 188 total yards — just 105 through the air — the fewest it has allowed all season.

Harrison finished the game with four tackles and recorded his first career solo sack on a key third-and-goal play in the third quarter.

“That was the first time he played a true nickel back in a first-down situation on Saturday,” Rodriguez said. “I think it helped.”

Harrison’s success at nickel back didn’t come as a huge surprise to him or his teammates. Prior to this season, Harrison played mostly at nickel back, which made his readjustment to the position relatively easy.

“I had to think like a linebacker — it's different,” Harrison said. “Like certain runs you've got to fit in a certain gap. Instead of like a safety you'll come down and you'll just fit off the back."

Harrison expects to play a similar role against Northwestern on Saturday. The Wildcats also run a spread offense so the coaching staff will likely go with it again this week.

Harrison will play in his final home game Saturday and then return to his home state for his last college game, the season-ending matchup with No. 10 Ohio State. Harrison knows these last two games will be emotional.

But if Michigan finishes the season with an upset win over the Buckeyes, Harrison has a promise to keep. Criswell should be on call.

“If we win the O-State game, I’ll go bald, shave it off.”