The most hated man among Michigan’s coaching staff is a well-dressed, 4-inch apparition named Freddy P. Soft.

The proverbial devil on the shoulder has a more developed persona for Wolverines coach Jim Harbaugh and the rest of his assistants.

"He’s a 4-inch [tall] guy that wears a cape and a hat with a plume in it," Harbaugh said Monday. "He’s just tall enough to talk right into your ear and tell you that you don’t have to practice today: 'Why are you working so hard? Get over there in the shade. You don’t need to attack with enthusiasm unknown to mankind today. Take a break. Take a knee.'

"He’s not a guy you want around. Got to get him off your shoulders as fast as possible."

Originally a creation of Jim's father, former coach Jack Harbaugh, Mr. Soft made some appearances in San Francisco when Jim Harbaugh coached the 49ers and has visited Michigan’s practice plenty of times in the past couple years. He usually draws the biggest reaction from offensive coordinator Tim Drevno, according to his players.

"Coach Drevno starts yelling at him, saying. 'Get out of here,'" Michigan quarterback Wilton Speight said. "It’s the funniest thing ever. There are times when Freddy P. Soft comes around. The month of August is long and it’s brutal."

Speight, who won the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week award after passing for 312 yards and four touchdowns against UCF, said he likes the coaching style he gets from Harbaugh & Co., even if it can be unrelenting at times. Speight admitted this week that he was the quarterback on the receiving end of Harbaugh’s vitriol during an HBO "Real Sports" special last year.

In the clip, the coach tells Speight that if he doesn't want to do things the right way, he should go somewhere else. The producers of the program tried to be gracious and blur our Speight’s jersey number, but his friends let him know that it was obvious because he’s the only "8-foot tall" quarterback out there.

"I remember … that HBO special," said Speight, who actually tops out at about 6-foot-6. "I think Freddy P. Soft made an appearance at that practice."