Jim Harbaugh, ‘inspiring’ J.K. Dobbins quickly becoming the perfect Chargers match

Jon Runyan played for Jim Harbaugh as a Michigan freshman. He knows exactly what Harbaugh prizes and demands of a football player.

“He wants somebody that’s smart,” Runyan told The Post at his Giants locker. “Tough. And they’re going to go until he says stop. He wants somebody that’s always going to ask for more. He wants guys that are going to fight through adversity, and they’re not going to break, they’re just only going to get stronger as whatever — the elements, the adversity — tries to bring ’em down. He wants guys that are going to be mentally and physically strong enough to fight through that. I feel like he’s tried to recruit those players to whatever program he’s been at since he’s been coaching football.”

It is why Harbaugh and J.K. Dobbins seem fated for a marriage made in heaven.

“He’s himself. He’s unique. He’s competitive. I think that’s what’s making him a great coach,” Dobbins said via audio file from the Chargers’ public relations department.

It wasn’t so much the 211 rushing yards, four touchdowns and 49 receiving yards Dobbins accumulated in a 56-27 Ohio State will over Harbaugh’s Michigan men in 2019 as much as it was how Dobbins has willed his way all the way back from a torn Achilles suffered in the Ravens’ 2023 opener.

Chargers center Bradley Bozeman was entering his third season with the Ravens when Dobbins, easily the best player available, was the second-round draft choice in 2020.