Barnhart must have made a strong connection with former U of M coach Jim Harbaugh, because Jim just signed Barnhart to the Los Angeles Chargers, where Jim Harbaugh is now head coach.
It also draws inspiration from the pawpaw fruit which was cultivated in the area from the indigenous tribes that once lived here in Michigan. But it wasn’t just this town that your inspiration from the fruit but also a 1980s Hannah-Barbera cartoon by the name of Paw Paws:
Native to Michigan the paw paw is a mango like fruit that was once abundant throughout Southwest Michigan and is the namesake for the village of Paw Paw, MI.