The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1133554
THE WOLVERINE 2019 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ■ 63 RUNNING BACKS PRESEASON ANALYSIS: RUNNING BACKS STARTER ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ This one's a mystery for now, and the grade is a reflection of that status. Redshirt freshman Christian Turner, true freshman Zach Charbon- net or senior Tru Wilson could come on to take charge. Who emerges won't be determined until fall camp and beyond. DEPTH ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ There's depth, and there's proven depth. Mich- igan doesn't have the latter, with freshmen and redshirt freshmen abounding behind the veteran Wilson. There might be some growing pains early, but the Wolverines feature enough talent to eventually field a solid three-man rotation. X-FACTOR With the year-long suspension of would-be senior Chris Evans (1,722 career rushing yards), there isn't much experience at the position. Wilson had all of one carry prior to 2018, while Turner and Ben VanSumeren and Hassan Haskins played sparingly enough — the latter not even at running back — that they redshirted last season. OVERALL ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ There are too many unknowns here to put a ranking with any assurance on the position. It's there for the taking, among those who are heal- ing, training and working toward turning heads in fall camp. FYI The Wolverines return running backs accounting for only 543 of the 2,219 yards gained by the posi- tion a year ago (24.5 percent). Karan Higdon alone ran for more than twice the total of those return- ing and available this fall. Higdon rushed for 1,178 yards in his senior season, despite electing to not participate in Michigan's bowl game and missing another game due to injury. That marked the Wolverines' best single-player rushing total since Denard Robinson bolted for 1,266 yards in 2012, and the best by a Michigan run- ning back since Mike Hart went for 1,361 yards in 2007. Michigan rushed for 2,653 yards overall a year ago, averaging 204.1 yards per game on the ground, No. 30 in the nation. Georgia Tech led the country in the ground game, averaging 325.0 yards per contest, while five other Big Ten schools — Wisconsin (273.4), Illinois (243.0), Maryland (230.2), Nebraska (209.0) and Penn State (204.9) — averaged more yards per game rushing than U-M. Running backs catching the ball out of the backfield might be a significant component in new offensive coordinator Josh Gattis' attack. Michigan returns running backs combining for just eight catches in 2018. Senior tailback Tru Wilson led the way with six receptions for 34 yards, while redshirt freshman tailback Christian Turner and junior fullback Ben Mason made one grab apiece.