The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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THE WOLVERINE 2019 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ■ 65 RUNNING BACKS "We're still a run-first team, and the runs that we're running aren't really much differ- ent," Harbaugh said. "The way it's presented to them, just from a learning standpoint, they've taken to pretty well. "There's more involvement with screens, and we've made an emphasis on that. Guys are taking to it and understanding the de- tails." "It's still a physical offense," Wilson of- fered. "We didn't lose that aspect from last year. It's speed and getting players the ball. "Coach Gattis expects a lot out of us, and that's what we expect out of him. We're sucking everything out of him, learning a lot of the offense, and he's expecting a lot of us, executing and making plays." It's a long road between now and the Aug. 31 opener against Middle Tennessee State. Chances to win a spot among Michi- gan's top three backs abound. "Those guys know they're building a body of work throughout [preseason] — how re- liable can I be, what's the strength staff's opinion of me through June, July and Au- gust?" Harbaugh offered. "It's a marathon. The sprint of spring is important, but you've got to be able to sustain. "That's the good thing for those guys that are out. They know that I can get back, and I can get back in the fight. I feel good about all of them." ❑ Michigan backs need to make up some ground in a hurry, come fall camp. Between defections and injuries, they worked shorthanded in the spring while learning a new offense. How big of a deal that is depends upon those involved, according to one who has been there. Jamie Morris rushed for 4,393 yards for the Wolverines from 1984-87, still fourth on the all-time Michigan list. The host of The M Zone sports talk show on WTKA radio in Ann Arbor, Morris insists it's all about how football savvy Michigan's backs turn out to be. "How high is their football IQ?" Morris rhetorically challenged. "Some of these guys have run this offense in their high school. It's all about taking it and turning it into the different translations. "Even though [the injured players this spring] didn't get to practice, they all were in meetings. That's the best thing. They know what the calls are. There's an opportunity for at least three of those guys. One of those guys is going to be [senior tailback] Tru Wilson. He's your one veteran back." Wilson was the last man standing among Michigan's presumed frontrunners for the No. 1 tailback job in the spring, others falling to injuries. But Morris insists others could come on and take the reins. "It's [redshirt freshman tailback Christian] Turner's job to lose," Morris pre- dicted. "And [freshman tailback Zach] Charbonnet, if he lives up to what he's capable of, you've got a Charbonnet-Turner competition. "It's a pro spread. If they run it like Alabama, they're running power football still." Here's how Morris evaluated the list of U-M running back hopefuls for 2019: Wilson: "Pass protection is a strength. He's a smaller guy, but he knows the plays. He's got a high IQ. He knows the importance of pass blocking, and he's there to pick up everything that gets through the offensive line. He knows his assignments. "He's got a good read on defenses. You can see that he worked hard to get into position to play." Turner: "He possesses some great speed, and he's got good power. I've got to see him carry the ball more. We saw him in one game be able to get set free. I liked what I saw of him, but I've got to see him carry the ball more. He has flashes and shows the want-to." Charbonnet: "I want to see his vision. The key to anybody is running away from people. Can he pick up where the hole is? I want to see his one step. Does he have that one step, when he made somebody miss and has to keep going? It's the one-step start and stop, then hit the hole. "He had great speed in high school. Let's see if he still has got that great speed in college." Redshirt freshman tailback Hassan Haskins: "If he plays angry — not too angry, because he's got to keep his mind on the game — this is a guy who could really fill it up. He could pass everybody. "He has the athletic talent. He's just got to be able to use it. He's the type of kid who, if you keep giving him the ball, gets stronger and stronger." Redshirt freshman tailback Ben VanSumeren: "If you want to harken back to Jim Harbaugh's years at Stanford, go back to Toby Gerhart. He's that big back that's going to pick up that short yardage. Or he's that big back that they want to pound when they've got somebody down and they want to run the clock. He may be that one guy that can hold onto the ball and just keep pounding up in there, when space and speed is not necessary." Junior fullback Ben Mason: "He showed us he's an athlete. He's got ability. He can jump over people, he can run, he's fleet-footed. He had to put on a couple more pounds as a defensive lineman, and that may slow him down. But he can move, he's agile and he's an athlete. "I like what I saw out of that kid. He can catch the ball out of the backfield. We're going to have to start catching the ball out of the backfield. We go back to the Alabama offense — when they started throwing the ball, they were throwing the ball to the running backs, too." — John Borton Junior fullback Ben Mason scored seven touchdowns on just 33 carries last year. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN Legend Jamie Morris Gives His Take On Michigan's Backs