The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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AUGUST 2019 THE WOLVERINE 19 leaner and in the self-described "best shape of my life," was careful not to provide too much bulletin board ma- terial, but he did say he planned to match his brother —baseball player Jack — by earning a national title trip. He watched his brother and his teammates at the College World Se- ries in Omaha, Neb., in June, and wants a taste of it himself. There's only one way to get there, he noted. "We just try to focus on ourselves," he said. "When you look around the room at the talent we have, the guys we have, the coaches we have, you'll be hard pressed to find a team that can beat us on paper. "It's going to take us screwing up ourselves, I think, to get beat. That's why we're focusing on ourselves, trying to win every single day … try- ing to focus on what we can do bet- ter, what we can do to improve, not focus on how to beat anyone else. … Then we should be all right." Not cocky … just confident. SEVERAL QUESTIONS, MANY POTENTIAL ANSWERS The road to get there still goes through Ohio State, which is slated to visit Ann Arbor Nov. 30. The Buck- eyes are Big Ten champions until someone unseats them, and they've won the last two titles and three of the last five. Michigan still has a lot of question marks heading into the 2019 cam- paign, including the all-important running back position. Harbaugh said both redshirt freshman Christian Turner and true freshman Zach Char- bonnet are healthy and looking good after sitting out the spring, though he told the Big Ten Network former walk-on Tru Wilson would enter the fall as the starter. "Christian's having a really good summer," Harbaugh said. "Zach is rock solid and having a great sum- mer. Reports are really great on Zach Charbonnet. … He's been termed a lot like [junior fullback/defensive lineman] Ben Mason. "Strength coaches are saying he's a 'stalker' like Mason, stalks things, living in the weight room all the time. Zach and Ben Mason, they're right up there at the top of that list. "[Senior viper] Khaleke Hudson mentioned to me that of all the guys he's been most impressed with, Zach Charbonnet is at the top of the list. Things are going well at the running back position for us." They wanted to play Turner more last year, Harbaugh noted, but a hand injury and other maladies crept up every time they thought about putting him in. Bredeson expressed confidence that the offensive line would help pave the way for any of the backs who got the call. "When you have an experienced offensive line that can move people around and make enough holes, it should be able to compensate for not having the most experienced running backs," he said. "It's just going to happen over time. "You can only get experience by doing things. More reps can get those guys in tune with us, seeing the holes and how they're going to develop." As for that offensive line, right tackle still remains a question, but one with two potentially good an- swers. Harbaugh said he really likes what he's seen from redshirt fresh- man Jalen Mayfield in the battle with redshirt sophomore Andrew Stue- ber for the job. Harbaugh even said Harbaugh on his team living up to high expectations "That's the goal. That's what drives you. That's what starts you off. That's what gets you moving … focusing on tasks day by day. That's how we're going about it." Harbaugh noted that although redshirt freshman Christian Turner and true freshman Zach Charbonnet are healthy and looking good after sitting out the spring, senior Tru Wilson (above) will open the fall as the starting running back. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN