The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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60 ■ THE WOLVERINE 2020 FOOTBALL PREVIEW The Wolverines turned it around the very next week, administering a backside beating against the visiting Irish of Notre Dame. The California kid dropped 74 yards and two touchdowns on the Domers on a memorably chilly, saturated night at Michigan Stadium, featuring a 45-14 win. "That was something I've never really experienced — cold rain," he said. "That was definitely a fun game, and a new experience for me, personally, in terms of weather." All the while, the younger Harbaugh saw Charbonnet gaining confidence and effec- tiveness on the field. He began to see the lost spring ball snaps overcome by the rookie's running against a host of quality opponents. "A lot of our guys learn best by physically doing it," Harbaugh said. "They need walk throughs. They need practice. And the game reps, as we all know, are priceless. That's definitely a big thing … that's huge." Morris, meanwhile, pointed out that Charbonnet faced a disadvantage coming in, compared to his own situation. When Morris arrived at Michigan in 1984, he saw a host of backs ahead of him, providing competing and learning opportunities at the same time. Thomas Wilcher, Gerald White, Rick Rog- ers, Phil Webb and more both challenged and motivated Morris. Wilcher — perhaps honing his skills as future head coach at Detroit powerhouse Cass Tech — proved invaluable. "He always told me where I needed to be," Morris said. "Thomas didn't like to get hit early on in his career. He was that track runner, that 'I don't like to get hit, but once I get daylight …' "The good thing for Thomas was, there was me, and I didn't care about getting hit. You could knock my head off, as long as the coach is saying attaboy, and I'm getting up. I could be dizzy as hell, but I'd shake it off when I'd get to the huddle. "I learned from Wilcher what to do, and he learned from me, well, Coach likes that. It's the reward thing. If you get the mess kicked out of you, he'll keep you in the game. Nobody takes themselves out for Bo [Schembechler]." Morris draws a parallel here, although Charbonnet didn't have anyone in front of him. Morris insists Charbonnet still took some cues from Haskins, regarding get- ting tough yards at this level. The former Wolverine also noted Haskins provided the sort of challenge that lifted Charbonnet's game a bit, both in terms of effectiveness and durability. For his part, Charbonnet merely focuses on the togetherness of Michigan's present running backs room. They all want to be on the field, he noted, but there's no animosity. "We have a really good room, a lot of good guys," Charbonnet said. "Everyone is close together. There's no distancing. We try to be the best teammate for each other. We push each other as far as we can. "As far as playing time, we're not really worried about that. Whoever is out there, we're going to fully support them and hope they're as successful as they can be. We all hit it off really well. There's re- ally good energy — not negative energy, that's for sure. "Me, [Haskins], [redshirt soph- omore] Christian Turner — it's always going to be a competitive environment. It's football. But it's all good competitiveness." Charbonnet started prepping for that competition when he en- tered the seventh grade. Before that, his parents stiff-armed the notion of football, and he pursued basketball and baseball. He dropped baseball when ju- nior high rolled around and pur- sued his true sporting interest. "Football was always the main sport that I loved playing," Char- bonnet said. "It was the sport, growing up, that I wanted to play. My parents wanted me to wait until I got a little bit older." He played it better than almost any prep running backs in the nation, focusing on football and track his final two years of high school. The oldest of five kids an- swered Michigan's call and never wavered, racing into the record books his very first season in the winged helmet. Now, he's got bigger fish to fry. It starts with seeing a season roll around, period. The sopho- more has yet to participate in a single spring football session — Per Pro Football Focus, Charbonnet ranked ninth nationally in rushing grade (74.8) among freshman running backs with at least 100 attempts in 2019. That helped him be named an honorable mention Freshman All- American by the outlet. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL