The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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64 ■ THE WOLVERINE 2020 FOOTBALL PREVIEW RUNNING BACKS said. "He was a pretty good pass protector, but there are things that he will be able to bring us as a blocker on the sweep game, on the perimeter, possibly as a lead blocker on some of the two-back stuff — kind of doing some of the jobs a fullback would do. "He's capable of all that. I think he's going to be able to take another step, going from just being decent at that to being really dominant." Meanwhile, Evans potentially brings an- other element to Michigan's backfield attack. He'll need to shake off the rust, after spending a year away from the football team "going through some academic issues" as he said on social media. Evans caught 18 passes for 148 yards and one touchdown during the 2018 season. Char- bonnet and Haskins combined for 14 recep- tions, 70 receiving yards and no touchdowns in their debut campaigns on the field. In addition to 1,722 career yards and 14 touchdowns on the ground, Evans has caught a total of 40 passes for 392 yards and a pair of scores. Morris sees his ability as a pass catcher adding to the Wolverines' attack. "His forte was catching the ball," Morris said. "He was a receiving-type running back. He was your guy — sure-handed. He would pick up the blitz, and he would run hard. He'd get to the outside, quick. "He's still that running back. The guys we just talked about are your inside guys that ran hard, but they have speed. The thing about Chris is, he's got to become an every-down back. "Everybody is going to say, 'Okay, Evans is in; that means they're going to throw the ball.' He's the kind of running back that Josh Gattis is going to love. He can catch the ball out of the backfield, catch the ball on the run, at a full sprint. He can be split out." It's a crucial year for Turner, who found himself largely out of the backs rotation fol- lowing the non-conference season in 2019. Turner recorded three carries over Michigan's final five games. He'll be looking to carve out a role, and Morris projected Turner might find a niche in short-yardage situations. "I expect Christian Turner to have a fire lit under his bottom," Morris said. "The thing about Jim Harbaugh is, he loves the short- yardage back. Other than Hassan, sometimes Charbonnet, you need a short-yardage back. Christian Turner is that back. He can run the ball hard. He's known for running the ball hard." Turner struggled with pass protection early last season, and it appeared to impact his time on the field. Morris noted him taking a leap forward this season will prove essential to his efforts. "He's got to work on his pass blocking," Morris said. "There's want-to. You either Fifth-year senior Chris Evans, who has 40 career receptions for 392 yards and two touchdowns, will bring another element to Michigan's backfield attack that was missing in the 2019 campaign. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL ROSTER No. Name Ht. Wt. Year Elig. Hometown (High School) 49 Lucas Andrighetto* 5-11 202 Jr. So. Mountain View, Calif. (St. Francis) 46 Matt Brown* 6-0 225 Sr. Jr. Solon, Ohio (Solon) 45 Peter Bush* 6-2 220 5th Sr. Newport Beach, Calif. (Corona Del Mar) 23 Jordan Castleberry* 5-7 185 So. Fr. Lakewood, Ohio (St. Edward) 20 Nicholas Capatina* 5-9 192 Sr. Jr. Detroit (Novi Catholic) 24 Zach Charbonnet 6-1 220 So. So. Camarillo, Calif. (Oaks Christian) — Blake Corum 5-8 193 Fr. Fr. Marshall, Va. (St. Frances [Md.]) 12 Chris Evans 5-11 216 5th Sr. Indianapolis (Ben Davis) 25 Hassan Haskins 6-1 220 Jr. So. Eureka, Mo. (Eureka Senior) 28 Danny Hughes* 6-0 192 So. Fr. Naperville, Ill. (Naperville Central) 42 Ben Mason 6-3 270 Sr. Sr. Newtown, Conn. (Newtown) 3 Christian Turner 5-11 200 Jr. So. Buford, Ga. (Buford) * Walk-on