The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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34 THE WOLVERINE APRIL 2021 RUNNING BACKS BY THE NUMBERS 6.1 Haskins' yards-per-carry average in 2020. Though he missed the 75 totes re- quired to register among the program's official sin- gle-season leaders with 61 attempts, Haskins' clip resided just outside the top 10 (10th is Jack Weisen- burger's 6.39 in 1947). 12 Michigan's number of rushing touchdowns in 2020. That marks the fewest in a season since U-M be- gan keeping track in 1970. The next-fewest occurred in 1984, when the 6-6 Wol- verines rushed for 14 scores on the year. 131.5 U-M's average rush- ing yards per game in the shortened 2020 campaign. That marks the lowest aver- age for the Wolverines since the 2013 season, when they averaged 125.7 yards per contest on the ground. 789 Total rushing yards for U-M over its six 2020 games. The tally represented the fewest in the ground game since 1937, when the Wol- verines ran for 711 yards in eight contests. WHO'S GONE TAILBACK ZACH CHARBONNET Charbonnet transferred out following a hugely disappointing sophomore season, in which he carried the ball an almost-shocking 19 times over five game appearances. He wound up with 124 yards — 70 of them on one play in the season-opening win at Minnesota — and one touchdown. He'll go down as a near five-star washout. TAILBACK CHRIS EVANS Evans battled his way back onto the roster for a fifth year in 2020, and probably expected more than 73 yards and one touchdown on 16 carries. That's how it wound up, and Evans has moved on. TAILBACK CHRISTIAN TURNER Turner never found his hoped-for breakthrough at Michigan, and entered the transfer portal after not seeing the field in the truncated 2020 season. FULLBACK BEN MASON Mason crushed it in his Senior Bowl appear- ance, reminding everyone what his toughness and physicality can mean in the backfield. He'll be missed. WHO'S BACK REDSHIRT SOPHOMORE TAILBACK HASSAN HASKINS Haskins returns as the most-established back in Hart's inherited arsenal. The veteran posted 375 yards and six touchdowns on a team-high 61 rushing attempts (6.1 average). U-M's most rugged back the past two seasons, he should be ready for a much more normal 2021. FRESHMAN TAILBACK BLAKE CORUM The speedy Corum showed some nice flashes in his rookie season with the Wolverines. He posted 77 yards on 26 tries (3.0 average) with a pair of touchdowns, plus five catches for 73 yards (14.6). He'll look for more opportunities and better breakaway impact this season. TOP NEWCOMER FRESHMAN TAILBACK DONOVAN EDWARDS Edwards and his prep head coach, Ron Bellamy, relocated to Ann Arbor after a state champion- ship season at West Bloomfield High School. Ed- wards rushed for 1,021 yards and 17 touchdowns in the nine-game title season, after gaining 1,439 yards with 25 scores as a junior. He'll be looking to make a strong freshman impact. "This group has a lot of potential. I liked what they had, and I love it now. They added Donovan Edwards, and I got to watch him in the playoffs this year in a couple of games and really look at him. He's got a Tyrone Wheatley feel to him. I think that kid is going to be a star." — Michigan football sideline reporter Doug Karsch QUOTABLE POSITION BATTLE TO WATCH T h e f o c u s r e m a i n s squarely on the tailback here. Haskins owns it, but that doesn't mean there won't be challenges. Ed- wards and fellow freshman Dunlap will make a charge, while Corum now has a year under his belt. A ny team with a leading rusher gaining 375 yards in a normal year is in big trouble. Of course, 2020 proved anything but a normal year. Still, the Wolverines need more than double the 789 ground yards they churned out in last fall's half season. An old friend, Mike Hart, is now on hand to help the backs try and find those yards. The new assistant coach has plenty of talent through which to sort. How it all comes together, behind a young and growing offensive line, will reveal plenty about 2021. BY JOHN BORTON SPRING FOOTBALL ANALYSIS . SPRING SCHOLARSHIP ROSTER No. Name Class Ht. Wt. Hometown 2 Blake Corum Fr. 5-8 200 Marshall, Va. 22 Tavierre Dunlap Fr. 6-0 196 Del Valle, Texas 7 Donovan Edwards Fr. 5-11 190 West Bloomfield, Mich. 25 Hassan Haskins R-So. 6-1 220 St. Louis Position coach: Mike Hart (first year at U-M) PHOTO BY BRANDON BROWN DONOVAN EDWARDS