The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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54 THE WOLVERINE ❱ MAY 2023 T here are a lot of ways to travel, Michigan head man Jim Harbaugh says. Like famous General George S. Patton, the Maize and Blue have chosen to stick to the ground dur- ing the last two seasons. Michigan ranked 15th nationally in rushing yards per game in 2021 and fifth in 2022. The Wolverines' offensive line has won the Joe Moore Award as the country's best unit for two straight seasons, while running backs Hassan Haskins, Blake Co- rum (seventh in Heisman Trophy voting in 2022) and Donovan Ed- wards have shined. The Wolverines haven't been pull- ing in elite talent at, say, wide receiver (Michigan hasn't had a first- or second- team All-Big Ten wideout since Amara Darboh in 2016), but at the least, fans assumed, they should be reeling in top- shelf offensive linemen and running backs on the recruiting trail. B ot h prep recr u its a nd t ra n sfer portal prospects have now taken no- tice. There are offensive linemen and backs lining up, literally, to play for Harbaugh, offensive coordinator/line coach Sherrone Moore and run game coordinator Mike Hart. Michigan landed three transfer of- fensive linemen this offseason, includ- ing one in senior Myles Hinton who's not even projected to start this fall. Cincinnati Archbishop Moeller 2024 four-star running back Jordan Mar- sha l l, the No. 75 overa l l player a nd No. 6 r u n n i ng back i n the cou ntry per On3, made his pledge and became U-M's first top-100 player at the posi- tion to commit since Edwards in 2021. The Maize and Blue also are in the ru n n i ng for Long v iew (Texas) High fou r-sta r Taylor Tatu m, the No. 42 overa l l prospect a nd No. 2 ru n n i ng back in the class per the On3 Industry Ranking. Moore and Co. now have three com- m itted offensive l i nemen who ra n k in the top 325 players (and four in the top 500) on the On3 Industry Ranking for 2024. While still room for a couple more, the staff will have to turn away other hogs who want to come to Ann Arbor due to limited numbers. T here have been grumblings from the fan base about M ich iga n's ru n- he av y of fen se, w it h some hopi n g they'll open up the pass game more. It's hard to argue that taking the aerial attack a step forward would be to the Wolverines' benefit, but Moore is fine with doing what it takes to win. "There will probably be a game where we'll run the ball more and people will be mad at us," Moore said. "And if it helps us win, we'll be OK with it." With the type of recruits flocking to Ann Arbor in the 2024 class, it looks like Michigan will be able to win that way for years to come. DON'T FORGET THIS NFL DRAFT STORYLINE Michigan should be in for another eventf u l N FL Dra f t. T he Ath letic's analyst Daniel Jeremiah projected that seven Wolverines will go off the board in the April 27-29 event, including de- fensive tackle Mazi Smith at No. 29 overall in the first round. A ll the shine will be on the draft- ees, but there's an underlying storyline when it comes to Michigan this year. There could be even a handful more U-M players selected had they not decided to stay in school for a nother season, tha n ks in pa rt to the "One More Year Fund," a crowdfunding campaign set up by Valiant Management in hopes of retaining key Wolverines for the 2023 season. Senior running back Blake Co- rum, graduate left guard Trevor Keegan, senior right g uard Zak Zi nter, g raduate w ide receiver Cornelius Johnson, graduate line- backer M ichael Ba rrett, sen ior defensive tackle Kris Jenkins and others cou ld've tu rned pro but chose to return. That speaks to the strong cul- tu re M ich iga n players a nd coaches have created and the high expectations that reside after winning two consecu- tive Big Ten championships. "You r Wolveri nes a re goi ng to be good nex t yea r, too," a na lyst Da n- iel Jeremiah said to host Rich Eisen, a U-M alum, on NFL Network. "Doing all these players' evaluations, watching all this tape, a lot of guys, you look at and say, 'Wow, he's coming back. Oh, he's coming back!'" Corum is the most notable, of course. T h e H e i s m a n T ro p h y c o n t e n d e r stunned the college football world by deciding to return to school, since run- ning backs typically head to the NFL as soon as they can due to the short shelf life of their careers. College Football HQ recently ranked the top players who turned down the draft, and Corum — who rushed for 1,463 yards and 18 touchdowns in 12 games last season — unsurprisingly, was slotted No. 1. T he M ic h i g a n fa it h f u l w i l l not only watch the draft and feel joy for the players l iv i ng out thei r d rea m, but they'll also be relaxed knowing so much talent is coming back. ❏ SAYFIE BLITZ ❱ CLAYTON SAYFIE Ground Game Getting Stronger Staff writer Clayton Sayfie has covered Michigan athletics for The Wolverine since 2019. Contact him at Clayton. Sayfie@on3.com and follow him on Twitter @CSayf23. It all starts up front for Michigan and its running game. U-M is the only school to have won back-to-back Joe Moore Awards (2022-23) for the best offensive line unit in college football. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE FOUNDATION FOR TEAMWORK