The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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APRIL 2024 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 27 RUNNING BACKS BY ANTHONY BROOME F ollowing news of assistant coach Mike Hart's departure in early March, the Wolverines moved quickly to hire Tony Alford away from Ohio State. Thus, Michigan will have a new running backs coach in 2024 lead- ing a room that loses Blake Corum, one of the best backs in program history. Luckily, the Wolverines have retained Donovan Edwards for his senior season. He has been no stranger to showing up on the big stage when needed the most. While he had a down year by his standards in 2023, he now has a clear path to the bulk of the carries and the volume that could be needed to unlock his full potential. The hope is that the explosive version of Ed- wards we saw against Ohio State, Purdue and TCU in 2022, and against Penn State and Washington in 2023, can be more of the norm moving forward. Edwards finished his junior year with 119 carries for 497 yards and 5 touch- downs, headlined by 6 carries for 104 yards and 2 touchdowns (of 41 and 46 yards) in the national title game win versus Washington. In his three years at U-M, Edwards has rushed for a total of 1,662 yards and 15 touchdowns while averaging 5.7 yards per carry. He's also hauled in 68 career receptions for 714 yards and 3 TDs, while averaging 10.5 yards per catch. Competing with him for a large share of carries should be Kalel Mullings, a fifth- year player who could be another benefi- ciary of Corum's departure. Some forget that he was the No. 2 running back head- ing into the game against Washington and he showed great potential as a physical runner with good vision and speed during his limited opportunities last season. Mullings appeared in 13 games last sea- son, recording 222 yards rushing on 36 carries (6.2 average) with 1 touchdown. He also added 2 receptions for 32 yards, including a 20-yard catch in the Rose Bowl victory against Alabama. With the way U-M wants to run the football, there are plenty of carries avail- able for both Mullings and Edwards to thrive, not at all unlike the backfield tan- dems of the last few seasons. There will be a ton of eyes on a pair of sophomores in Cole Cabana and Benja- min Hall, who both bring something a little different to the table. Cabana was limited to one game last season (2 carries for 6 yards in a 31-6 win versus Bowl- ing Green) but could be a solid change- of-pace back that has potential as a pass catcher out of the backfield. Hall might be slightly ahead in the pecking order and looks the part of a po- tentially bruising back at 5-foot-11, 234 pounds. He made three appearances as a true freshman, rushing 15 times for 69 yards. He also recorded 9 carries for 58 yards and 1 reception in a 52-7 win over Indiana. Senior Tavierre Dunlap played in 10 contests, primarily on special teams, and had 5 carries for 21 yards in three appear- ances at running back a year ago. True freshman Jordan Marshall might have a chance to cut into everyone's play- ing time, though. Michigan's highest- ranked signee in the 2024 class will join the team in the summer. He was tabbed a four-star recruit, the No. 87 overall player and fourth-best running back in the na- tion in the On3 Industry Ranking. Marshall, the 2023 Ohio Mr. Football, totaled 6,196 career all-purpose yards and 80 touchdowns at Cincinnati Archbishop Moeller. He has all the tools Michigan covets in its backs from a vision, contact, courage and elusiveness perspective. Some have compared his game to Corum's, and his advanced skill set could put him in po- sition for early snaps and a significant role. The other newcomer in the backfield is Micah Ka'apana, who also will enroll in the summer. He's a three-star pros- pect who ran for 732 yards and 9 touch- downs while splitting time in the back- field at powerhouse Las Vegas Bishop Gorman, which was picked as the 2023 high school football national champion by MaxPreps. ❑ 2024 Is Donovan Edwards' Time To Shine Michigan will look for Edwards to continue his momentum from the national championship game, when he racked up 104 yards on 6 carries and scored a pair of first-quarter touchdowns from 46 and 41 yards out. PHOTO BY GABRIELLA CERITANO ❱ AT A GLANCE Position Coach: Tony Alford (first season) Returning Starter: — Departing Starter: Blake Corum (28 career starts) Contenders To Start: Donovan Edwards (Sr.; 4), Kalel Mullings (Gr.) Top Reserves: Cole Cabana (So.), Tavierre Dunlap (Sr.), Benjamin Hall (So.) Newcomers: Micah Ka'apana (Fr.), Jordan Marshall (Fr.)