The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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R U N N I N G B A C K S 54 ■ THE WOLVERINE 2024 FOOTBALL PREVIEW trade. He works hard and is an extremely talented player. He is a leader in his own right, but a little different than Donovan. He's maybe not as vocal, but both are very dynamic personalities." Mullings also has an excellent path to follow from the not-so-distant past after switching away from linebacker full-time in 2023, Karsch observed. "He's following in the footsteps of Hassan Haskins," Karsch noted. "I re- member being pretty skeptical of how good Hassan would be. They've got a bit of a formula with that running back/ linebacker type. "Now, you have to have the offensive line. If you don't quite have that wiggle, you have to have that crease. He's prob- ably a little bit more reliant upon that line coming around. But there's a lot to like about the way Kalel Mullings plays the game. "And let's not forget that catch he made in the Rose Bowl. It spoke a little to what he's capable of in the pass game, too. He's a very intriguing prospect." A f te r t h ose two, q u e s t i o n m a rks arise. Sophomore running back Benja- min Hall ran 15 times for 69 yards (4.6 average) last fall, while senior Tavierre Dunlap managed 21 yards on 5 tries. Sophomore Cole Cabana drew just 2 carries for 6 yards as a rookie, and this year's highly touted freshman Jordan Marshall out of Ohio has yet to prove anything on the big stage, despite a glo- rious prep career. Alford referred to Dunlap as "a good player," who showed some increased quickness in the spring game. "He's a little longer-striding guy," Al- ford said. "I know he's worked his tail off on special teams throughout the years. We'll continue to work with him, and he's been a joy to work with." Alford is still getting to know others, like Hall and Cabana, and gauging what they can do. Karsch, meanwhile, isn't ready to commit to whom he thinks a third back for the Wolverines might in- volve this season. "It's unknown at this point," Karsch said. "There are not a lot of options. I don't know if it's Jordan Marshall. I have no idea who emerges." Just a little more intrigue on the offen- sive side of the ball, at this point. There's no lack of it, in many ways. This much remains certain — the Wolverines fea- ture one established big-play maker and Buckeye killer. This time around, he's on Alford's side. Asked if he's envisioned striding into The Horseshoe in Michigan gear, Alford an- swered quietly. "I've envisioned it," he said. "I won't tell you what that vision was, but it will never be about the coaches — ever. It shouldn't be. We'll go from there." ❑ Edwards Isn't Backing Away From A Challenge Donovan Edwards knows, like everyone else, about all the talent that just walked out the door for Michigan. At the same time, he's anything but fearful about what's ahead. "It is a lot when you lose five to six captains, and a lot of key guys that have played big-time football and established this program to be what it is," Edwards assured. "On the flip side, a lot of people have had major reps in games that might not have been the starter but have definitely been key guys on this team." Edwards should know. He's one of them. A dynamic backup to Hassan Haskins and Blake Corum over the past three Big Ten championship seasons, Edwards has always appeared on the verge of stardom, and made some massive breakthroughs — like in Columbus in 2022, when he broke away for 75- and 85-yard touchdown runs to help bury Ohio State. Now, he insists, a host of Wolverines are ready to step up. "We are in a really good spot right now," he said. "It's great that we're near where we want to be. It's great, because the season doesn't start until the end of August. We're going to attack the summer cycle, and when the season comes, we'll be ready." Ready or not, the Wolverines will feature five new starters on the offensive line. That certainly affects Edwards and all of Michigan's running backs. Edwards himself has watched them develop not only over the course of spring practice, but for years now. They, too, will be ready when the bell rings, No. 7 opined. "[Grad transfer] Josh Priebe is standing out to me, [senior] Gio El-Hadi, [grad] Raheem Anderson is standing out, [senior] Greg Crippen, [fifth-year senior] Myles Hinton, [junior] Andrew Gentry, [grad Jeff] Persi — basically, all of them," Edwards said, distributing the love evenly among his best friends for the fall. "They're all standing out and all growing into leaders. The offensive line is the most talkative position group and has to be like a team within the team. They're gathering that. They're finding out each other's personalities. Once they master that, every day will be better for us as an offense." Edwards doesn't deny the narrative that Michigan's veteran defense held the upper hand in spring ball. He concedes nothing about what Michigan's offense will eventually be capable of accomplishing. "We're just continually getting better," he said. "Are we where we want to be yet? No — because there's always room for improvement. And that's a lot, because we hold ourselves to a high standard. We're where we want to be coming out of the spring, with guys making big plays, guys having fun, guys being unselfish with somebody climbing up the depth chart. Everybody is happy for the other man's success. "Offensive-wise and team-wise, we're where we need to be. But we also have to do better." — John Borton ❱ ❱ X-FACTOR X-FACTOR Since 2019, Michigan has signed four top-150 recruits at running back — including Zach Char- bonnet (2019), Blake Corum (2020) and Dono- van Edwards (2021), all three of whom saw significant playing time as freshmen. The next in line is freshman JORDAN MARSHALL, a summer enrollee who racked up 4,787 career yards rush- ing and 65 rushing TDs at Cincinnati Archbishop Moeller, and he will have the chance to earn carries this fall. Head coach Sherrone Moore said in the spring that senior Tavierre Dunlap and sophomore Benjamin Hall are competing for the third running back spot behind senior Donovan Edwards and graduate Kalel Mullings. Marshall will factor into that mix, too. Running back Jordan Marshall, who earned Ohio Mr. Football honors last fall at Cincinnati Arch- bishop Moeller High, will have a chance to make an immediate impact for U-M as a true freshman. PHOTO COURTESY OHSAA SPORTS