The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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28 THE WOLVERINE ❱ NOVEMBER 2024 RUNNING BACKS — A- We had a hunch senior Kalel Mullings might continue to earn more carries this year — maybe even more than fellow se- nior Edwards — and we were right. Both backs have had their moments, but Mull- ings is the chain-mover we thought he could be and Edwards the home-run hit- ter (though Mullings had some big runs of his own). Mullings had rushed 91 times for 597 yards (an impressive 6.5 yards per carry) with 6 touchdowns in six games, and his 63-yard long run of the year saved the USC game. The third-and-1 gallop on which he broke multiple tackles set up his game-winning score. "Kalel has been a superstar," offensive coordinator Kirk Campbell said before the Washington game. "In the building, on the football field, ever since I've been here, he's been asked to play linebacker, to come back over and play offense, to do special teams — whatever. That's the type of player you want in your building. "Quite frankly, he's bailed us out a bunch of times. That's outstanding. We talk about the players that make plays when there's not one to be had. Those are the special ones. He's done that numer- ous times, and that's what makes a special player and a special running back." Edwards, meanwhile, had carried 73 times for 365 yards (4.8 average) with 3 touchdowns, including a 41-yarder at Washington that got the Wolverines back in the game. The coaches have gradually been working him into the lineup at the same time with Mullings. "So much credit to him as a person, as a leader … the guy just goes in and works," Moore said of Edwards. "He just put his head down, and then he runs so hard in that game, he plays so well, and then you saw him as a leader take the whole offense to the side. That's what you want [from] one of your captains ... as a leader on your team." WIDE RECEIVERS — D- If there's one group that needs to be more productive, it's this one. Sopho- more Semaj Morgan led the team through six games with only 13 catches for 78 yards and a score, averaging just 6.0 yards per reception. Though the passing game is expected to improve now that Tuttle is back, Morgan is on pace to be U-M's lowest-output leading receiver in years. Before the loss to Washington, Moore was pretty frank about the lack of pro- duction. "I think there are two pieces," he said. "There's route detail, so in every little route, there's a depth. There's a release that you've got to take. We've got to do a better job than that. But also, as a col- lective, we've got to make sure we put all those guys in position to run the best routes that they run, and that will help them." Junior Tyler Morris was expected to have a breakout season, but he'd managed only 7 catches for 51 yards in five games. Young receivers Fredrick Moore and Ken- drick Bell had added 4 receptions each for 43 and 42 yards, respectively. "I need to see a lot of deep route detail," Moore said after the loss at Washington in Game 6. "The urgency's been there. You can see it in the run game and what they do when they don't have the ball, but we've really got to get better in the route detail and putting guys in the position to be successful. "[Junior] Amorion Walker is a guy that had a big catch on third down [at Wash- ington], and it was probably one of the better third-down conversions we've had all year [22 yards]. It was third-and-long, so for him to get in that game and have that confidence was huge. He's the guy that really needs to step up." TIGHT ENDS — A- Where would the passing game be without Colston Loveland? The junior has been pretty much the only bright spot midway through the season, and that's with missing a game (Minnesota) due to injury. He led the team with 29 receptions for 261 yards and 2 touchdowns in five games, was probably the offensive MVP along with senior running back Kalel Mullings and has often been used as a big wide receiver. "He played 16 plays and had 4 catches [in the first four games]," offensive coor- dinator Kirk Campbell said. "We move him all over the field. He's played field one, field two, field three, boundary one, boundary two. He's motioned all the way around. We had him in the backfield at one point, too. He's gotten open on all but one rep this year." Senior captain Max Bredeson had caught only 1 pass for 5 yards in the first six games, but he had been as valuable as anyone in the run game with his blocking. He paved the way for several of Michi- gan's biggest runs, including Mullings' touchdown that won the USC game on fourth down. Junior Marlin Klein and freshman Ho- gan Hansen, too, have shown signs. Klein is the team's third-leading receiver with 7 catches for 75 yards. "It's been great," Moore said of the room. "Obviously, Colston's one of the Sophomore Evan Link (71) and senior Giovanni El-Hadi (58) are two of the five new starters on U-M's rebuilt offensive line this year. Michigan is averaging a respectable 191.3 yards rushing through six games (38th nationally), but its passing attack is only eking out 115 yards per game. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL