The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1536962
50 ■ THE WOLVERINE 2025 FOOTBALL PREVIEW BY CHRIS BALAS T he eyes of U-M faithful nationwide were on Jordan Marshall when the Wolverines faced Alabama in the ReliaQuest Bowl last Dec. 31. With running backs Kalel Mullings and Dono- van Edwards out for the game, recover- ing from injuries, head coach Sherrone Moore turned to his true freshman to move the ball against one of the nation's better defenses. On paper, the odds weren't in his favor. The Wolverines were playing without starting left tackle Myles Hinton (forcing an offensive line shakeup), elite tight end Colston Loveland and junior receiver Ty- ler Morris, whose Michigan career ended when he announced a transfer to Indiana. That put a lot on the 19-year-old Mar- shall's shoulders. But when the Wolver- ines escaped with a 19-13 win over the Crimson Tide, their second victory in the same calendar year over the SEC power- house, Marshall was one of the biggest reasons why. His 23-carry, 100-yard per- formance earned him game MVP honors, and when he posed for pictures with his trophy next to his head coach, many of the fans who stayed to watch the presen- tation were wondering the same thing. "Did we just see the emergence of Michigan's next great back?" Jon Jansen recently offered an em- phatic reply, "Yes." "That was really a coming-out party," the former Michigan All-America offen- sive lineman and current color commen- tator said. "No disrespect to the offensive line, but a lot of that yardage he got on his own. He was hit at the line of scrimmage but broke tackles, got the extra yardage, showed really good burst … "He proved why the coaches had been talking him up all year. I like [Alabama transfer] Justice Haynes a lot, too, but I think Jordan's going to lead that room." He'll have to earn that, of course. To his credit, not only has he put in the work — coaches and teammates say he's one of the hardest workers on the team, remi- niscent of another recent great Michigan back — but he also talks up his teammates with the same level of humility. Moore has been openly impressed and sung his praises since Marshall first ar- rived. After the Alabama game, he took it to another level. "I think he's got a bright future," Moore said. "He reminds me so much of Blake [Corum]. The way he approaches his business, and what he does off the field to take care of his body, and you obviously saw how he runs. He's a physical runner, "… Jordan Marshall's going to be a special back. He's got a lot of ability, but he works really hard, so I think that's the piece that really makes him different." U-M HEAD COACH SHERRONE MOORE Sophomore Sensation Jordan Marshall Is Ready To Be Michigan's No. 1 Running Back Marshall hit the 100-yard rushing mark in his first career start for Michigan (Dec. 31 vs. Alabama) last year. As a prep, he rushed for a program-record 4,787 yards in his career at Cincinnati Archbishop Moeller. PHOTO BY STEVE JACOBSON/RELIAQUEST BOWL