The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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28 THE WOLVERINE ❱ NOVEMBER 2025 Even after missing the Washington game Oct. 18, Haynes remained ninth in the country with 705 yards, averaging a whopping 7.4 yards per carry. He became the first Wolverines running back to rush for over 100 yards in his first five games with the team when he put up 117 yards in a 24-10 win over Wisconsin Oct. 4. "Animal. Animal," Moore praised in describing his back after that game. "He should be up for the Heisman … "Yeah — he's pretty good. What you saw on film is an explosive player, be- cause I remember we were watching him [at Alabama]. I can't remember what the team was, but he ran over somebody, and then he took it like another 60 yards or something. I think he had the most explosive runs on their team." He's done the same at Michigan with runs of 43-plus in four of the six games in which he's appeared. Marshall, meanwhile, showed what he could do in Haynes' absence when he ran for a career high 133 yards and a score on 25 carries in the win over the Huskies. He's amassed 434 yards and averaged 5.2 per rush. "A career-high 25 carries, 133 yards and a touchdown? Outstanding," Moore said about Marshall after the win over Washington. "He ran physical, ran hard, did the little things right, and just played really well." WIDE RECEIVERS — C+ Michigan receivers were 18th worst in the nation in dropped passes with 17 through seven games, per Sports Info So- lutions. Sophomore Channing Goodwin lost much of his playing time to freshman Andrew Marsh after struggling to hang on to the ball in five games; junior Semaj Morgan, too, was among the team leaders in this area, including a key fourth-and-1 drop against Washington that might have been a big play early in the game. Marsh has made the most of his oppor- tunity to help elevate this grade, includ- ing an 8-catch, 138-yard game at USC (1 touchdown) and a 5-catch, 49-yard per- formance against Washington (also 1 TD). "He's a true freshman," Moore said when asked why he wasn't playing earlier. "You've got to learn where to line up. You've got to learn where to go, you've got to learn the playbook, you've got to be able to execute everything at the highest level, and he's just done that more and more and more. "After the bye week [Sept. 27], you re- ally saw it even more. There's full confi- dence in him to go out and execute. And he's put himself in a position to do what he's been doing." Indiana transfer Donaven McCulley, too, has been consistent with his hands but has 369 yards receiving this year to lead the team, with 2 scores and an average of 15.4 yards per catch. And for all his struggles, Morgan is still third on the team with 19 catches for 214 yards, and he has been important on the screens, etc., that have substituted for the running game at times. TIGHT ENDS — B- This group got off to a good start in the opener when senior captain Marlin Klein caught 6 passes for 94 yards in the opener against New Mexico, taking advantage of what the Lobos gave them. Since then, though, Klein has been in and out of the lineup with injuries, and sophomore Hogan Hansen — expected to have a breakout year — also has been limited. Klein has 142 yards receiving on 12 catches and Hansen only 3 catches for 43 yards in limited action. Their absence opened the door for the backups against Washington, and they delivered. Though they also dropped 3 passes between them, juniors Zack Marshall and Deakon Tonielli notched 72 yards and 38 yards receiving, respec- tively, with Marshall notching a critical touchdown in the 24-7 win. "That's just something we thought we had to do throughout this game, be- fore those guys [Klein and Hansen] were [ruled out]," Moore said. "They'll return soon, but that room is deep. "Coach [Steve] Casula does a really good job coaching those guys, and all those guys have ability. You saw it today in the run and pass game. We think re- ally highly of Zack Marshall, really highly of Deakon Tonielli, and we always talk about next man up in that room. It's just next guy's got to go, and it doesn't really matter who it is and what number it is." Grad student Max Bredeson had a cou- ple rough games (by his standards) block- ing in losses at Oklahoma and USC, but he's still been the driving force behind the run game at his H-back position, too. DEFENSIVE LINE — B- We'll be honest — we expected a bit more from this group this year, espe- cially when Moore said before the sea- Sophomore running back Jordan Marshall notched his second career 100-yard game, with 133 yards rushing and 1 touchdown against Washington, behind the ever-present blocking of gradu- ate fullback Max Bredeson (44). Michigan averaged 212.1 yards rushing as a team through seven games, good for third in the Big Ten. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL