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 56 ■ THE WOLVERINE 2026 FOOTBALL PREVIEW guy. Right now, we don't know that fourth, it was going to be Micah." Ka'apana rushed 10 times for 38 yards last year. He had 20 yards on the ground along with an 8-yard reception against Texas. He figured to play a more promi- nent role this season, before going down. "We'll miss him, and it's unfortunate, but so far we've been healthy other than that," Whittingham said. Junior walk-on Tomas O'Meara punched in the game- winning touchdown in the spring game, culminating a 9-carry, 29-yard effort. Meanwhile, sophomore Donovan Johnson, and freshman Jonathan Brown are all part of the depth battle. In A Rush To Succeed There's no question, Michigan hopes to upgrade its passing attack this season. From better protection to the natural steps Underwood should take from freshman to sophomore year — especially with a ded- icated QB coach working with him — to an upgraded wide receiving corps and a greater capacity for throwing to their backs, the Wolverines will seek to be balanced on offense. There's also a determination in the tone of Whittingham and his coaches that would likely put a grin on the face of a long- time Schembechler Hall resident. Asked by Michigan's Jon Jansen on the "In The Trenches" podcast what his fin- gerprints will look like on the Michigan program, Whittingham didn't hesitate to give a nod to a hard-edged past. "I can tell you it's very similar to Coach [Bo] Schembechler," Whittingham said. "I've always been a fan of his growing up. I watched him very closely, read the book 'Bo's Lasting Lessons' by John Bacon. A lot of what we do culturally, our philosophies and beliefs, are right in line with Coach Schembechler. I'm going to say there are far more similarities than differences. "This has been everything that I ex- pected and hoped it would be. You see Michigan football on TV, and you hear about the tradition and the history. But to come here and firsthand be able to see for yourself, it's palpable. The history and the tradition here is thick, and I'm not here to change or tamper with that in any way, shape, or form. We're going to embrace it. "Our job here is to try to make this foot- ball team and this program as good and as competitive as we possibly can. And so far, it's been great to work with these guys." Dominant in the trenches, rugged de- fense, and an offense predicated on the ability to move people where they don't want to go and run over them. It's what beat Ohio State, when the Wolverines be- gan taking down the Buckeyes with consis- tency again. It's what won for two decades for Whittingham in Utah. It's what he and his staff hope to showcase in Ann Arbor — sooner rather than later. "You have to be able to run the ball, be physical and be able to attack teams that way," Beck assured. "Having said that, you also want to be able to throw it and be balanced, be dynamic. I've been a part of teams that really threw the ball at a high level. And then, like this last year, we're running it at a real high level and just throwing it efficiently enough. "That will play out as the players and the personnel show what they're capable of and how we build this thing. "There's no doubt it's always going to start with being physical, being able to run the ball. … You've got to be balanced enough and dynamic enough doing both, but you've got to be physical and be able to run the ball." They possess the parts, and the will. Now it's all about getting it done. ❑ [FYI] ❱ Showing how hard it was to bring Jordan Marshall down last season, the Cincinnati native ranked second in the Big Ten with 3.93 yards after contact per carry (minimum 100 attempts), per Pro Football Focus, behind only Ohio State's Bo Jackson (4.12). Marshall checked in eighth in the conference with 33 missed tackles forced, despite recording fewer rush attempts than six of the seven players ahead of him. ❱ While Michigan's offense lacked high-level, big-play ability overall, the run game produced quite a bit of explosiveness in 2025. The Maize and Blue ranked top 20 in the nation in runs of 20-plus (24; tied 20th), 30-plus (13; tied 13th), 40-plus (9; tied ninth) and 50-plus (8; tied first) yards. Marshall accounted for 8 of the Wolverines' 20-plus yard rushes, checking in tied for 45th nationally. ❱ Marshall's team-best 932 rushing yards last season are the most for a returning Michigan running back since Blake Corum went off for 1,463 yards in 2022 and returned to put up 1,245 in 2023. ❱ Michigan recorded 210.2 rushing yards per game last season, the fifth time in the last 10 sea- sons that the Wolverines have averaged more than 200 yards, joining the 2016, 2018, 2021 and 2022 campaigns. Prior to 2016, the last time Michigan accomplished the feat was 2011. ❱ According to the Rivals Industry Ranking, freshman Savion Hiter was the No. 12 overall player and No. 1 running back in the 2026 class, making him the highest-ranked Michigan signee at his position during the Rivals era (since 2004). The second-highest is Kevin Grady, who checked in No. 17 in 2005. ❱ ❱ X-FACTOR X-FACTOR Freshman SAVION HITER has already ascended into possessing a prominent projected role alongside junior Jordan Marshall. Head coach Kyle Whittingham has described Hiter as a "six-foot ball of muscle" that is "the whole package." Ex- pect him to play right away and soften the blow of losing 2025 starter Justice Haynes to the transfer portal. Freshman Savion Hiter, the 2025 Gatorade Player of the Year in Virginia, turned heads dur- ing U-M's spring practice with his physical pres- ence and maturity. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL