The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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SEPTEMBER 2026 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 41 BY ETHAN MCDOWELL K evin Hartsfield is the nation's No. 1 running back, and he will line up in the backfield, out wide, in the slot and even at quarterback this fall. The four- star recruit is a versatile, explosive junior who will make plays in a variety of ways for Covington (Ga.) Newton High. Pretty much every major college foot- ball program in the country wants to recruit him and his dynamic skill set to their school, including Michigan. The Wolverines are in contact with the No. 20 recruit in the 2028 class daily. Running backs coach Tony Alford is his primary recruiter, and they're already very close. "It's just a great relationship with him," Hartsfield told The Wolverine. "He's a cool dude. He always checks on me, and everything's not about football. He checks on me outside of football. He taught me some things. He's not even my coach, but he teaches me a lot." Hartsfield told Alford he wanted to improve his blocking, so when the elite recruit visited Michigan during a camp this summer, the veteran running backs coach coached him up like he was already wearing the winged helmet. "I've been doing it, and it's been work- ing," Hartsfield said. He heads into the season with state championship aspirations. Hartsfield said his speed, balance and vision are his strengths at 5-foot-10 and 200 pounds. His phone blows up every day now that college staffs can contact him directly. Michigan, Texas, Ohio State, Georgia, Miami and Texas A&M are a few schools standing out to him right now. His fall schedule is tight— he wants to see his older brother play at Louisiana Tech as much as possible — but those aforemen- tioned schools and Clemson could re- ceive game-day visits. Hartsfield doesn't plan on narrowing down his recruitment until after the season, and his connection to each staff remains critical to him at this stage of the process. "It's just relationship-based," Harts- field said. "And for me, I want to go to a school with a good business program because that's what I want to go to school for. That's really the main question. Then, I like to talk to the players on cam- pus and ask them how is it being here? Is it a good living area? Is it a good team environment and culture?" Hartsfield has taken two trips to Mich- igan already this year, first for a spring practice and then again for a multi-day trip in June. "It was interesting," Hartsfield said. "I liked it. I want to get up there for a game so I can really see more." The running back mentioned the sheer size of the university multiple times during the interview. He has al- ready spent plenty of time around the ❱ MICHIGAN RECRUITING U-M Among 2028 RB Kevin Hartsfield's Top Group The Wolverines are in the running for Georgia class of 2028 standout Kevin Hartsfield, the nation's No. 1 running back. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS