The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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when the cornerback lined up offensively, he played receiver, and one cannot argue with the results — Woodson averaged 15.7 yards on 11 career rushes, a mark better than any other Wolverine ever, regardless of position, with at least 10 rushing attempts. Woodson scored on rushes of 33 and 48 yards, and also had runs of 31 and 57 yards during his three-year career. 3. Desmond Howard, 1989-91: The 1991 Heisman Trophy winner had two rushing touchdowns that year, 19 receiving, one kickoff returned for a score and one punt-return TD. Howard was dynamic with the ball in his hands, av- eraging 10.8 yards on 23 career rushes, including gains of 26, 29 and 52 yards. 4. Steve Breaston, 2003-06: A heir to Howard after a 10-year drought, Breaston is the only other U-M player to score four ways — two rushing touch- downs, 10 receiving, one kickoff and four punt returns — and he is in the his- tory books alone for adding a fifth, on a 36-yard pass. Used significantly in the ground game, Breaston averaged 7.6 yards on 42 career carries, with six career gains of 20 yards or more. 5. Jehu Chesson, 2013-15: The 6-3, 200-pounder only carried the ball twice before this season but quickly showcased game-breaking speed around the edge this fall, scoring on the 36-yard run against UNLV in week three. His 66-yard run a week later is the second longest ever recorded by a Michi- gan receiver (Jim Smith, 77 yards versus Indiana in 1975), and his 19.3-yard average on seven carries through Nov. 17 is the third-best tally in a single sea- son by a receiver with at least five carries (Woodson, 25.3 in 1996; and Walter Smith, 22.0 in 1992). 6. Anthony Carter, 1979-82: Michigan's Mr. Everything, Carter remains, argu- ably, the top receiver to ever wear the winged helmet, while he also returned kickoffs and punts, and ran the ball 36 times over four seasons. Carter averaged 5.9 yards per rush, and had a 21- and 23-yarder, scoring on the latter in a 1981 38-20 victory over Michigan State. 7. Walter Smith, 1991-94: Someone had to replace Howard's contribution in 1992, and in that void stepped Smith. He ran the ball five times for 110 yards in his sophomore season, averaging 22.0 yards per carry, including gains of 26, 36 and 46 yards, scoring on the 46-yarder against Minnesota. Smith was primarily a receiver in 1993, making a career-high 31 grabs while rushing just once. 8. Derrick Alexander, 1990-93: Alexander's first four career rushes went for eight total yards and the experiment almost ended before it began. However, he popped off a 23-yard touchdown against Houston on his fifth rush and added a 31-yarder during the 1992 season. In total, Alexander rushed for 107 yards on 11 carries, averaging 9.7 yards per attempt. — Michael Spath