The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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64 ■ THE WOLVERINE 2018 FOOTBALL PREVIEW RUNNING BACKS rotation to spell the co-starters. There was hope redshirt sophomore Kareem Walker would reach his four-star potential, but he was announced as a transfer in the summer. Sophomore O'maury Samuels, who car- ried the ball just eight times, and redshirt freshman Kurt Taylor, who checks in at 5-8, 194 pounds, have been in the program for a year and got carries this spring. Jim Harbaugh, however, announced a sur- prise third option at the Best of Midwest Camp near Grand Rapids, Mich. in early June in walk-on Tru Wilson. Morris noted the Wolverines had to have a third running back — "a guy who is go- ing to come out of nowhere," he predicted — and Wilson certainly fits the bill. The 5-10, 200-pound junior is the son of a Marine and has done everything asked of him. "His talent, his effort … he improved in all areas," Jim Harbaugh said of Wilson. "Run- ning the football, protection, catches. He's done a really nice job training. It's important to him, and he produced on the field in 15 spring practices." The others will have to prove they're wor- thy to get their time, Morris said. "If you want to play, you've got to show them you want to play," he said. "You've got to be willing to pop your head in there Michigan running backs Karan Higdon and Chris Evans are moving up the all-time yardage charts among Michigan running backs. Both go into 2018 among the school's top 40 (Higdon's 1,438 yards rank 35th, while Evans is tied for 40th with 1,299). Higdon needs 797 more to break into the top 20, but he'll need to create some distance to hold off Evans on the career list. He's a senior, after all, while Evans is a junior. They've got a lot of work to do, however, to catch some of the all-time leading duos on the list. Among backs whose careers overlapped by two or more years, Tyrone Wheatley (4,178, 1991-94) and Tshimanga Biakabutuka (2,810, 1993- 95) lead the way with 6,988 career yards. Butch Woolfolk (3,850, 1978-81) and Lawrence Ricks (2,751, 1979-82) put up 6,601 between them, while Rob Lytle (3,307, 1973-76) and Gordon Bell (2,902, 1973-75) racked up 6,209. Higdon and Evans have combined for 2,737, so they've got a long way to go to catch the elite. It's uncanny, though, how the two seem to be tied at the hip. Higdon and Evans became the first pair of teammates to share a weekly conference award (Co-Big Ten Offensive Players of the Week) from the same position on Oct. 6 last year, when Higdon ran for 200 yards and Evans 191 in a win over Minne- sota; each also ran for a pair of touchdowns in the contest. The two are also tied for sixth on the school's all-time list (minimum 200 car- ries) for career yards per attempt at 5.8. Jon Vaughn (1989-90) still leads that list with 6.29 per rush. — Chris Balas Karan Higdon, Chris Evans Moving Up As A Duo Tshimanga Biakabutuka (left) and Tyrone Wheatley (above) combined for the most rushing yards by a duo whose time at U-M overlapped by two or more years, with 6,988 career yards. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN PHOTOGRAPHY PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN