Hassan Haskins determined to keep Michigan football in the win column
Michigan football has been forced to lean on fourth-year junior running back Hassan Haskins in recent weeks. It turns out this is a good problem for the program to have.
Haskins has run 58 times for 324 yards and a touchdown over the last two weeks with freshman back Blake Corum sidelined with an ankle injury. He was a bit beat up after last Saturday’s 21-17 win at Penn State, but he has quickly moved past it.
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“I had a couple of bruises and nicks,” Haskins told the media on Tuesday night. “I’m doing way better now and getting treatment and all that. Feeling pretty good.”
“I’m a workhorse. I’m gonna get it done.”
Haskins has been the workhorse for Michigan not just in the volume of carries, but in how he has played on the field. Every yard, every inch of turf is accounted for when he touches the football. It all comes back to the mindset.
“Just determined to get those extra yards, whatever it is,” he said. “That’s just my mindset. Get those extra yards any way (you can). That’s a focus and determination.”
“I try not to get tackled by one player. I always want those extra yards and those YAC yards and keep my legs driving.”
Haskins plays with brute force and physicality on the field but is as soft-spoken as a player there is in Michigan football’s locker room. He will not mix it up with opponents unless they come at him first.
“I try not to unless someone says something to me then I say something back,” he said. “Don’t want to look soft or anything like that. I try not to speak to anyone. Stay my course.”
One of Haskins’ signature moves this year has been busting out a hurdle over opponents. He has a track background but admitted the jumping event was one that he did not care for.
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“My track coach in high school wanted me to do hurdles but I didn’t like it,” he said. “I didn’t get too much information out of that. It’s just something I started doing and it stuck with me.”
Haskins had a pass-blocking rep in Saturday’s game vs. Penn State where he decleated a player and sent him airborne. It was a lesson in not getting the Michigan back angry on the field.
“That was instinct,” Haskins said. “I saw him. I was kind of mad from the play previously. I had to get my anger out a little bit so I did a little chip block.”
Third-year quarterback Cade McNamara has played as big a role as Haskins in helping Michigan football win games this season. Oftentimes, McNamara will be seen pushing the pile to help gain an extra yard or two. That does not go unnoticed by Haskins.
“I don’t notice on the field, but on film I see him try to help push me forward,” he said. “Always a good thing when the whole team gets involved. He’s a leader and wants to win like me. So we do whatever to get that done.”
Haskins and Michigan are back in action on Saturday afternoon in a 3:30 p.m. ET kickoff against the Maryland Terrapins.
