Michigan wants to get two of its running backs more involved ASAP
ANN ARBOR – The Michigan Wolverines have a running back tandem at the top of the depth chart in graduate Kalel Mullings and senior Donovan Edwards that is expected to carry them through the 2024 season. However, could there be more opportunities to get the other guys involved?
Through one week, running backs coach Tony Alford seems to think so. During a meeting with the Michigan media on Wednesday, he addressed the dynamic with his top two guys in addition to how he sees some of his other backs fitting in.
The next-man-up conversation seems to revolve around freshman Jordan Marshall and sophomore Benjamin Hall. Neither recorded a carry in the 30-10 season-opening win over Fresno State. Alford admitted that it was tough with a limited amount of snaps on offense.
“I think Jordan’s going to be a dynamic, dynamic football player,” Alford said on Wednesday. “He’s an excellent player. He’s got an unbelievably bright future, I believe. He’s smart. The kid studies the game, it’s important to him. He has shown throughout camp that he’s capable of making plays. Now we just got to get him out there. I would hope that we’ll be able to get him on the field this weekend.
“I think we ran 56 plays [note: it was 61], something like that. So It’s not a lot of plays, and we’ve already talked about three [guys] and I’m sure someone’s going to ask about Ben Hall next. I know it’s coming. So with that being said, there’s four guys.
“A lot of things are just game situations, right? And where are we at in the game and the flow of the game? … [If a guy] carries 20 [times], you only have 56 snaps. That’s very limited for everybody else. He’s gonna earn his right to get on the field, which he already has. It’s just as far as getting him in the timeframe within the game and the, and situational stuff. But [Marshall’s] gonna be, but he’s gonna be a great player here. There’s no doubt on the right.”
Marshall and Hall were neck-and-neck during Michigan’s fall camp working towards being that next guy off the bench. Hall has experience in the offense having been with the team last year, and Alford lamented the fact he did not get him in last Saturday night.
“I wanted to get him in the game,” Alford said. “And in full transparency, once again, I failed as a coach to make that happen, and I told him as such. I’ve got to find ways to get him in the game because he’s earned the right to do that. He’s had a really good summer. As far as training camp goes, he’s had a really good past week and a half, two weeks. He deserves opportunities to play.
“I think that he’s hard to get on the ground when he runs vertically. If he’s a guy that starts running sideways, he becomes very average, and he knows that. I’m not saying that out of turn. So I’m not trying to upset him or his family. But I’ve told him as such when he runs downhill vertically at you, he’s hard to handle. So we continue to impress upon him to do that. He’s a really good player and has an opportunity to just continue to grow in this offense and build his role.
“I’m excited about him as a player and as a young man. He’s always asking how to get better. Matter of fact, I just got a text message when I was walking in here [from him asking], ‘What can I do more to help lead?’ And, and so he’s always, he’s always on this quest for knowledge and to get better. I’m excited about that.”
The Michigan running backs will be back in action this weekend when the 10th-ranked Wolverines welcome No. 3 Texas for a noon kick from the Big House. Vegas has the Longhorns as a 7.5-point favorite heading into the top-10 showdown.
