Michigan freshman RBs impressing behind the scenes, including 'one of the hardest workers on the team'

Michigan Wolverines football is much deeper at running back this season than it was a year ago, led by senior Blake Corum as the featured back. Junior Donovan Edwards and senior Kalel Mullings are also in the rotation, with some talented young players behind them.

Two in that group that’s down the depth chart freshmen Cole Cabana and Benjamin Hall. Each player has 2 rushes in one appearance, with Cabana totaling 6 yards and Hall recording 2. While they haven’t gotten the chance to play much in games, Michigan running backs coach and run game coordinator Mike Hart said Wednesday that the pair is impressing behind the scenes.

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Cabana is known for his speed, having run a 10.55 100-meter dash during high school track. The 6-0, 198-pounder out of Dexter (Mich.) High has a versatile skill set, Hart said.

“Cole’s getting better every week,” the Michigan assistant revealed. “He got banged up in spring, didn’t play in the spring game, and got banged up in fall camp. But nothing major, at all. He’s getting better every day. Obviously, we have those opportunity scrimmages every Monday that you’ve heard [Michigan head] Coach [Jim Harbaugh] talk about. He does a great job in those.

“But we’re deep in the backfield right now, and he has to continue to get better. But he’s going to be a talented kid. He has a lot of talent.

“He’s got a skill set like Donovan, to be honest with you. He’s really explosive, he can catch the ball out of the backfield, he’s fast. But it’s just, where do you put him in right now? You just don’t put someone in the game to put them in the game, and right now the best guys are going to play, and that’s who’s playing.”

Hall, meanwhile, has stood out with his work ethic. He was one of Michigan’s top breakout players in the April spring game at The Big House, rushing 13 times for 102 yards and a touchdown. He was only a three-star recruit, but Hall looks like a hidden gem that Hart has been known for finding.

“Ben Hall is going to be good. Same thing as Cole Cabana, Ben Hall is going to be a good player,” their Michigan position coach said. “You guys saw in the spring game, fall camp. He shows up every day, he’s working every day. He’s one of the hardest workers on the team. Just excited about his future. If we need a Ben Hall, Ben Hall can play right now.

“He’s just a kid that’s here at 7 o’clock every morning, doing what he has to do to get better. Sometimes, he’s out there on the field, running around, doing bag drills by himself. No one tells him to do that; he’s just doing that on his own.

“On his official visit, the kid woke up and ran down to the facility and ran back home. I saw him running down the street. That’s the kind of kid he is. He’s just going to show up and work every day, and he’s going to be the best version of Ben Hall that he can.”

Both Michigan running backs have only played in one game this season. That means they can appear in three further games, but no more, and still retain their redshirt. Asked if he’s had discussions about redshirting with either player, Hart discussed how they may be needed at some point this fall.

“The message is always the same, ‘Be ready. You never know when you’re going to be called upon, so prepare as you’re the starter.’ Donovan Edwards didn’t play that much his freshman year, the first half of the year. And Blake Corum didn’t play that much his freshman year,” the Michigan assistant pointed out. “That’s the message — you’re not just going to come in and play as a freshman all of the time. It’s based on what we need and how we need it.

“Show up and do the work every day, and that’s the kind of room we have, the kind of team we have, that these guys are unselfish. And they get it. When you have Blake Corum, when you have Donovan Edwards, Kalel Mullings, they understand that these guys are good running backs. But it doesn’t stop them from being the best versions of themselves that they can be.

“They’re waiting on their number to be called — and it may be called at some point this year. You usually don’t stay healthy throughout the year, so just keeping those guys prepared, mentally strong and mentally ready to go is my job as a coach.”