Tony Alford: Kalel Mullings ‘has earned those carries’ – will it continue?

Kalel Mullings was Michigan’s best running back Saturday night in a win over Fresno State with no close second, running for 92 yards and carrying the load on a key touchdown drive late. It stands to reason he’ll carry more of the load against Texas and others on the schedule. 

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There’s always been a question as to whether senior captain Donovan Edwards could be an every-down guy as compared to a situational back. Some noted Wednesday it seems to take him time to longer to find a rhythm — running backs coach Tony Alford didn’t discount that in his press conference with the media. 

“The guy is a leader on this football team, definitely a leader on offense. He’s been proven to make plays in this program as he’s done for many games,” Alford said. “We’re going to expect the same … just keep playing. Nobody is in a panic. 

“Sometimes, you’re always looking for a big play, and [if one goes bad], you try to compensate to make a big play … but big plays will come. Just keep playing the game. The run game is also a softening-up progress. As the game wears on, you’re punching, punching, and things start to open up later in games for guys.”

That was the case for Mullings, who carried the team down the field (and literally carried defenders on four runs) to set up a play action touchdown pass. He carried 15 times, and some have wondered if he shouldn’t have gotten more earlier given how he played. 

Alford said he was pleased with the split. He was also careful about predicting how it would go against Texas and moving forward. 

“I thought the split was pretty good, but he has earned those carries,” Alford said of Mullings. “He started earning those carries last spring. Kalel has proven to be a very accountable guy, not just within our room but special teams. There’s not a coach in this building that doesn’t respect what he’s doing and what he has done. He’s obviously a team player, moving over from defense … and he’s obviously earned the opportunities he’s gotten. 

“I think a lot of [the split] is just game situation, how it’s going. If someone gets hot, I’m going to let him keep going. He’d kind of gotten in that groove, so just let him eat. On that four-play drive he had, obviously the two big runs, but people fail to realize one of things Kalel does … go back to the play [Alex] Orji kept the ball, a 10 to 15-yard run. Watch how many people ran after Kalel because he carried out the fake. That’s something people aren’t really watching.”

But something he does well that helps the team win. They all do it, Alford said, but Mullings takes a lot of pride in it. 

That doesn’t mean there’s no role for Edwards, of course. He’s a big play guy, and he’s proven it. There are different ways they can get him involved and use him, too. 

“He played hard; he ran hard,” Alford said. “He just didn’t have the opportunity to crack some of the runs into the second, third level of the defense. The kid ran hard, played hard, so I wasn’t displeased with how hard he played. Some of the opportunities, Kalel kind of broke some things, and it just kind of worked out that way. 

“We’re just going to keep playing. He has shown in the past obviously to have some big play guy games, so hopefully those will continue to happen for us. We’ve all got to play better. We’ve all got to do a better job — I’ve got to do a better job coaching, and we need to do a better job finishing off some runs, things like that.”

But the leash gets shortened with Texas on tap, and it’s time to make the most of any and all opportunities. Mullings did — can Edwards?

We’ll find out soon enough.