ANN ARBOR — Three days away from the season opener, and Michigan’s running back battle remains a mystery.
On Monday, Jim Harbaugh said the Wolverines hadn’t “decided yet” on who their top back would be in Saturday’s game against Middle Tennessee. On Wednesday, running backs coach Jay Harbaugh simply said, “We’ll see come game time,” when asked about Michigan’s No. 1 option.
“We'll see as the season goes on if anyone really separates themselves in the way that you're looking for me to say,” he quipped.
Whether it really is still a five-person competition between Tru Wilson, Christian Turner, Ben VanSumeren, Hassan Haskins, and Zach Charbonnet, or whether a starter has been decided and Michigan just doesn’t want that intel public yet remains murky. But one thing that is transparent is the praise the Michigan coaching staff and players continue to heap on Charbonnet.
The Westlake Village, Calif., native is the No. 3 recruit in Michigan’s freshman class, behind safety Daxton Hill and defensive tackle Chris Hinton.
Charbonnet was rated as a four-star high school prospect, and the No. 4 running back in the nation, according to 247Sports composite rankings. At 6-1, 220 pounds, he has a rare combination of strength and speed for his size.
In the first week of camp, offensive coordinator Josh Gattis praised Charbonnet’s maturity, along with his ability to make “special cuts.”
“He's pretty hard to tackle,” linebacker Josh Ross confirmed this week. “He's just a bigger, sturdier type of back. He's still a freshman, still learning, still going, but he's going to be a heck of a player.”
Last week, Jim Harbaugh said Charbonnet was “coming on like a freight train,” and complimented his understanding of the game, saying he is a quick study.
That learning, and especially learning from his mistakes during practice, is also something at which Jay Harbaugh said Charbonnet has excelled.
“It's very, very rare for him to repeat mistakes,” he said. “When you do that, and you get between 220 to 275 team reps in a camp, you're going to get pretty good, but if every time you screw something up it's improved. That's really kind of been his hallmark so far.”
Before he enrolled at Michigan last winter, Charbonnet underwent a surgical procedure on his knee. Jay Harbaugh said during that time, Charbonnet worked to stay mentally engaged, whether it was sending coaches late-night texts with questions about the offense, taking good notes, or drawing up plays on a whiteboard.
Jim Harbaugh also categorized him as a weight room “stalker” during the offseason.
He’s now fully recovered, and his approach during his downtime in the spring really began to turn heads.
“His work ethic, just seeing how focused he is,” defensive teammate Khaleke Hudson said last month at Big Ten media days when asked why Charbonnet stood out. “Getting his extra treatment when he needs to, working hard in the weight room, and just wanting to be the best out there. You can just tell when a player is going to be good in the future, and he's one of those guys. I just really like the way that he conducts himself. He conducts his business.”
This year, Michigan must replace Karan Higdon, who rushed for 1,178 yards last season and 2,616 yards in his career. It must also replace Chris Evans, who is suspended from the team. Wilson is the only returner back with significant experience at running back.
Charbonnet’s physical abilities, and the fact that he has seemingly adapted well, should mean he will get significant touches come Saturday — even if Michigan hasn’t yet named a primary back.
“He's very special in a lot of ways,” Jay Harbaugh said. “Not just running back ability, but in terms of the intangibles and everything. He's more mature than most incoming freshmen at any position.”
First Published August 28, 2019, 8:08 p.m.
