Zach Charbonnet
Zach Charbonnet wasted no time making his presence known to Michigan fans.
The former four-star from Thousand Oaks (CA) Christian immediately showcased his natural ability, running for 90 yards on 8 carries in his first-ever college game, and following that up with a 100 yard effort in Week Two.
Charbonnet also broke the Michigan freshman rushing touchdown record, well before the season was out, managing 11 touchdowns on the ground in just his first year.
Harbaugh says he expects even more from Charbonnet in year two, especially given that he’s got a year under his belt.
“For Zach, looking back at his year, he had a really, really, really strong year,” Harbaugh said. “And I think the thing that he would tell you and what would be apparent a year from now, two years from now is he was just scratching the surface. I think as he has an offseason of really being able to develop his lower body and get healthy, it’s gonna be really special with what he improves with his speed, his lower body flexibility, his balance, his change of direction. So, he was really good, but I think you’re gonna see a guy that’s gonna become great with just the time that he’s gonna put in throughout spring and summer.”
Charbonnet was somewhat hindered entering his freshman campaign, which seems hard to believe considering how strong he came out the gates. But beyond being held out of spring ball because of his knee scope, he was limited midyear as he struggled with injury for a few weeks.
Because he’s healthy thus far in the offseason, Harbaugh expects to see him really take off, not just from a physical standpoint, but a mental one, as well.
“For him moving forward, just having the clean bill mentally is a big thing,” Harbaugh said. “Feeling that confidence and all that. But really being able to get after it, training-wise. He’s a guy who loves to workout, he loves to train, he loves to do extra. If he could put a cot in the weight room and sleep there, he probably would, like a lot of other guys on our team. I think there’s gonna be big strides in that regard. He’s anxious for that, he’s excited for that, to really get back to it.”