On Sunday afternoon, both Michigan football offensive coordinators had a chance to talk to the media. The Wolverines just started fall camp on Wednesday, and both Sherrone Moore and Matt Weiss had plenty of interesting things to say about their offense in Ann Arbor, but what was said about the running game was interesting.
There is no denying what was Michigan’s offensive identity last year — running the football. The Wolverines averaged 214 yards-per-game on the ground in 2021, and the maize and blue had three guys that helped: Hassan Haskins, Blake Corum, and Donovan Edwards.
So will Michigan try and replicate last season?
While Sherrone Moore says it’s too soon to tell what the offensive identity will be for Michigan for the 2022 season, Matt Weiss talked a little bit more about running the ball. Weiss talked about how in cold, rainy games that the Big Ten plays in you must be able to run the ball — especially to set up the pass. He also shared that the vision for the offense comes from Jim Harbaugh and the culture that has surrounded the Wolverines since Harbaugh has been here.
“So our vision is directly from Coach Harbaugh,” said Weiss. “If you look at his history of teams, and the culture that’s here at Michigan, that’s the vision for the offense. I think you can see the evolution of that last year with what Sherrone did with the offensive line, and how physical they were last year. And the way he coached, gap schemes, and I think that’s the kind of the calling card of, of Michigan football.”
“It’s an all-weather conference, you have to be able to play and in the cold in the rain, and certainly running the ball is a part of that. And then running the ball sets up the pass game. It’s a lot easier to throw the ball, when you can run the ball; it’s a lot harder to throw the ball when you can’t run the ball. And even you look at the best passing teams in the NFL, which is more of a passing league, they still run the ball, right? Because that’s part of the pass game.”
Of course, Michigan lost its top back from 2021 in Hassan Haskins after he left for the NFL draft. Haskins rushed for 1,333 yards, but he really broke loose once Corum got banged up in the middle of the season. Coach Moore was asked how Michigan can replace his production for 2022. The Wolverines will bring back Blake Corum, who rushed for 962 yards in 2021, and Edwards, but who will be the ‘big’ back for short yardage gains?
“Hassan was an elite player for us in college football,” said Moore. “So it’s hard to replace him but guys like Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards, obviously, we have those two, and now you have the Tavis (Tavierre Dunlap), the C.J. Stokes, and even Kalel (Mullings) is getting reps like he did in the spring. Those guys have done a great job for us so far. And I’m just watching those guys continue to progress. Just gonna have to see what we’re gonna have to do.”
The Wolverines have been experimenting with Kalel Mullings at running back this spring and fall. Mullings came into Michigan as a four-star linebacker that was highly sought after. But according to Matt Weiss, Mullings is splitting time on both sides of the ball in fall camp. He says that Mullings being a bigger back, it gives Michigan a different option like Haskins gave the Wolverines last year.
“Yeah, he’s splitting his time with both sides of the ball,” Weiss said of Mullings. “He’s a talented guy who could probably do anything that he wanted to. But I think he could be a really, really high-level back if that’s to be committed himself to. And right now he’s doing everything we ask, obviously. It’s hard when you’re splitting time to master both. But he’s finding a way to do that. And we’re spending extra time with him. And we’re excited about what he can potentially add to an already talented backfield.”
“He’s a bigger back,” Weiss went on about the hybrid back. “We have kind of an embarrassment of riches in the backfield with Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards, both guys who will likely be playing at the next level. But they’re not however man pounds. Kalel is, he’s a really big, physical guy, so he gives you that presence that we had a lot of success with Hassan last year. We’re not saying that Kalel is going to be Hassan, right, that’s not going to be Kalel. But he adds an element that the other two really talented players — is a little bit different.”
While it sounds like there is a battle brewing for the No. 3 running back job, there is a clear-cut top two for Michigan: Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards. We all know what Corum is capable of after his performance last season. The former four-star back came out of the gates like a man on fire after rushing for over 200 yards during his first three games of the season.
But the more intriguing factor for Michigan for 2022 is Donovan Edwards. The former five-star back out of West Bloomfield rushed for 178 yards in 2021 running behind both Haskins and Corum. But what makes Edwards so lethal is his ability to catch the ball. He was fifth on the team last year in receiving with 265 yards, and he really broke out against Maryland last year when he caught 10 passes for 170 yards and a score.
During Big Ten Media Days, FOX analyst Joel Klatt said that Edwards was his “dark horse Heisman contender”. Also during Big Ten Media Days, coach Harbaugh said that Edwards was one of his favorite players and was a once-in-a-generation type of talent. So what does his offensive coordinator think? Sherrone Moore says Edwards brings a ton of energy to the team, and that he has the toolset to be an elite player in college football.
“Yeah, the first thing he brings is energy, because if he walked through right now, you’d probably hear him yelling,” said Moore. “Just the energy, the presence that he has, he has an infectious personality. He’s an electric player, and he’s still learning to do things, he’s by no means a finished product. So he continues to strive to get better, and he just wants to be pushed to get better. But he has a great skill set, a great toolset to be an elite player in college football. And we have higher expectations of him and he has high expectations of himself. So I’ll just continue to push him to try to get better.”
The Wolverines will get their season started on September 3rd against Colorado State.
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