20 For 20: Will Zach Charbonnet Progress Or Regress?

Zach Charbonnet burst onto the scene as a freshman but some developments make me curious about his role as a sophomore.

I actually think Zach Charbonnet is going to be a better back in 2020 than he was in 2019. He's likely going to be bigger and stronger. He's certainly going to understand his role and the offense better in year two and he's likely going to better suited physically to handle a workload. With that being said, he's going to be less productive. That sounds counterintuitive but there are two reasons why I see it happening — Hassan Haskins and Chris Evans.

Haskins carried the ball just 14 times through the first five games of the season while Charbonnet was getting lathered up as the freshman phenom starting running back. Things changed at Illinois, when Haskins carried it 12 times for 129 yards and a score. He ended up rushing for 622 yards and four touchdowns and averaged 5.1 per tote. He's going to be ready to go from the jump in 2020, which will certainly eat into whatever Charbonnet did through five games in 2019.

Charbonnet is also going to have to compete with a healthy, fresh and motivated Chris Evans during his last year at U-M. In 2018, before serving a one-year suspension for an academic issue, Evans carried the ball 81 times for 422 yards and four scores. Evans has shown, since he was a true freshman himself, that he can be an every-down back and take a handoff the distance on any given play. He's also adept as a pass catcher. In 2018, he also caught 18 passes for 148 yards and another touchdown. I think he can be a major weapon in the passing game in offensive coordinator Josh Gattis' system because of his propensity as a receiver. 

Those two things add up to Charbonnet being less productive despite being a better player. That's not usually how it goes, but Haskins and Evans being heavily involved isn't typical. Throw in true freshman Blake Corum, who is more like Evans than the other two, and you have another capable back who might be able to do some things. It's a really good problem for running backs coach Jay Harbaugh and Gattis to have, but I think it ultimately results in smaller numbers for Charbonnet.

How do you see 2020 playing out for Charbonnet? How productive can Haskins and Evans be? Comment below!!!