The Best Of The Rest: Jay Harbaugh Talks Michigan RB Room

With Zach Charbonnet and Hassan Haskins in their second and third years in the program respectively, Michigan will have a crowded running back room this season. Add in the return of Chris Evans and the addition of true freshman Blake Corum and U-M will have plenty of options when it comes to the rushing attack this fall.

To help provide some insight on how these four backs differ in style and ability, Michigan running backs coach Jay Harbaugh spoke with the media on Wednesday. Here is everything that he had to say about the U-M ball carriers ahead of the 2020 season:

Q: With Chris Evans back and Zach and Hassan getting so many snaps last yer, what are the areas that you feel as group and individually that they should naturally take a good step forward from where you were last year?

A: "For that whole group, I would say the same thing I said at some point a while back, which is we just need to take the next step forward in terms of creating explosive runs. We have really good backs, good ball carriers that pretty consistently put the ball where it's supposed to go, and the way most defenses work that we see, they're gonna set the ball where it's supposed to go to the free hitter or whoever that gets to be, a corner or a safety, whoever is designed to be the guy that' going to tackle the ball, and for us to take the step we need to as backs, we have to be able to take care of that guy and turn some of those four or five, six yard runs into 15, 20, 30 yard runs."

"The condition of Chris [Evans] and Blake Corum, those are two guys that that's kind of the natural strength of their game, whereas Hassan and Zach [Charbonnet] are tremendous at a lot of the other things, so it's going to give us a good ability to hopefully do that at the level we've seen so far in terms of working at it against our defense. If you can do it against them, create some explosive runs in live periods or thud periods against our defense, it's probably going to translate to games because those guys are pretty dang good."

Q: On the running backs, have you been able to identify, you talked about home run backs before in May when we talked, and also where is Blake Corum right now at this stage?

A: "The whole group has improved in terms of what we're seeing on film with them being able to turn some of those medium runs that we all like into the explosives hat we love. Naturally just based on who they are, Chris and Blake, they're really geared to that just because when they get a little bit of room, they're really, really hard to tackle. I've seen Zach take a step forward in that regard. He's even faster then he was before. He's running great. He's feeling great, so I would expect him to take another step forward, then Hassan, who is our toughest, hardest runner, most physical, unbelievably strong, he's even improved and gotten more consistent with being able to put the ball where it's supposed to be and even when he gets contact late at him seven or eight yards down the field, a lot of times he's able to get four or five yards more after that just because it's so difficult to bring it down."

"So, I've seen improvements from every guy in that aspect. Blake and Chris in terms of their DNA, it comes most natural to them. To answer your last part of your question, Blake is tremendous. He's exactly what we expected him to be. He's a tremendous worker. Loves, loves to compete. Loves football. Is a complete junkie for it, and he's a guy who will get carries for us and he'll be a factor not only on offense but on special teams."

Q: One player you did get back, Christian Turner, he opted out and seems like he's back on. I know he missed some time, but what is your view of that situation and what can he add to the group this fall?

A: "Christian has added a great attitude. He's excited to be playing football and to be around his team. Naturally when you miss some football, you get behind a little bit and you've got to get your legs back and into the swing of things assignment-wise, but he's come back and been excited to be with the team and be playing football. He even shared some thoughts with the running backs just yesterday about that, about the dynamic we have as a group. He's shown great leadership as an older guy who's come back and said shoot, I just want to play. Give me whatever. I'll run with the offense or with the scouts. He's working like crazy on special teams, so I've been encouraged by that. For him, he's on a different timeline than everyone else. The next week, week and a half for him will be big to see how he continues to improve. It's a long season. Like I said before, it's a sprint. For a guy like that in the nature of rosters this year, you need to be deep. You need to have a lot of guys who are ready to play and compete. Nobody can write themselves off as being too far down the depth chart or even a three could end up starting. Love his approach and just excited to see him continue to get back to where he was."

Q: Obviously Chris Evans is a dynamic pass catcher. I'm wondering what that element of his skill set allows the offense to do differently than, say, last year?

A: "Chris is just different from a standard back. You're able to, in terms of what makes the offense different comparing it to last year, you'd say a lot of times the guys we'd have on the field, they'd get out on check downs where they weren't really a factor in the quarterback's thought process and his progression. A guy like Chris who can beat the majority of linebackers or safeties that he runs a route on, who can make a play and catch the ball, that adds a little bit different element as to where you can start including a running back in a progression for the quarterback of having that ball go to him first or go to him second and be excited about it. Not like oh, they took this away, let's check it down. That part is different. Really, just being able to run different types of runs. He's just so comfortable in space that the different perimeter type of stuff. He's not the fastest guy ever, but he plays fast and he's elusive in space. I would say being able to have a guy who excels outside the tackles helps balance out Zach and Hassan who are good out there, but they're special inside the box."

Q: With a guy like Zach Charbonnet, he arrived on campus a year and a half ago or so alreaady somewhat injured ahd had to not only rehab that and get back into the swing, in-season dealing with more injuries, where have you seen him, essentially how much different of a player is he now compared to when you got him? And where can he go from here? How much higher is his ceiling?

A: "For Zach and for such a high number of our guys, you really can't put a ceiling on them. On a guy who is totally obsessed, there is no ceiling. You can't put it there because ll they do is just work and find a way to get a little bit better. You might think they're gonna top out, but they don't think like that. They don't have limits on themselves mentally. These guys don't get tackled and say, 'oh shoot, that was a good play by him.' There's always something to it. 'I could have done this. I should have done that.' Mindset-wise, I can't put a limit on a guy because they don't put them on themselves. Speaking to Zach, I don't know how to compare him to last year without saying he's without a doubt better. He's running better. He's running stronger. He's seeing things better. His feet are better. Collectively, just a better player, which is honestly just a product of being able to practice and have more reps, but also he's just feeling good. He feels healthier. He feels right. Credit to him. He wasn't full speed for a good amount of last year. He wasn't injured, but he didn't feel the way that he knew was possible. Just excited to be able to see him be able to run the way that he wants to run and hold himself to the standard that I know he holds himself to. I know in practice he's really taking advantage of it. He looks great."

Who do you think will be the No. 1 rushing yards leader for Michigan at the end of the season? Will three running backs pick up over 500 yards on the ground each? Let us know!

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