Michigan football to give 2 under-the-radar players extended looks against Northwestern

Michigan entered the season with arguably the best one-two punch at running back in the country, but injuries have hampered Justice Haynes as of late, and it's been Jordan Marshall who has carried the load. Marshall has surpassed 100 yards in his last three games and he's seen 25 carries in the last two of three games.

With Haynes out, Michigan has to watch Marshall's load. On Monday, head coach Sherrone Moore spoke on Marshall being built for November football, but also rotating him out in order to save him.

"I mean, one, he’s from that state that we all know of, but he was the Ohio State Player of the Year, so he’s played in this type of weather, been through it, but it’s his mentality. You know, it’s his mentality and how he runs. He’s a physical runner," Moore said of Marshall.

"And you can see it from the first game he ever played when he played down there in the rain in Tampa. And he just got better with more carries and more carries. And how he’s built, how he works, how he studies the game is just kind of, he’s a back that in November he’s going to thrive. So we’re just excited for him, excited to see what he continues to do, but also excited for the other guys in the room and let them get their opportunity as well because he can’t carry the ball 40 times a game. We want to limit those carries as much as we can, but we’re going to allow him to be who he is."

The next two running backs in the pecking order are true freshman Jasper Parker and redshirt sophomore Bryson Kuzdzal. Coach Moore said fans should expect to see both players on Saturday against Northwestern. Parker is the likely No. 2 back, who has seen 16 carries for 69 yards and a score this season.

Michigan RB Jasper Parker — Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

"Yeah, he’s in a great place. Keeps getting better and better," Moore said of Parker. "Him and Bryson Kuzdzal, you’ll see both those guys on Saturday. Both of those guys will get a chance to carry the ball and protect and do different things because you got to do – you got to keep it balanced. You can’t just have them in there and run the ball. They’re in there, they just scream out run.

"So they’ll both be in there to do a couple things to help take the load off Jordan. And they’ve done a really good job throughout the week. Coach Alford and Coach Jackson do a great job of coaching them. They coach them hard. They push them. So we’ll see more of them as we go through the week."

Speed demon waiting for his chance

Michigan RB Bryson Kuzdzal — Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

While Parker might be the No. 2 back at the moment, you can't count out Kuzdzal, who has been waiting his turn. This season, the Grand Rapids native has carried the ball 10 times for 53 yards and a score. In fact, according to coach Moore, Kuzdzal is almost as fast as Justice Haynes. He would love to see the former walk-on in the open field.

"Yeah, he’s got a – I mean, he’s probably the second fastest behind Justice, if not close to his speed," said Moore of Kuzdzal. "He’s a fast dude, man. I would love to see him get out in open space and see what happens, see if anybody can catch him, because I don’t know if they will. But he hit some of those runs in the last game. I think he only had like four or something carries. But he hit them hard.

"He hit them physical, ran as physical as we’ve seen him run. I was really proud of how he ran in that game, especially when you know it’s a run and you’ve got to stop the run. And he ran downhill. He ran fast. He ran physical. And he can make people miss. So it’ll be interesting to watch him in the game because it’s always different in practice to see guys execute. But I was really proud of how he played."

Michigan fans can see both players in action on Saturday at Noon ET on Fox.

Speed demon waiting for his chance

More From Michigan On SI: