Sherrone Moore explains why he believes Jordan Marshall is built for November football

The Wolverines will likely have to rely heavily on Marshall down the stretch of the season

Michigan running back Jordan Marshall (23) runs against Purdue defensive back Tahj Ra-El (21) during the second half at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor on Saturday, November 1, 2025. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

With running back Justice Haynes out due to a foot injury with an unclear timetable for a return, it will mostly be up to Jordan Marshall to shoulder the load in the Michigan backfield and try to help take the Wolverines' to a 10-2 record with a potential playoff appearance.

So far, Marshall has shown he is fully capable of carrying that responsibility, having run for 729 yards on 124 attempts with eight touchdowns so far this season, including posting huge games in the Wolverines' wins against Washington and Purdue, which are games Haynes fully missed.

Michigan running back Jordan Marshall (23) runs against Michigan State during the second half at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing on Saturday, October 25, 2025. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

When speaking to his reporters on Monday for his weekly press conference, head coach Sherrone Moore was asked why he believes Marshall is a running back that is built for and can help carry a team in November.

"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," said Moore. "It’s his mentality and how he runs. He’s a physical runner. 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."

While Moore knows Marshall is more than capable of carrying the ball as many times as the staff asks him to, the head coach said they will have to get other guys involved to keep Marshall fresh as much as possible so he can endure all of the added carries.

"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," Moore added. "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 Wolverines are coming off a bye and are set to play Northwestern at Wrigley Field on Saturday for a Noon EST kickoff.

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