Michigan football rushing production returns in 2024

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There are still 56 days until the defending champion Michigan Wolverines Football team takes the field in the opening match on August 31 against State of Fresno. Until then, each day we’ll discuss current events at Michigan and the upcoming season and/or take a look at an important number that correlates with how many days remain until kickoff, be it a player’s jersey number, a year, a date, a score, etc.

Michigan hurried 563 times last season, totaling 2,536 yards and 40 touchdowns.

However, most of the production has migrated, with running back Blake Corum He went to the NFL Draft, was drafted in the third round and ended up with the Los Angeles Rams.

In 2023, Corum ran 258 times for 1,245 yards and 27 touchdowns. That means he accounted for 45.8 percent of the team’s rushing attempts, 49 percent of rushing yards and 67.5 percent of rushing touchdowns. Over the last two seasons, he accounted for 43.4 percent of rushing attempts, 46 percent of rushing yards and 55.6 percent of rushing touchdowns.

There is a lot to replace, but Michigan has returning rushers who have proven themselves in various roles over the years. Senior Donovan Edwards and graduate Kalel Mullings They are expected to take the lead.

Edwards took over as Michigan’s starting running back for three games in 2022 and performed well, particularly against Ohio State (216 yards and 2 touchdowns on 22 carries) and Purdue (185 yards and 1 touchdown on 25 carries). He also had a 50-yard run on the first play of the game and totaled 119 rushing yards in a loss to TCU in the College Football Playoff.

Edwards has rushed for 1,662 yards and 15 touchdowns in his three-year career — far more than many running backs across the country. He racked up 991 yards and 7 touchdowns in 2022 and averaged 7.1 yards per attempt before rushing for 497 yards and 5 touchdowns in 2023 (4.2 yards per carry).

Mullings will provide backup in the meantime and could even snag the starting running back spot if he proves more productive. He has been efficient with a small sample size, running 50 times over the past two seasons after moving from linebacker to the field, racking up 253 yards and 4 touchdowns.

There’s also no telling how good the Edwards-Mullings duo will be and how the dynamic will play out. There have been many cases over the years where fans expected a rotation to go a certain way and it ended up going the other way, with injuries obviously playing a possible role.

Despite losing Corum, Michigan could be a quality rushing team this season. Edwards has grown in the offseason, overcome some of the problems of last season and is now more of a leader (one of the best on the team). Mullings, on the other hand, has a lot more to offer, including his speed, his teammates and coaches have said. Junior quarterback Alex Orjiis also a dynamic runner and could challenge for the starting position. If he plays an important role in the running game, there are many opportunities.

Michigan will have five new starters on the offensive line, which creates some uncertainty, but the offensive line has been strong over the past few seasons and there is confidence that this group can pave the way for Edwards, Mullings and the rest of the ball carriers.

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