What has happened to us at RB?
Why have we seemingly lost the ability to crank out very good/great running backs season after season? Between 1990 and 2007 we fielded 6 of the top 15 school career rushers for RB including: 1. Hart, 3. Wheatley, 4. Thomas, 6. Perry, 11. Biakabutuka, and 14. Powers.
Since then we’ve had just ONE RB crack the top 15 with Higdon at 13. Of course the asterisk is that Robinson was the #2 rusher as a QB during that time but, despite how brilliant and electric he was with his feet, it didn’t translate into big win seasons. And it’s probably safe to say he would have been more effective as an overall QB if he’d had a decent running option behind him instead of having to try and do it all with his feet and arm.
So what the hell happened? Yeah it’s a more pass oriented game now, but Wisconsin still cranks out great RBs like clockwork. OSU has had guys like Dobbins, Elliott and Wells, PSU had Barkley and Royster, and MSU had Ringer, Bell and Langford.
It’s beyond depressing when you realize how little success that one of the original members of the “three yards and a cloud of dust” fraternity (I know Woody said it, but Bo lived by it too) has fallen in their ability to either land or coach up top tier RBs. And it’s a problem that clearly predates Harbaugh’s arrival.
January 4th, 2020 at 6:50 PM ^
Jim Trressel happened.
January 4th, 2020 at 9:02 PM ^
QB might be worse than the RB position. Hard to tell.
January 4th, 2020 at 10:55 PM ^
Oh yes-the QBs have been worse...and very much a part of the reason the RB performance is being questioned. Life for the RBs has been hell because the damn poor QB play have allowed the opponent to jam the box...things happen for a reason.
January 4th, 2020 at 10:57 PM ^
Rich Rod and Hoke happened and destroyed our inflow of huge OL men. If we had road graders, we would have great running backs.
January 4th, 2020 at 11:38 PM ^
Rich Rod and Hoke have been long gone. Not an excuse. What about RB recruiting over the last 5 years?
January 5th, 2020 at 12:11 AM ^
Yeah, they’re gone and the OL looks to be a strength of the program now, even with losing four starters for the next year. RB is a position of strength too, so I expect the problem is pretty much solved. Gotta get Qb and defense on the right page.
January 5th, 2020 at 9:59 AM ^
RichRod's greatest failure as a coach - he has never been able to put together a good running game.
January 4th, 2020 at 6:50 PM ^
Jesus Christ.
You’re supposedly grown men.
Start acting like it.
If we are all going to engage in lamenting and self loathing, let’s mourn for what this blog used to be before the whiny ass bitches like this guy took over.
January 4th, 2020 at 7:06 PM ^
Sorry. I guess I just can’t measure up to your penis length when it comes to internet message board coolness.
January 4th, 2020 at 7:13 PM ^
Been coming here to this blog for a good 14-15 years now. Its always been a bunch of whiny ass bitches. Tis in our DNA, my dude.
January 4th, 2020 at 7:25 PM ^
The “bunch” is really just the same handful who emote all over the board because their self-esteem is harmed by a sports outcome. They make the board near-unreadable until the mods finally cave them, only for them to resurface under new usernames...
January 4th, 2020 at 9:03 PM ^
Jesus that's a long time to suffer thru this shitty drupal experience.
January 4th, 2020 at 11:52 PM ^
We have had some early departures recently, but whiny ass bitches are definitely returning to the blog for next season.
January 5th, 2020 at 10:11 AM ^
I would like to announce that I am coming back next year for another season on MGoBlog...feel like I still have unfinished business.
January 4th, 2020 at 6:50 PM ^
bad oline = bad run game = bad rushers
plus RB recruiting has been a miss, you can find some stars (without the recruiting stars). Harbaugh has been pretty good so far with his recruiting eye.
January 4th, 2020 at 8:15 PM ^
DPJ is another 5-star bust. Maybe it’s shitty coaching?
January 4th, 2020 at 9:05 PM ^
S&C already did their damage with chris evans. Dude was lightening fast and shifty before they got their hands on him. Now he can't break tackles AND lacks mobility. sad.
S&C is slowing Charbonnet down like a Bo-era linebacker. Wish they could make him faster & stronger at the same time.
Its almost like we have a Wisconsin type S&C program.
January 4th, 2020 at 9:24 PM ^
... because Wisconsin never has good RBs.
January 4th, 2020 at 10:07 PM ^
Comment is a candidate for dumbest of the season and we are only in January.
Post was about running backs, yet you reference Wisconsin and their strategy to develop?
January 5th, 2020 at 8:02 AM ^
It’s not that simple man. You’re right, if you have a weak OL you’ll probably have a weak run game. But you’re lying to yourself if you say we’ve had an RB even close to Elliot, Barkey, Dobbs, Taylor, Gordon III, etc., in the past decade. We have not had a great back since Hart, and even then you can place a good amount of his success on having a great OL as he flopped in the NFL - unlike the guys I named above who are in the NFL. We don’t recruit elite athletes, and we don’t develop great players.
Even Charbonnet for example - what’s his standout trait. He’s not very fast, not very strong, and has above average vision. The best thing about him up to this point has been pass blocking. He’s not a high ceiling kind of guy. A great RB could take us to another level. This year the OL wasn’t as bad as people have been saying. If we had one of those above guys on our team this past season I think our season goes a bit differently.
January 5th, 2020 at 5:28 PM ^
Charbonnent has a very high ceiling. He’s not Barkley or Taylor but he can certainly be an All Big 10 type player
January 4th, 2020 at 6:51 PM ^
This is a stupid time to post something like this. Next years backfield will be the best we've had in a very long time. If you're not excited about Charbonet, Haskins, and a returning Chris Evans, I can't help you
January 4th, 2020 at 6:52 PM ^
This^
January 4th, 2020 at 6:59 PM ^
That’s not the point. With teams having 1,000 yard backs and receivers simultaneously, why hasn’t Michigan? Not a question of strength of RB depth.
January 4th, 2020 at 7:20 PM ^
1) because we have had a fucked gumbo of offensive coordinators since Harbaugh arrived and transition costs are real. Gattis seems good - let’s give two years
2) we spent much of the last five years running dinosaur offenses which could mash shitty teams but were ineffective against good defenses and most importantly were sllllllow as a bowl of molasses in winter. Less plays = less yards
3) recruiting misses and scheme fits. We picked some real duds or guys that didn’t fit
4) we rotate backs a lot now which we didn’t do 20 years ago at the same rate
5) a decade plus of o-line woes
with Charbonnet, Haskins, Evans, Turner and Corum along with the slotbugs we have a real shot at productive team running but if you are expecting a Jonathan Taylor type of production out of one guy you may be disappointed
January 5th, 2020 at 12:08 PM ^
2015/2016 was not "dinosaur offenses" in any way shape or form. Literally the only problem with those two teams was QB/OL and both those offenses blew the 2019 offense out of the water.
January 4th, 2020 at 7:07 PM ^
Let me know when would be a good time. TIA.
January 4th, 2020 at 7:09 PM ^
Excited isn't the word I would use, but we are pretty solid at RB for sure.
January 4th, 2020 at 7:10 PM ^
I don't disagree that the players coming back next year are good and we should be fine in the backfield, the overall question the poster is asking is an interesting one.
If we truly want to make it to the top of the mountain, we need a truly elite RB, the likes of Etienne, Dobbins, etc. I don't think any of our current players or incoming recruits are that (could be wrong). It does seem like we've had a lot of swings and misses when it comes to the QB and RB spots. Probably lots of reasons why but it is an interesting question.
January 4th, 2020 at 7:16 PM ^
I agree with this and the OPs larger point. Michigan hasn't had a "oh shit, what do we do about that guy" at RB in a really, really long time. Someone the other team has to gameplan around.
The guys on the roster are better than they've had in a good while, but none of them are gamechangers.
January 5th, 2020 at 10:59 AM ^
Michigan has NEVER had one of those RB’s. Name me the last UofM alum to lead the NFL in rushing...I’ll wait
I don’t disagree with the premise of the OP, but this isn’t a Harbaugh thing or a recent thing
January 4th, 2020 at 9:50 PM ^
Totally agree theytookourjobs. I think we will have our best running backfield in years next year.
January 4th, 2020 at 11:09 PM ^
I agree they took our jobs! Fuck them! Give them back!
January 4th, 2020 at 11:07 PM ^
Why would anyone be excited about Haskins? Get excited if you have a "Dobbins", "Swift", or "Ettienne". But how can one get excited over Haskins? His ceiling is clearly an average B10 running back. Capable...yes. Get you some yards...yes. Explosive....no. Any elite athletic qualities at all...no. DC's afraid of him or game planning for him...no.
Chris Evan, unless he has improved significantly, his ceiling is a slightly above average B10 running back. Lacked ability to break tackles and be a consistent RB. Let's remember that he got beat out for the starting job by Hidgon...who did not get drafted.
The chances that any of these two backs get drafted is close to zero.
Charbonnet can hopefully improve / get healthy and be a true threat. Hopefully someone that can cause DC's to actually gamelan for a Michigan RB...which hasn't happened in a LONG time.
January 5th, 2020 at 5:28 PM ^
Finally, a smart comment on this dumbass thread.
Our run game is fine. Yes, we haven't had a generational RB in quite a while, which is head-scratching considering our run focus, but we also spread the load around. Personally, I think we do that a bit too much, especially "making sure everyone has played" at times, but that's going to limit the eye-popping stats for one player.
The problem had been scheme -- which looks to be improving greatly -- and an impact, or at least above-average QB. Which we are still waiting for. After year 5.
JFC, the run game? Really?
January 4th, 2020 at 6:53 PM ^
Simple: Offensive line woes, that we're finally building our way out of.
January 4th, 2020 at 7:08 PM ^
Especially excited for Rumler and Carpenter.
January 4th, 2020 at 7:13 PM ^
... and before anyone makes an idiotic remark along the lines of "since Lloyd Carr left," maybe read this first:
http://mgoblog.com/content/jake-long-little-miracle
You have to go back almost twenty years to find a series of years where the O-line was good. It's been uneven since then (Long, Lewan, a few good lines).
January 4th, 2020 at 11:53 PM ^
What a cute little 300+ lb baby!
January 4th, 2020 at 6:53 PM ^
Splitting carries will do that too. Denard took a lot of carries from the backs. We’ve had a string of two (or three) headed running back rotations. The backs you listed above were largely workhorse backs that didn’t really split carries.
January 4th, 2020 at 7:08 PM ^
Chris Perry had 51 carries in a game vs MSU. The game has changed since then.
Even a somewhat better version of Chris Perry isn't going to pass him in the record books.
January 4th, 2020 at 8:09 PM ^
Exactly. And Even Charbonnet getting 30 carries against Army was an anomaly. The other backs had fumbles and missed blocks. So Harbaugh went with Zach the rest of the way. He then said that was excessive and they seriously toned down his workload after that. We haven’t had anything close to that since. We shouldn’t look at having one workhorse back as the goal. Hell, we’re just a couple years removed from having three 500 yard backs.
Fact is, we’re looking at a two headed running back rotation at the very least. With a few others sprinkled in and getting blowout carries. 15-20 carries a game is likely going to be on the higher end of an average. Charbonnet had the most carries on the team, and he averaged 11.4 carries per game. Dobbins averaged 21.5, Taylor averaged 22.8.
In this type of offense, 40 total carries a game is probably your limit. Michigan is going to split those carries up. Looking at next year, you have Charbonnet, Haskins, and Evans. Turner (I personally feel hes a transfer candidate) and Corum are a couple talented backs who could factor in as well. That’s quite a few talented backs fighting for carries.
Can’t make everyone happy. We have all these “great NFL caliber receivers,” and people are unhappy they’re not getting the ball enough and unhappy our backs aren’t getting in the record books at the same time.
you brought up Chris Perry, he his career ypc was 4.6. He’s what, 5th in all time yards at Michigan? For comparison, of Michigan’s top 3 backs this year, the lowest was Charbonnet at 4.9 ypc. It’s a volume issue. Not a production issue.
January 4th, 2020 at 6:56 PM ^
You could ask this about a lot of offensive positions - QB in particular. Our offense is mediocre at developing players.
January 4th, 2020 at 8:18 PM ^
No, the HC is mediocre at developing players. Maybe time for more satellite camps. Lol. How did those work out? Maybe add a second summer field trip while OSU goes out and recruits the best high school athletes.
January 4th, 2020 at 7:06 PM ^
It's because you and scfanblue masturbate
January 4th, 2020 at 7:10 PM ^
I don’t think that’s it.
I was told growing up in church that every time I masturbate that God kills a puppy. But I don’t remember the priest ever saying anything about it causing the UM rushing attack to suffer as a result.
I mean I guess he could have been wrong. Maybe it does both. In which case, whoops.
January 4th, 2020 at 10:03 PM ^
I could fill a hole the size of downtown Plymouth with dead puppies.
January 4th, 2020 at 7:12 PM ^
Underwhelming offensive lines and average speed. We haven't had a non-Denard burner in forever.
January 4th, 2020 at 7:12 PM ^
Did you watch the bowl game closely? Charbonnet Haskins??? This Blake corum kid coming in looks pretty good too!
I think our running back position is just fine but what happened in history is Mike Hart a few misses in recruiting. Rich rod game and run the spread Brandon minor couldn't stay healthy denard Robinson was our running back essentially and Fitzgerald toussaint was a decent spread option type back. We've had a lot of swings and misses and recruiting change coaches and systems a few times and really haven't been elite since the a train or Chris Perry possibly!? But we've been somewhat productive at running back and now I think we've got some really good ones!
January 4th, 2020 at 7:14 PM ^
This is not directed at the poster or the other participants in this discussion. The internet tough guys on this blog are getting insufferable. Michigan hasn't won much on the field lately, so they pick fights with other Michigan fans. (Assuming of course that they aren't trolls from other fan bases taking advantage of the lack of moderator action.) Geez guys. Try joining a boxing club, or find some other way to work off your aggression.