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HIGH SCHOOL
Haskins was a 2-star running back to Rivals and the #1013 overall player to 247 Sports when he committed to Michigan out of Eureka (MO) Eureka in the class of 2018. I gave him a TTB Rating of 78 (LINK) and he ended up as a 247 Composite 3-star, the #49 running back, and #975 overall. A quote from my commitment post:
I’ll probably take some flak for this because people don’t understand how words work, but from a running style standpoint, Haskins reminds me a lot of Adrian Peterson. He’s not as big or as strong or as fast, but he runs with the same style and idea of physicality. He’s not a blazing runner or amazingly elusive, but he has good vision and power.
Hit the jump for more.
COLLEGE
Haskins played in just three games as a freshman in 2018, all on special teams; during that time he mostly played linebacker in practice because the running back room seemed deep enough. However, by 2019 he had switched back to running back and became a starter by the end of the season, passing up 5-star freshman Zach Charbonnet (who has since transferred to UCLA); Haskins finished that season #2 on the team with 121 carries for 622 yards, scoring 4 touchdowns (#3 on the team). He started just two of Michigan's six games in the shortened 2020 season, finishing with a team-high 61 carries for 375 yards and 6 touchdowns. Haskins became the unquestioned bell cow in 2021, rushing 270 times for 1,327 yards and 20 touchdowns. After all was said and done, he finished #2 in the Big Ten in yardage and #1 in touchdowns during his final season.
CAREER STATS
452 carries for 2,370 yards (5.1 yards/carry) and 30 touchdowns
24 receptions for 171 yards (7.1 yards/catch)
0/1 passing
6 tackles, 1 tackle for loss
AWARDS
All-American (AFCA 2nd team, AP 3rd team) in 2021
1st Team All-Big Ten in 2021
Honorable Mention All-Big Ten in 2019
SUMMARY
Haskins was obviously underrated coming out of high school, but not only did he outplay his ranking - he turned into one of the top few running backs of the last 30 or so years at Michigan. He's #18 in career rushing yards and #24 in career rushing attempts at Michigan, but he's tied for #8 in touchdowns. Altogether, he had just -26 negative rushing yards for his career, which is a ridiculous number. For a comparison, here are the numbers by year for Michigan's all-time leading rusher Mike Hart, a highly dependable running back who broke a ton of tackles: -32, -20, -39, and -58 yards. That's an average of -37.25 yards per season, and Haskins had just -26 for his career. Haskins doesn't have great speed, but he was so consistent and tough at 6'1", 220 lbs. that every time he got the ball, you just expected him to gain 4 or 5 yards. The only time that changed was on short yardage, when you knew that whatever he gained would be about 6 inches beyond wherever the sticks were. He had an uncanny ability to twist and contort and duck his body just enough to get the first down.
I WILL REMEMBER HIM FOR . . .
. . . his all-time performance against Ohio State in 2021. Michigan hadn't beaten the Buckeyes in a decade, but the Wolverines played bully ball all game and finished with a 42-27 victory. They gave Haskins 28 carries for 169 yards and 5 touchdowns. Only two players have scored 5 touchdowns in a game in Michigan history: Haskins against a highly ranked rival Ohio State, and Ron Johnson in 1968 against a lowly Wisconsin team that went 0-10. That's not to put down Johnson, but it highlights the idea that Haskins's performance was arguably the best - or at least one of the best - rushing performances in school history.
PROJECTION
Despite being such a standout runner at Michigan, things get tougher at the next level. The defenders get tougher, and they get faster, too. Haskins's speed is not a plus, and he chose not to run the 40 at the Combine or his pro day, which indicates to me that he was not expecting the 40 time to help him in the draft. If I had to guess, I would peg him as a guy who would run in the low 4.6 range, which isn't the slowest (De'Veon Smith ran a 4.85 at Michigan's pro day, the slowest time I remember for a running back) but doesn't help a running back's case, either. A team is unlikely to draft him with the goal of making him an RB1; but he is a good short yardage back who I think can be a #2 or #3 guy. He's a solid pass protector and a guy who is willing and able to play special teams. I think he's probably a 4th or 5th round pick for a team with a small-ish lead back, such as the Saints (Alvin Kamara) or the Vikings (Dalvin Cook).
I hope he and Brad Hawkins both go in the 4th.
ReplyDeleteI think Hassan Haskins will surprise in the pros the same as in college.
I thought that both Barrett and Turner were better RB prospects than Haskins.
ReplyDeleteI thought that Haskins ran goofy and was slow.
While he's not fast, he's remarkably shifty in small spaces and you can never really get him lined up very well. sort of like Mike Hart himself, only bigger.
He's also way patient which is an underrated feature in a RB. You never see him drive into a disaster.
I think he'll do well on Sunday. Hoping I'm not wrong twice.
I'm no expert, but from what I've read/absorbed over the years, the "ideal" RB would possess:
Delete(a) Elite speed;
(b) Strength to break tackles;
(c) Superior balance;
(d) Patience to properly follow blockers; and
(e) Ability to sense and see where opens are or will be.
Haskins did not have (a), but he seemed to have (b), (c) and (d) good enough to do what he did. I don't know that he had (e) to a superior degree.
One of my favorite Michigan RBs of all time. I'll remember him most for two things:
ReplyDelete1. Being another slow and productive back. I lump him with Mike Hart and Deveon Smith - guys who were highly productive despite the fact that a LB could catch them from behind. This tends to suppress stats like yards per carry, but toughness and reliability are invaluable. Also very fun to watch. These weren't the highest rated players out of high school, and they don't necessarily have a ton of 60 yard runs on the highlight tape, but they beat out a whole lot of faster and higher regraded RBs through strength and will. Love to see it.
2. Being tall. I voiced my skepticism about tall RBs because the game has evolved but Haskins (along with Charbonnet) proved my doubts wrong. They were tough to bring down despite being bigger targets, durable, and reliable in all elements.
I'll be wishing him well in the NFL but not sure how much impact he'll have. I would have been happy to see him come back for his 5th year but can certainly understand the decision from a financial perspective. Haskins could have maybe bumped up his draft stock by improving speed and demonstrating more pass-catching abilities but he'll benefit more from going to the NFL. Assuming he is drafted, he made the right call. It's great to go out on a year like 2021.