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Name: Hassan Haskins
Height: 6'1"
Weight: 220 lbs.
High school: St. Louis (MO) Eureka
Position: Running back
Class: Redshirt junior
Jersey number: #25
Last year: I ranked Haskins #40 and said he would be a backup running back (LINK). He led the team with 61 carries for 375 yards (6.1 yards/carry) and 6 touchdowns; he also caught 0 passes for 0 yards.
TTB Rating: 74
I have to admit to being a Hassan Haskins doubter. Not that I ever thought he would be an abject failure (I gave a TTB Rating of 74), but I thought he would get stuck behind Zach Charbonnet. Or Chris Evans. But like a horror movie villain, you try to run away, you stumble, you look up, and he's always there. Looming. Lurking.
Charbonnet (since transferred to UCLA) was the first victim, and Evans (held to just 25 touches in 2020) was the second. Haskins broke a ton of tackles, ran the Wildcat, and seemed to cement his place as the #1 running back on the team. He made some long runs (66 yards vs. Minnesota, 59 vs. Penn State) and squeaked out yardage when it seemed like there was nowhere to go. As a somewhat taller back, he has shown a surprising ability to sink his hips and make people miss.
Now Haskins appears to be the top guy with Blake Corum as his tag team buddy. Michigan has always rotated backs heavily during the Jim Harbaugh era, and not just when Jay Harbaugh was the running backs coach from 2017-2020. Tyrone Wheatley also rotated through guys in 2015-2016, with five players having 30+ carries in 2015 and four guys notching 70+ carries in 2016. The rotation won't be quite as liberal in 2021 since Michigan has just four scholarship running backs on the roster, but both Haskins and Corum should get a fair number of opportunities. I don't think Haskins will have an explosive year on the ground, but if Michigan's line can gel this season, I think he could approach 900 yards.
Prediction: Starting running back; 900 yards, 9 touchdowns
Not elite, but effective. Dude grinds, and gets things done when others don't
ReplyDeleteCould save us from an embarrassing loss
Cade did that.
DeleteI would never rank a RB this high but, IMO, Haskins goes in 2021 as the most important RB on a roster in a long time. Haskins has been a very good player, surprising most everyone.
ReplyDeleteFor 2021, we'll see what opportunities the OL and the offense as a whole can generate for Haskins and Corum.
Agree. Not #1, but we will have games where Haskins is our only viable option. He's definitely high up there
DeleteI still wouldn't put him in the top 10, but Michigan seems like a team that will be dependent on the run game to protect their defense and QBs. Corum and Haskins are going to have to MAKE PLAYS but also be consistent yard-producers if this team is going to be successful enough to win 7-9 games (assuming an inconsistent defense).
DeleteI guess Michigan still does the ground and pound. I thought college football had moved to air raid.
ReplyDelete