Previously: QUARTERBACK
On Saturday I covered the quarterback position, so here's a look at the running back spot.
2023 NEEDS: 2
2023 COMMITMENTS: Dexter (MI) Dexter RB Cole Cabana, Kennesaw (GA) North Cobb RB Benjamin Hall
2023 OFFERS
- Jaden Booker - Naples (FL) Palmetto Ridge: Undecided
- Dalton Brooks - Shiner (TX) Shiner: Texas A&M
- Jeremiah Cobb - Montgomery (AL) Catholic: Auburn
- Mark Fletcher - Fort Lauderdale (FL) American Heritage: Miami
- Justice Haynes - Buford (GA) Buford: Alabama
- Sedrick Irvin, Jr. - Miami (FL) Columbus: Stanford
- Kaleb Jackson - Baton Rouge (LA) Liberty: LSU
- Christopher Johnson - Fort Lauderdale (FL) Dillard: Miami
- Jaquez Keys - Ironton (OH) Ironton: Wake Forest
- Jayden Limar - Lake Stevens (WA) Lake Stevens: Oregon
- London Montgomery - Scranton (PA) Prep: Penn State
- Samuel Singleton, Jr. - Orange Park (FL) Fleming Island: Florida State
- Daylan Smothers - Charlotte (NC) West: Oklahoma
- Dijon Stanley - Granada Hills (CA) Granada Hills: Utah
- Darius Taylor - Walled Lake (MI) Western: Minnesota
- Treyaun Webb - Jacksonville (FL) Trinity: Florida
- Richard Young - Lehigh Acres (FL) Lehigh: Alabama
GRADE: B+
REASON FOR THE GRADE: Michigan needed at least one running back in the class of 2023 to bump up its scholarship backs from four to five. As we saw this past season, four scholarship running backs leaves Michigan precariously thin at the position. When Blake Corum hurt his knee and backup Donovan Edwards hurt his hand, Michigan was stuck with redshirt freshman Tavierre Dunlap, true freshman C.J. Stokes, position switchers, and walk-ons. That led to an array of plays in which more talented backs would have made Michigan's season a little easier, such as walk-on Isaiah Gash's dropped pass against Illinois and converted linebacker Kalel Mullings's fumble against TCU. Michigan should have at least five scholarship backs on its roster at all times.
So Michigan needed at least one, and then a lot of people expected Blake Corum to leave for the NFL after a highly productive season, bumping up the need to two. Indeed, Michigan landed speedster Cole Cabana (4-star, #10 RB, #161 overall), who might be more of a scat back who can split out wide. And they also took a fairly early commitment from Benjamin Hall (3-star, #55 RB, #781 overall). Hall is the bigger question mark of the two, not only because of his lower ranking, but also because he didn't start for most of his senior season. Hall is a bigger back (5'10", 225 lbs.) and lacks great speed. One might expect to see him be a bruising downhill runner, but he bounces a lot of his runs outside and tries to reverse field, which he will not have the speed to do in college.
Michigan tried to get in late on in-state Minnesota commit Darius Taylor, but it was too late to get much movement there. So obviously the coaching staff wanted a third back - or perhaps to replace Hall in the class - but that didn't happen. That not only solidifies my confidence that Michigan wanted at least two backs, but it makes me question how much confidence they have in the guys they brought in.
Right now the Wolverines are in a good position with Corum, Edwards, Dunlap, and Stokes all returning (for now), plus Cabana and Hall entering the program. Even if someone like Dunlap or Stokes transfers following the spring, Michigan would still have five scholarship guys on the roster.
Cabana does not appear to be an every down Back, but would probably be frustrating to deal with at a place like Maryland
ReplyDeleteI still don't get the Hall take
C. And, we'll need to replace two studs after 2023
Sounds like the tide has really turned with how you see Edwards LOL
DeleteNot really. Edwards now breaks arm tackles, but he was always a HR hitting RB
DeleteFrom quasi receiver who trips over grass to stud RB is a big move.
Delete"trips over grass" is coach lingo for needing to work on balance. I made that clear way back then, while praising his white elite talent & insisting he had to be used in accordance with his talent
DeleteWell thunder said he wasn't a good RB and you both argued along similar lines that Edwards wasn't very good option as primary back and then he gets that job suddenly and he is. That's a lot of "development" of balance in less than a year.
DeleteI think the grade is solid and agree that the coaches wanted two backs. Sounds like they might have pushed Hall out if they were landed a better option but who knows. Cabana is a nice get and "might be more of a scat back who can split out wide." -- sounds like a future starting RB to me, given past outcomes LOL
ReplyDeleteI don't really agree that that we need 5 backs at all but I think it's fine if NIL can add to the roster without hitting scholarships. One thing to note is that the coaches didn't know they were going to get Corum back when Hall and Cabana signed on.
Every position is in trouble if they lose the top 2 players on the depth chart. I would not call this a precarious situation anymore than when OSU had to rely on their 3rd string QB to win a game at Michigan.
I think the main issue is that Dunlap and Stokes look like recruiting misses and they lost the kid they tried to get from ASU (who ended up playing RB for OSU).
Hopefully Hart shows some ability to develop because so far the 2 guys who looked like 5-stars coming out of high school have played like and the two guys who were 3-star sleepers have played like it.
"I don't really agree that that we need 5 backs at all but I think it's fine if NIL can add to the roster without hitting scholarships." This can now be said about virtually any position if you're on the side of "Scholarships don't matter anymore," which is something Seth insinuated over at MGoBlog.
DeleteSo if you believe that, then it shouldn't matter if there are 5 scholarship running backs, because that extra offensive lineman or defensive end or cornerback can also be kept around or brought in by NIL deals.
I don't agree that C.J. Stokes looks like a recruiting miss. Karan Higdon had 11 carries for 19 yards as a freshman. Blake Corum had 26 carries for 77 yards.
Stokes had 55 carries for 273 yards, and he had zero negative yardage runs all season (though he did have one fumble) behind a Joe Moore Award-winning offensive line.
Donovan Edwards had 35 carries for 174 yards as a freshman behind a Joe Moore Award-winning offensive line.
You're right about scholarships. I'm not sure I buy this argument yet tho.
DeleteMgoblog always thinks Michigan football has unlimited resources but evidence says otherwise. We'll have to see if the fully funded guys in the roster gets above 85
Well see on stokes. Higdon is an outlier. Corum passed future NFL guys as a freshman. Most guys have it or they don't and Mullings getting called in is a big sign. But maybe hart just overreacted to the fumble. We'll see.
DeleteI do have some hope left for Stokes. I was pretty optimistic coming into the year so maybe more disappointed in him than I should be. The eye test says he could be a solid back.
DeleteI hope Higdon is a good example. Michigan was giving the ball to guys like Houma at the end of 2015 so maybe there's a parallel there to Mullings getting the ball in 2022. Maybe he just needs development time... but lets also remember Higdon was a guy the NFL said No Thanks to.
I would draw a sharp contrast with guys like Corum, Edwards, Charbonnet, Evans, and D. Smith. Most of our starters, and all of the guys who are NFL players, show up on the depth chart by the end of their freshman year in some form*, passing ahead of more veteran guys. Stokes didn't really do that
*Haskins didn't - because he was playing LB.
**Toussaint didn't do much in total but emerged as the 3rd RB by the end of the year, ahead of a future NFL draft pick (Cox).
Usually the depth chart in November tells you something about freshman RBs and the way that Michigan chose to use Mullings and Gash to close the year over Stokes is a bit of a red flag IMO.
Stokes also could have been dealing with issues related to health or off field so caveats apply.
If Mgoblog is right (scholarships are unconstrained) there's no such thing as a bad recruit. Spots are infinite. But in reality there's only so many practice reps.
DeleteIt does make it more worthwhile to take fliers on guys like Hall or Dunlap or Drake Johnson who might be something at some point but also very well may not. In the case of QB - boom/bust types like Orji or Bell who might not necessarily have the arm or accuracy to be a ready-made starter out of high school. What the portal does is kind of reset the concern about a prospect's floor. You don't need guys to just fill out the roster if you think all they'll ever be is a backup type. If the Portal can deliver not just starters but also guys like Tuttle and Goode then you can take more risks on 3 stars who might be duds but maybe have physical gifts that can eventually translate into results (like some of the big corner recruits in years past).
Does the B+ grade take into account bringing back Corum? If it does, then the grade should be A+. If not, the the grade should be C+ at best. We need a primary back to replace Edwards/Corum. Cole Cabana is a speedster but I have not seen a speedster RB playing a large role in Jim Harbaugh's offense. Benjamin Hall: well the reviews on him has not been great. I am not as enthusiastic about this RB class.
ReplyDeleteCorum and Edwards were speedsters. Supposedly undersized to be primary backs.
Delete