Michigan football didn’t get a 1,000-yard rusher last season, even with a run game that looked dominant at times. Jordan Marshall came the closest, finishing 68 yards shy after a year in which he piled up 932 yards.
There’s a clear case that he would have crossed that line if not for the Ohio State game. Marshall was 100 percent healthy enough to handle seven carries for 63 yards before he had to leave, and those extra yards would have pushed the Ohio native over 1,000.
Now the junior enters the season as the lead back, and the setup around him looks even better. Michigan also won’t have Justice Haynes, another back who likely would have reached 1,000 yards last season if not for a season-ending injury.
Haynes is at Georgia Tech now. Instead, Marshall will share the backfield with Savion Hiter, whom CBS Sports named the Preseason Freshman of the Year in College Football.
That pairing makes plenty of sense on paper. Michigan has an elite running back room, an offensive line that’s getting more experienced and more confident, and a head coach who wants to pound the rock. It all fits.
Marshall, though, is the one who could make the whole thing go. He was recently elected a team captain and was especially dangerous in Big Ten play, where 823 of his 932 rushing yards came. His breakout game came against Nebraska, and he also ripped off four straight 100-yard performances at one point.
He carried Michigan past Purdue almost by himself, and he did it while averaging 6.9 yards per carry. For much of that stretch, he was not fully healthy, and he still didn’t have anyone else sharing the workload.
That changes now. Hiter is expected to be involved in plenty of ways, including work from the slot, and Michigan will look for ways to get him the ball 10-15 times per game. The challenge for the Wolverines is managing both backs well enough that they’re still available in November, because having the best tandem in the Big Ten won’t mean much if either one is worn down or unavailable.
Even with that split, Marshall looks set to clear 1,000 yards and then some. With a stronger line in front of him and 12 games on the schedule, 1,200 yards feels well within reach.
If anyone on this roster can force his way into the Heisman conversation, Marshall is the name to watch. That kind of buzz would probably require something closer to 1,500 yards, but the path is obvious: if the carries come, the production should follow.
At this point, 1,000 yards feels like a pretty modest target.
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Michigans Backup QB Battle Could Matter More Than Fans Realize
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The competition is still ongoing as Michigan moves toward its season opener, and the staffs choice may say plenty about how it wants to protect itself if the unexpected happens. It is a familiar spring-to-fall storyline, but for a team built around a young starter, getting the No. 2 spot right can matter just as much as the headline name at the top. [Read more 🡒]