Michigan's football team establishes its running game and the search for a center continues

Those who have seen it most have been making the comparison for some time, but now it is on tape for all to see.

Kalel Mullings, the Michigan football team's breakthrough senior running back (6'2″, 235 pounds), certainly runs a lot, as does Hassan Haskins (6'2″, 235 pounds), who set a then-program record with 1,327 rushing yards and 20 touchdowns as a senior in 2021 when he was unanimously selected to the All-Big Ten first team.

That's certainly high praise, especially considering Haskins was considered the gold standard of new-era running backs at UM until Blake Corum took that title in 2022 and 2023.

“That's the guy we compared him to last year. I always said, 'That guy is Hassan,'” head coach Sherrone Moore said Monday. “He runs so hard. He runs physical. But when you have Blake (Corum), you don't take Blake out. But the calls he got, he took advantage.”

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He took even more of his opportunity Saturday as the Wolverines pulled out a 28-18 win over Arkansas State, thanks in large part to his career day. The converted linebacker ran 15 times for a career-high 153 yards (10.2 yards per run) and two touchdowns. Pro Football Focus rated him (87.3) as the Wolverines' best player on both sides of the ball.

The numbers up front were even better. Mullings, who had never rushed for 25 yards in his career, had three runs of 30 yards or more, the first of which came after he fought through a tackle and rushed the ball home for the game's first score.

“A tireless worker,” his position coach Tony Alford said of Mullings on the radio show “Inside Michigan Football.” “He really wants to be a good player and he works at it. He takes coaching and he's big. He's a big running back and he can run, man. He runs really hard and he runs behind his pads and he makes things happen.”

“What I love about him is that he pushes the ball vertically. There's not a lot of running from east to west.”

Running up and down the field in a north-south pattern is exactly what the Wolverines' staff was looking for when it said last week it wanted to re-emphasize rushing the football, and Mullings provided the desired balance of consistency and home run plays.

Nearly half of the senior's runs moved the chains (7 of 15) against the Red Wolves, while he gained 133 of his total yards after first contact. The other core running back, Donovan Edwards, also had a better game against Arkansas State, which was encouraging as he scored on the ground for the first time this year, setting a season-high with 82 rushing yards.

But he still lacked momentum, as he only managed 10 yards or more (12 yards) once this year. In three weeks, Mullings ran 36 times for 270 yards (7.5 yards per run), while Edwards ran 36 times for 150 yards (4.2).

“He runs hard, he runs physical, he outruns opponents, he outruns opponents, he runs with speed,” Moore said of Mullings. “I'm blessed and happy that he's doing a great job and doing what we've expected of him.”

Center competition

As Moore announced on Monday, the Wolverines have made a move at the quarterback position, choosing junior Alex Orji to replace senior Davis Warren, who earned the job after a long battle in the offseason but was unable to hold onto it after losing the ball six times in three weeks, including three interceptions in Week 3 against Arkansas State.

That's not the only position potentially changing hands. After offensive lineman Dom Giudice dominated the majority of snaps at center over the first two weeks, Greg Crippen was inserted into the rotation in Week 3 and split time.

“Dom actually did a little better than Crip, but Crip made some great plays on that communication thing,” Moore said. “So we're definitely going to have to push the envelope to see how we can make the most of it.”

Giudice and Crippen each played 34 snaps, and during that time, Pro Football Focus mirrored what Moore saw, as Giudice (63.4) finished just ahead of Crippen (62.8) in offensive rating. Giudice seemed to shine in pass blocking (81.4), his third straight game over 80, but he struggled in the run game (59.4), his third straight game under 60 in that regard.

Crippen's numbers were similar, just not quite as high in passing (78.5) and not quite as low in running (60.2). While the spot certainly isn't where it was the last two years with Olusegun Oluwatimi (2022, Outland and Rimington winner) or Drake Nugent (2023, All-Big Ten) holding down the fort, both players are getting into their stride and the line is starting to show some signs of growth.

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“I felt like they played a lot more physical,” Moore said. “They ran out of the box. When you run for 301 yards, that's a really good day on the ground. So I felt like we made progress there, so we're going to keep pushing these guys and pushing everybody at every position to make sure they're playing their best.”

There is also a battle brewing at the right tackle position. Evan Link was not as solid as the staff had hoped after winning the position, while Andrew Gentry was used as the sixth offensive lineman for 14 games and ended up being the second-best lineman (69.9) behind Gio El-Hadi.

“Not bad,” Moore said of Gentry's performance. “He still has some work to do, he still has some work to do, but he played well in his role as an extra lineman and gave us some power and punch that we needed.”

Next: Trojans

Comparison: No. 17 Michigan (2-1, 0-0 Big Ten) vs. No. 12 USC (2-0, 0-0), Big Ten opener.

Start: 3:30 p.m., Saturday; Michigan Stadium, Ann Arbor.

Television/Radio: CBS; WXYT-FM (97.1).

Line: Trojan with 5½.

Michigan's football team establishes its running game and the search for a center continues

ByVanessa

Center competition

Next: Trojans

By Vanessa

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