Michigan football production to return in 2024

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There are 56 days left until the defending national champion is announced Michigan Wolverines The football team takes the field in the opening game on August 31 against Fresno StateEach day until then, we’ll be looking at current Michigan events, the upcoming season, and/or analyzing a significant number that correlates to the number of days until kickoff, whether it’s a player’s jersey number, a year, a date, a score, etc.

Michigan rushed 563 times last season, racking up 2,536 yards and 40 touchdowns.

However, most of the production has gone, with the corridor Blake Corum on the way to the NFL Draft, being selected in the third round and landing with the Los Angeles Rams.

In 2023, Corum rushed 258 times for 1,245 yards and 27 touchdowns. That means he was responsible for 45.8 percent of the team’s rushing yards, 49 percent of the rushing yards and 67.5 percent of the rushing touchdowns. Over the past two seasons, he accounted for 43.4 percent of the rushing attempts, 46 percent of the rushing yards and 55.6 percent of the rushing touchdowns.

There’s a lot to replace, but Michigan has returning running backs who have proven capable in different roles over the years. Donovan Edwards and graduate Kalel’s reflections They are expected to lead the charge.

Edwards became Michigan’s leading rusher for three games in 2022 and fared well, especially against Ohio State (216 yards and 2 touchdowns on 22 carries) and Purdue (185 yards and 1 touchdown on 25 carries). He also had a 50-yard rushing run on the first play from scrimmage and totaled 119 rushing yards in a loss to TCU in the College Football Playoff.

Edwards has 1,662 yards and 15 touchdowns on the ground over his three-year career, far more production than many returning backs across the country. He had 991 yards and 7 touchdowns in 2022, averaging 7.1 yards per attempt, before adding 497 yards and 5 scores in 2023 (4.2 yards per carry).

In the meantime, Mullings will provide support and could even take over the starting running back job if he proves more productive. He has been efficient in a small sample size, rushing 50 times over the past two seasons after switching from linebacker and compiling 253 yards and 4 touchdowns.

It’s also unknown how good the Edwards-Mullings duo will be or how the dynamic will play out. There have been plenty of times over the years where fans expected a rotation to go a certain way and it ended up going another way, with injuries obviously being a potential factor.

Even though Michigan lost Corum, it could very well be a high-level rushing team this season. Edwards has gained weight in the preseason, worked through some of the struggles he had last season and is more of a leader (one of the team’s best). Mullings, meanwhile, has a lot more to show, even with his speed, teammates and coaches have said. Junior quarterback Alex OrjiHe’s also a dynamic runner and is in the mix for the starting job. There’s a good chance he can be a major factor in the ground game.

Michigan will add five new starters on the offensive line, which creates some uncertainty, but it has been strong up front in recent seasons and there is confidence the group can pave the way for Edwards, Mullings and the rest of the ball carriers.

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