The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Sports
Thursday, January 31, 2019 — 7

Postition review: running backs

With the Michigan football 

team’s 2018 regular season in 
the books, The Daily looks back 
at the performance of each unit 
this year and peers ahead to the 
future in 2019. In this edition: 
running backs

In the two weeks leading up 

to Michigan’s 41-15 Peach Bowl 
loss against Florida, with Karan 
Higdon having announced he 
would skip the game to focus 
on preparation for the NFL 
Draft, the program kept an air of 
calmness about the running back 
position. The thinking went: 
Freshman 
Christian 
Turner 

would get a chance to showcase 
his 
ability 
and 
placate 
any 

concerns for 2019.

On the Wolverines’ opening 

drive, as Turner took a jet sweep 
for a 41-yard score, that optimism 
seemed proven correct. Then, 
after a review, it turned out 
Turner stepped out of bounds 
right after the line of scrimmage. 
The touchdown was wiped out, 
and with it, any momentum 
Michigan’s running game had.

Turner finished that game 

with 32 yards rushing, nine 
fewer than he appeared to accrue 
on that first play. As a team, the 
Wolverines finished with 77 
yards on the ground, their worst 
mark since the season opener at 
Notre Dame — leaving a slew of 
questions to be answered.

HIGH POINT: 
All 
week, 

Michigan heard nothing but how 
Wisconsin would be a different 
kind of test — one that could 
determine whether five straight 
wins after that loss to the Irish 
was a mirage or the start of 
something real.

By that point, offensive line 

coach Ed Warinner’s grip had 
already taken hold on the run 
game, a move from the power-
heavy game that defined Jim 
Harbaugh’s first three years in 
charge to a zone-blocking game 
in full swing. The early results 

looked good, but the Badgers — 
a team that stifled Harbaugh’s 
run game in Madison the season 
prior — were on a different level.

Not only did the Wolverines 

blow the doors off Wisconsin in 
a 38-13 win that catapulted them 
to sixth in the rankings, but they 
did so behind a revitalized run 
game.

Not only did Higdon notch 

105 yards and a touchdown, 
but junior quarterback Shea 
Patterson came up with 90 and a 
touchdown of his own, including 
an 81-yard run to set up Higdon’s 
score.

The 
zone 
read 
had, 

emphatically, made its way to 
Ann Arbor.

“A lot of people have a lot of 

questions about who we are as 
a team, our offensive line, our 
run game, we don’t show up in 
big games,” Higdon said that 

night. “I think we laid that to rest 
today.”

Higdon went on to say that 

Michigan’s 
offensive 
line, 

heavily criticized after a poor 
performance at Notre Dame 
weeks earlier, was the best 
in the country. As much an 
overstatement as that was, it 
served to highlight a massive 
improvement that took place in a 
short span of time.

This is an article about the 

running back position, but it’s 
hard to run the ball without 
an offensive line and a sound 
philosophy. 
The 
Wolverines 

found both against Wisconsin.

“If 
a 
team 
is 
playing 

undisciplined, we’re going to use 
that to our advantage,” junior 
safety Josh Metellus said after 
the win over the Badgers. “The 
edges were squeezing in too 
hard on the inside zone, so Shea 

felt like he had a chance to pull 
it and he did. They kept being 
undisciplined, so Shea just kept 
taking advantage of that.”

LOW POINT: It would be 

easy to draw back to that night 
in South Bend here when the 
Wolverines ran for 58 yards, 
the offensive line looked like a 
season-killing disaster and there 
was no solution in sight.

But what happened next — a 

run game finding itself, then 
becoming a key cog in a 10-game 
win streak — makes it hard to 
describe the Notre Dame game 
as a low point as opposed to a 
launching pad.

The Peach Bowl, well, that’s 

another story.

Against the Gators, and more 

importantly, without Higdon, the 
Wolverines had no answer in the 
running game. That game served 
as a preview for what the position 

will look like in 2019, and it didn’t 
look pretty.

It turns out that Higdon, a 

leader who rushed for a combined 
2,172 yards in the last two seasons 
— 1,178 of which came in 2018 — 
will be pretty tough to replace.

“We’re going to be a dominant 

force (next season),” Turner said. 
“We’re going to be hard to stop. 
We’re going to be really good. All 
we can do is just improve off of 
what we have so far. I’m not going 
to downplay anybody’s skills 
or downplay anybody’s ability, 
because we have the skills to be 
great. Just need to tune it up and 
keep going.”

Despite an offensive line that 

returns four of five starters 
with the highly-touted Jalen 
Mayfield stepping in at tackle, 
it’s hard to project optimism 
after a performance like the one 
Michigan had in Atlanta.

The same, of course, could 

have been said on Sept. 2 — and 
the Wolverines proved anyone 
who did echo those sentiments 
wrong. Perhaps they’ll do so 
again, but a month after the 
Peach Bowl, it’s hard to say the 
low point has really ended.

THE FUTURE: With Higdon 

gone, the starting job next year is 
up for grabs.

After all the hype leading 

into the Peach Bowl and a 
performance 
that, 
albeit 

disappointing, 
was 
an 
inch 

away from exciting the fanbase, 
Turner will likely come into 
spring ball with a chance to take 
the job. Competition, however, 
will be tight.

Chris Evans will come in as a 

senior, and with some pedigree 
— making him the favorite. It’s 
easy to forget, but before Evans 
missed three games with injury 
this season, he got nearly as many 
carries as Higdon in a win over 
Western Michigan. Even with 
the injury — and over 50 fewer 
carries than he had in 2017 — 
Evans averaged a rock solid 5.2 
yards per carry.

Elsewhere, four-star recruit 

Zach 
Charbonnet 
figures 
to 

get a chance for playing time. 
A product of Oaks Christian 
Schoool and a top-50 overall 
recruit 
whose 
rating 
has 

bordered on five-star territory, 
Charbonnet ran for 4,741 yards in 
four years of high school and his 
tape is as good as the numbers 
suggest.

Tru Wilson, who earned 62 

carries as a walk-on last year, 
will figure into the rotation as 
well. Harbaugh complimented 
Wilson’s ability in pass protection 
multiple 
times 
last 
season, 

and the junior threw multiple 
pancake blocks throughout the 
season. If he keeps that up, it will 
be enough to continue earning 
playing time.

As for the position as a whole, 

the Wolverines come into 2019 
with 
more 
questions 
than 

answers.

ETHAN SEARS

Managing Sports Editor

ALEXIS RANKIN/Daily

Freshman running back Christian Turner figures to take on a bigger role next season, with senior Karan Higdon departing after a strong career with the Wolverines.

‘M’ ready for rematch with 

Two 
years 
ago, 
Nick 

Blankenburg was a forward.

Two weeks ago, the freshman 

was a defensive force on the blue 
line against Ohio State.

But two days from now, 

the freshman will more than 
just go back to his roots — 
during practice on Tuesday, 
Blankenburg 
skated 
with 

Michigan’s top line for the first 
time since converting back to 
being a forward.

“We’re changing things up a 

little bit there,” said Michigan 
coach Mel Pearson. “It’s partially 
because 
we 
handicapped 

(redshirt sophomore forward) 
Luke Morgan a little bit by 
playing him at center. He’s a guy 
who likes to go up and down the 
ice as a wing and get to work.”

Blankenburg’s 
straight-

line speed is somewhat akin 
to Morgan’s, so it makes sense 
that he will be out on the wing 
as opposed to center. In this 
scenario, it seems likely that 
junior forward Jake Slaker will 
play center for the top line, given 
that he played that position 
as 
a 
freshman. 
Michigan’s 

offense has been productive 
enough since the turn of the 
calendar year despite the loss of 
sophomore forward Josh Norris 
for the remainder of the season, 
but it doesn’t hurt to maximize 
speed wherever possible.

Strauss Mann might get 

some more playing time again:

Michigan seemed to settle 

into starting junior goaltender 
Hayden Lavigne after four solid 
performances 
against 
Notre 

Dame, Ohio State and Penn 
State. However, Pearson opted 
to pull Lavigne for Mann against 
the Nittany Lions in New York 
when the former let in five goals 
in less than two periods.

Many of those were almost 

unguardable — the product 
of odd-man rushes following 
Michigan turnovers deep in 
the defensive zone. Regardless, 
leaving Lavigne in and further 
submarining his confidence in 
an already-decided game served 
no good purpose. Enter the 
New York-native Mann, who 
recorded 19 saves and didn’t let 
in a single goal against Penn 
State’s top-ranked offense.

“Whenever you can get into 

games after a while off it feels 
good,” Mann said. “To make 
some saves and play how I did, 
where I did, it’s a good feeling.”

Pearson knows that he has 

two different commodities in 
Lavigne and Mann — Mann 
tends to wander out of the goal 
a little more and take risks on 
shots, while Lavigne prefers to 
sit back in the net and operate 
from there out. And while 
Lavigne 
is 
somewhat 
more 

emotional as a player who rides 
his positive momentum, Mann 
maintains an even keel, whether 

Michigan is up by three goals or 
is getting pummeled, like it did 
at Madison Square Garden. For 
now, the question of who gets 
the start each night seems to be 
opened again, if just for a little 
bit. 

Breaking 
down 
where 

Michigan stands (and wants 
to stand) in the Big Ten:

Michigan sits in fourth place 

in the Big Ten with 21 points, 
but the team is in an unstable, 
if not perilous, spot. While the 
Wolverines are just four points 
behind 
second-place 
Notre 

Dame and can realistically catch 
it with a few wins, Michigan 
is also only one point ahead 
of Wisconsin, Penn State and 
Michigan State for last place in 
the conference.

Why is it especially significant 

that Michigan is in fourth? Seeds 
2-4 in the Big Ten tournament 
host the first round of the Big 
Ten Tournament. With getting 
an at-large bid probably out the 
window barring a miraculous 
winning streak, the Wolverines 
are going to need all the help 
they can get to get back to the 
NCAA 
Tournament 
for 
the 

second consecutive year.

Michigan’s 
next 
two 

opponents — the Spartans and 
the Nittany Lions — present 
good opportunities for the team 
to solidify its standing or even 
move up the ladder. After two 
inconsistent series against both 
teams in December, nothing is a 
given, but a sweep of Michigan 
State likely means one fewer 
team that the Wolverines have 
to worry about losing home-ice 
advantage to in the first round. 
Getting four or five points 
against Penn State would go a 
long way to ensuring home-ice 
for the first round, and maybe 
even the second round, too.

“I think everybody knows 

what’s going on and where we 
are, and we want to win a Big 
Ten championship,” Pearson 
said after Thursday’s 5-1 win 
over Penn State. “We do talk 
about that and it’s within our 
grasp.”

Notebook: Blankenburg to top 
line, Mann flashes at goaltender

On 
Thursday 
night, 
the 

Michigan women’s basketball 
team will get its second shot at 
taking down No. 13 Iowa and 
star forward Megan Gustafson 
at Crisler Center after losing 
75-61 just two weeks ago. This 
time, though, the Wolverines 
may be without senior guard and 
captain Nicole Munger.

Munger 
exited 
Sunday’s 

contest against Michigan State 
in the first quarter with an 
apparent ankle injury and left 
the Wolverines with a gaping 
void to fill.

In addition to being one 

of the team’s vocal leaders, 
Munger holds experience and 
poise that many on the young 
Michigan team lack. And while 
Munger has been far and away 
the Wolverines’ best and most 
efficient deep threat and free 
throw shooter — she is shooting 
34.5 percent from three with 
41 makes and is shooting 94.3 
percent from the free throw 
line, both best on the team — it 
is the intangibles Munger brings 
that proves her true value to 
Michigan coach Kim Barnes 
Arico.

“I mean Nicole (Munger) is not 

only one of our top scorers, but 
she is the glue to our program,” 
Barnes Arico said on Sports Talk 
1050 WTKA. “I mean we go as 
far as she goes. I’ve never seen 
a basketball player go as hard 
day-in and day-out as she does, 
and that’s in every aspect of the 
game. She plays with incredible 
passion on every possession and 
will do whatever our team needs 
to do to be successful.

“So she dives on the floor, she 

takes charges, she gets rebounds, 
she’s in on every single play and 
we need players that are willing 
to sacrifice and step in and do 
that.”

With 
Munger 
out, 
the 

Wolverines will need to look 
to 
players 
like 
sophomore 

guard Deja Church, sophomore 
forward 
Hailey 
Brown 
and 

junior guard Akienreh Johnson 
for outside shooting.

And need them they will if 

Michigan is going to have any 
chance of keeping up with the 
high-scoring Hawkeyes, who 
average just over 80 points per 
game, the 17th-highest mark in 
the nation.

The Wolverines will look to 

slow down the Iowa senior — 
who averages the most points 
per game in the country at 26.4 
— by playing a variety of players 
against her such as Brown, 
freshman forward Naz Hillmon 
and senior center Hallie Thome.

“(Gustafson’s) 
a 
dominant 

force, but we have kids that can 
match up against her,” Barnes 
Arico said. “I think we did a 
good job for a half against her 
last game. Now we have an 
opportunity to play with our 
trio of post players that can go 
out and really match up with 
her. So she’s the key for them, 
but they have tremendous guard 
play as well and their guards do 
a tremendous job of playing off 
of Megan (Gustafson)”

Similar to Michigan, while 

the Hawkeyes have ridden 
Gustafson to a great season thus 
far and a dominant home record, 
one area they have struggled 
in is their road performance. 
Iowa is 4-3 on the road for the 
season and just 2-2 against Big 
Ten teams. The Wolverines, 
meanwhile, are 8-1 at home, 3-1 

against Big Ten teams and ready 
to welcome Iowa to Ann Arbor.

“We got an opportunity to 

get them at home, a place where 
we play well,” Barnes Arico 
said. “An opportunity for Hallie 
(Thome) and Megan Gustafson 
to have another matchup. You 
know they’ve been matched up 
for the last four years. It’s kind 
of been a great battle to watch 
those two go at each other. And 
hopefully we have Nicole back, 
but if not I always listen to coach 
Beilein and next man up and 
who’s going to be able to step up 
and give us an opportunity to be 
successful.”

RIAN RATNAVALE

Daily Sports Writer

BENNETT BRAMSON

Daily Sports Writer

KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily

Freshman Nick Blankenburg has been moved to forward from defenseman.

MILES MACKLIN/Daily

Kim Barnes Arico has faith in her team’s ability to defend Megan Gustafson.

