12
Thursday, August 1, 2019
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
SPORTS
Though inexperienced, RB squad showing that it runs deep
For the first time in his tenure
as head coach of the Michigan
football team, Jim Harbaugh
has
stability
and
depth
at
the
quarterback
and
wide
receiver positions. With senior
Shea Patterson and redshirt
sophomore
Dylan
McCaffrey
vying to man the offense and the
experienced trio of junior wide
receivers Tarik Black, Donovan
Peoples-Jones and Nico Collins
finally healthy, the Wolverines
possess one of the best passing
attacks in the Big Ten.
But one of the first questions
that Harbaugh fielded at the
Big Ten Football Media Day on
July 19 was about the battle at
running back. Last year, then-
senior Karan Higdon and then-
junior Chris Evans dominated
snaps as expected. And though
Higdon
graduated,
Michigan
was supposed to have at least
one veteran running back with
plenty of snaps under his belt in
Evans.
Until he was suspended for the
season.
As a result, the Wolverines
are left with a wide-open battle
for one of its most important
positions. Running an offense
that relies heavily on run-pass
options,
Michigan
coaches
understand that without a viable
threat on the ground, the passing
game won’t find the success its
projected to achieve.
But
Harbaugh
expressed
optimism talking about his three
major candidates, starting with
sophomore
Christian
Turner
— he appeared in three games
last season but struggled to stay
healthy until this summer.
“Everything is stay healthy
(with Turner),” Harbaugh said.
“You know he’s had some bad
luck, he’s had some real bad luck
with the broken bone in his hand,
and then an ankle injury and
then a hamstring in the spring.
“But at each juncture, it’s
always been, ‘We’re about to
play Christian. Christian’s about
to go in. He’s looked great in
practice. Here we go,’ and then
either bad luck or bad timing. But
he’s looking good right now.”
Harbaugh was also effusive
for freshman Zach Charbonnet.
Though
he
missed
spring
workouts, he’s impressed his
teammates and coaches with
his acclimation to college-level
training.
“He’s been termed a lot like
Ben Mason,” Harbaugh said.
“Strength coaches are saying
that he’s a stalker, that he stalks
them. He’s in the weight room all
the time, living in there. Khaleke
Hudson mentioned to me that
of all the guys he’s been most
impressed with, it’s been Zach
Charbonnet.”
However, the most experienced
player that is going to receive
a bulk of the snaps alongside
Turner
and
Charbonnet
is
senior Tru Wilson. He made an
appearance in every game last
season, turning 62 attempts into
364 yards for a whopping 5.9
yards per carry. Wilson’s biggest
contributions came down the
stretch when Higdon needed a
breather and Evans struggled,
eventually receiving equivalent
playing time to the latter.
And though Harbaugh doesn’t
plan on it, if worse comes to
worst, he’ll be prepared.
“I’ve also talked about maybe
Khaleke Hudson who was a high
school running back,” Harbaugh
said as the media laughed.
“I don’t think it’ll get to that
because I think we’re in pretty
good shape at the running back
position but always a possibility.”
AKUL VIJAYVARGIYA
Summer Managing Sports Editor
After battling injuries, a healthy Johnson emerging as a team leader
Despite not beginning its regular
season until November, the Michigan
women’s basketball team has been
hard at work in Ann Arbor.
The team is working tirelessly
to continue to mesh as a unit and is
looking to break through to the Sweet
Sixteen after ending its season in the
Round of 32 in back-to-back NCAA
Tournaments.
A major change this season will
be the losses of center Hallie Thome
and guard Nicole Munger — both of
whom graduated. The two served
as integral figures over the past four
years, and were the heart and soul of
the team last season as senior leaders.
This season, senior guard Akienreh
Johnson, who figures to slot in as
the team’s starting shooting guard, is
more than ready to step up and lead a
new group of Wolverines.
“(Nicole) Munger really helped
me a lot because she knew I was
eventually gonna be a leader,”
Johnson said. “So, I kinda went
under her wing. I asked her a lot of
questions.”
Along with senior forward Kayla
Robbins, Johnson will be one of just
two seniors on this year’s roster.
Despite suffering two ACL tears
in three years as well as sustaining
a hand injury in 2018, Johnson
continued to remain a vocal figure in
the locker room. In 2019, Johnson was
a major impact player for Michigan,
entering the starting lineup and
playing at both guard spots to key a
February run that saw the Wolverines
go 7-1 — eventually propelling them
to an NCAA Tournament berth.
“I think being a leader comes from
respect,” Johnson said. “And I think
our team really respects me a lot just
from where I’ve come from, injuries
I’ve had, adversity that I’ve (fought)
through, so I think most of it is the
respect aspect from the team.”
Unlike last season, Johnson will
slot into Michigan coach Kim Barnes
Arico’s starting five right off the bat.
With her new role as one of the team’s
primary options, Johnson hopes to
be a contributor on both ends of the
floor.
“I want to be the primary scorer,
primary
defender,
and
primary
rebounder,” Johnson said. “I want to
make sure that Coach Arico can trust
me in the game at any point.”
As Johnson continues to refine
her game in Ann Arbor, she has also
had an opportunity to work with
and mentor the incoming freshman
class,
which
includes
guards
Maddie Nolan and Michelle Sidor
and center Izabel Varejão.
“Everything we do we always
make sure that they have confidence,”
Johnson said. “Freshman year is
tough, basketball on and off the court
is tough, so we make sure that we’re
always there, make sure they always
have someone to talk to.”
Johnson said that the team’s
summer workouts have gone well so
far, even reporting that their strength
and conditioning coach had to adjust
the sprint routines because their
sprint times were too fast. Sophomore
point guard Amy Dilk says that the
competition aspect of the summer
has brought out the best in the team.
“We’re pushing each other,” Dilk
said, “but we’re also having fun with
it.”
Johnson speaks very highly of
Michigan’s roster for the upcoming
season, noting that the team has very
few holes in its roster.
“There’s not a weak link on our
team,” Johnson said. “Everyone is
kind of the same. Almost the same
size, same build, same intensity, same
speed, so it’s not really like a weak
link.”
With Johnson entering the season
healthy after a summer of training,
the team is hoping that it can finally
get over the hump and make a deep
tournament run.
TEDDY GUTKIN
Daily Sports Writer
ALEXANDRIA POMPEI/Daily
Senior guard Akienreh Johnson is entering her senior season healthy.
FILE PHOTO/Daily
Senior running back Tru Wilson is the Wolverines’ most experienced running back.