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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.

