Michigan Football Roundtable: Who Will Lead U-M In Rushing Yards?

Last year as a junior, Karan Higdon carried the ball 164 times for 994 yards and 11 touchdowns. His backfield mate, then-sophomore Chris Evans, toted it 135 times for 685 yards and six scores of his own. Both of them return in 2018 and should be one of the better running back duos in the Big Ten and possibly in the country.

As a freshman, Evans looked like he was going to be the next big thing at running back at Michigan but he leveled off a bit as a sophomore. Higdon really came on last year and cemented himself into the No. 1 role down the stretch. Now, with the slates wiped clean heading into 2018, who will be the guy for Michigan in the backfield? Both backs have been praised all offseason and will get the ball a lot, but who will actually lead the team in rushing?

Chris Balas: It's going to be senior Karan Higdon, and he's going to rush for 1,200-plus yards ... even with a nice complement in junior Chris Evans. Higdon't 994 yards last year came in the absence of a passing game and behind a line that was adequate, but not outstanding as a run blocking unit. Higdon is 14 pounds heavier but insisted at Big Ten Media Day in July that he hadn't lost a step off his 4.46 speed.

Quarterback Shea Patterson's addition and some tweaks to the offense (including some run/pass option) should create opportunity. Evans suffered last year from a number of offensive line breakdowns that led to tackles for loss ... those won't be nearly as prevalent this year, and we expect this to be the strongest running game the Wolverines have had under Jim Harbaugh.

Austin Fox: Senior Karan Higdon will lead the team in rushing come year’s end, but it wouldn’t be a complete shock if junior Chris Evans stole that title from him.

Higdon was able to run for 994 yards behind an offensive line and passing game that were both well below Michigan standards last year, so imagine what he’ll be able to do now that U-M is expected to be heavily improved in both areas.

Anywhere from 1,000-1,500 yards should be a realistic goal for Higdon, and it would be surprising if he didn’t get there. Evans could approach 1,000 yards as well, but we’ll project him more in the 800-900 range.

A third running back could potentially steal a few carries away from the two veterans, but it seems unlikely that one will emerge at this point.

New offensive line coach Ed Warinner has “simplified” the blocking schemes, offensive plan, etc., according to the players, and the running backs could be the ones who benefit the most from it.

Brandon Brown: It's going to be very interesting to see how things shake out this fall. I've always personally thought that Evans was a touch more talented than Higdon but just ran into a lot of bad luck plays last year. Even head coach Jim Harbaugh mentioned that Evans' lack of production at times was beyond his control. Still, the way Higdon closed out the season last year leads me to believe that he'll get more carries than Evans and will probably lead the way rushing.

There are a lot of moving parts within Michigan's offense this fall and there's some level of mystery in each position group. Shea Patterson is as talented as any quarterback in the country but how will he adapt if he wins the job? Can the young, but extremely talented wide receivers can get open more often that last year? Can Ed Warinner really simplify things for the offensive linemen and take that group to another level? All of that will benefit the running backs greatly and could make both Higdon and Evans more productive than last year.

I predict that Higdon will carry it around 200 times and should eclipse 1,000 yards this fall. He should also find the end zone at least 11 times since he was able to last year. Evans will probably see a slight uptick in his carries as well and could pound out more than 800 yards on the ground.

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