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Before the 2018 season began, TheWolverine staff made several predictions on what would occur during the campaign, including who would lead the team in rushing yards, who the club's top receiver would be, etc.

Now that the regular-season has wrapped up, we've decided to take a look back at how accurate (or in some cases, inaccurate) those projections were.

We begin with who we thought would 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's 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."

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."

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."

All three staffers predicted that Higdon would eclipse 1,000 yards, and that's precisely what happened when the senior rushed for 1,178 yards on 224 carries.

What we were wrong about, however, was Evans' role.

Projections had the junior playing a massive role alongside Higdon, but he instead slid into the background early in the season.

He rushed for 86 yards in Week 2 against Western Michigan and then 85 yards the following Saturday against SMU, but missed the next three games with injury.

The junior was never the same once he returned Oct. 13 against Wisconsin, rushing for 57 or fewer yards in five of the team's last six games.

Evans ended the regular-season with just 403 yards, a far cry from the 685 he tallied last year.

With rumors swirling that Higdon may sit out the Peach Bowl against Florida, Evans would likely be thrust into the starting role IF it does indeed play out that way, with junior Tru Wilson presumably being the backup.

Wilson actually wasn't even mentioned in any of our preseason predictions, but wound up as the team's third leading rusher with 355 yards.

Following redshirt sophomore Kareem Walker's departure in July, the hope among fans was that either sophomore O'Maury Samuels or freshman Christian Turner would emerge as the team's third option.

The two youngsters played a minimal role (a combined 129 yards on the year), however, and it was actually Wilson who grabbed the job.

First-year offensive line coach Ed Warinner's simplified schemes and how they would pay dividends were also mentioned above, and that sentiment wound up being accurate.

The offensive line progressed immensely as the season went on, and it was obvious Higdon was the main beneficiary.

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