Michigan Wolverines football freshman running back Zach Charbonnet had high expectations surrounding him when he arrived on campus in Ann Arbor, and it's safe to say he's exceeded those preseason presumptions.
He beat out senior Tru Wilson and a trio of redshirt freshmen in Hassan Haskins, Ben VanSumeren and Christian Turner for the starting job, becoming the first U-M freshman to start a season-opener at running back since Sam McGuffie in 2008.
Charbonnet went on to start the following five contests as well, and has racked up 559 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns on the year, including two each in Michigan's last three outings.
His 11 rushing scores are the second most in the Big Ten and are tied for the 13th most in all of college football.
Charbonnet's 559 yards on the ground, meanwhile, are the fifth most among freshman running backs in all of college football, trailing only Texas A&M's Isaiah Spiller (667), Temple's Re'Mahn Davis (655), Texas-San Antonio's Sincere McCormick (610) and Boise State's George Holani (589).
It should be noted, however, that Spiller is the only other freshman back on the list above who resides in a power conference (SEC), with Davis playing in the AAC, McCormick competing in Conference USA and Holani residing in the Mountain West.
Charbonnet's 11 rushing touchdowns are three more than anyone else on the table above, and are more than any other freshman running back in Michigan history.
Mike Hart and Tyrone Wheatley had been tied for the all-time record with nine, but Charbonnet's two scores last Saturday at Maryland surpassed the two.
The freshman has also hit the 100-yard mark twice this season, rushing for 100 yards in U-M's double-overtime victory over Army on Sept. 7 and a career-best 116 yards in the Oct. 12 triumph at Illinois.
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