Michigan Football: Is Karan Higdon the next great running back?
It’s been a long time since Michigan football had a dominant running back, but could Karan Higdon be that guy?
Going into the season, the hope was that Michigan football would be able to dominate opponents on the ground. After all, the Wolverines had Chris Evans, Ty Isaac and a lesser known Karan Higdon at their disposal.
Related Story: Brandon Peters still has much to prove at quarterback
Many Michigan football observers saw Evans at the top breakout candidate. He was the Wolverines second-leading rusher in 2016 and with his burst and big play ability, he seemed like a star in waiting.
However, Evans started slowly. He got 78 yards against Florida, but averaged just 3.5 a carry. Then during the other two non-conference games, he managed a total of just 45 yards. Isaac, who opened with consecutive 100-yard games. Suddenly, appeared to be the guy.
Yet, fumbles and injuries hindered Isaac, who missed last week’s game against Minnesota. Fumbles also hurt Evans, who has since rebounded with a 191 rushing yards against the Gophers. He also caught a touchdown pass in the win over Rutgers.
But Evans still isn’t the lead back. That designation belongs to Higdon, who has rushed for more than 158 yards in three of his last four games. He is also the first Michigan football running back since Mike Hart two have multiple 200-yard games in one season.
Michigan Wolverines Football
Evans is averaging 5.5 yards per carry, which is good. He also has 489 yards. But Higdon, on the other hand, is averaging 6.8 a carry. He has 804 yards on 119 carries and 10 rushing touchdowns. He is now just 196 yards away from being the first Wolverines running back to reach 1,000 yards since Fitzgerald Touissant back in 2011.
Like Brandon Peters at quarterback, there is still a wait-and-see approach with Higdon. Sure, he lit up Indiana, Rutgers and Minnesota, averaging 186 yards per game against those teams. Yet, against Penn State and Michigan State, he wound up with only 110 combined yards on 27 carries. That’s an average of 55 yards per game and basically four yards a carry.
Those numbers aren’t bad, but they aren’t great either.
Higdon also failed to break a big run against the Spartans or Nittany Lions. He had a long of 11 against MSU and 12 against Penn State. His long runs against Indiana, Rutgers and Minnesota, were 59, 49 and 77.
With Maryland’s poor run defense up next, Higdon could be in line for another big game Saturday. Heck, it’s possible he gets the 196 he needs for 1,000. But that still won’t mean he’s an elite back.
To do that, he needs to eclipse 100 yards against Wisconsin and Ohio State. He needs to break off some big runs and prove why he could be the Wolverines best offensive player.
Next: Top 10 Michigan Running Backs of All Time
Higdon is on fire right now, there is no question about that. But is he going to be the next great running back for Michigan football? For that answer, we will to see what happens over the next three weeks.