Michigan Football: 3 key takeaways from Jost Gattis meeting with media

Gattis praises depth of running back position

I’ll admit I was a little surprised when I was looking through social media and saw that coach Gattis has called the running back position among the deepest on the team.

That’s not how most people would characterize the group after it graduated the top rusher from last season Karan Higdon and is also without Chris Evans, another very capable back due to academic suspension.

Gattis said the Wolverines go five deep at the position including Ben VanSumeren along with Tru Wilson, Zach Charbonnet, Christian Turner and Hassan Haskins. For some reasons, Haskins slipped out of my mind, most likely due to his injury in the spring, but he is a solid fourth option.

Coaches praised him during bowl workouts and he appeared to come in the spring before getting injured. But Gattis sounded excited about all the backs Wednesday and here is what he told the media via Wolverines Wire:

"“When you’re down three running backs, obviously, it looks different. But we’ve got five backs. That’s probably the deepest position for us right now. And people really don’t realize that, but you look at those five guys – obviously, you see where Tru’s at. Tru’s done a really good job of reshaping himself. Really done a really good job with his athleticism and everything and playing at a really good level.”"

While I hope that VanSumeren doesn’t need to get significant carries this season, I’m glad that Gattis has confidence in him if needed. Haskins can also be a key depth guy along with the three top guys in Wilson, Charbonnet and Turner.