Michigan Football: 4 Position battles to watch for Wolverines in 2020

Who starts at running back?

This is going to be a really interesting decision for the coaching staff. On one hand, Zach Charbonnet, who was essentially the starter a year ago, despite sharing carries with Hassan Haskins, is back and he averaged five yards a carry last season.

Haskins was also very good and at times, he looked like the Wolverines best running back. Now, Chris Evans is back in the mix after missing 2019 due to academic issues.

And while Evans may have been underrated before, he’s getting ranked as a top-50 NFL draft prospect for 2021, so he’s a legit contender too and sort of made for the Josh Gattis offense.

Then, freshman Blake Corum, another multi-purpose back who can excel as a runner and receiver, has also been good by all accounts.  Here’s what Harbaugh said on the “Inside Michigan Football” podcast via Rivals.

“It’s a loaded room, it’s really doing well and I think it’s going to be a real strength for us this year.”

The key thing about Charbonnet is that he wasn’t even healthy last season. He looked as healthy as he did all year against Alabama when he notched 84 yards on just 13 carries.

That’s the kind of play Michigan football is going to get this fall and that’s why I still believe Charbonnet will be the starter and receive the most carries.

Yet, I truly think it’s going to be a 1a, 1b and 1c approach. Haskins proved he’s legit last season and he’s a different kind of runner than Charbonnet, so his talents won’t go to waste and I also expect Evans to be used frequently as a runner and receiver.

As good as Corum has looked, he will probably get the fewest attempts this year, but in a lot of ways, this group reminds me of the 2016 group, which had a lot of different parts.

This running back group is the best Harbaugh has ever had and it’s going to be fun to see how Gattis uses them. I’m also curious who is named the starter for Week 1 at Minnesota.