Michigan Football: Fallout from transfer of Zach Charbonnet
With the way Zach Charbonnet was used by Michigan football, it wasn’t surprising to see his name in the transfer portal but it’s still really disappointing.
A couple of months back, there were rumors about Michigan football running back Zach Charbonnet putting his name in the transfer portal and Monday that became a reality.
Angelique Chengelis of the Detroit News tweeted that Charbonnet had put his name into the transfer portal and when you think about how little he was used this past season, it’s not shocking.
It’s still a huge loss for the Wolverines as Charbonnet was a high-ranked four-star running back and a top-100 recruit. He wasn’t ranked that much lower than 2021 signee Donovan Edwards — the guy everyone says will be Michigan football’s next great back.
Michigan running back Zach Charbonnet just popped up in the NCAA Transfer Portal
— angelique (@chengelis) January 18, 2021
At one time, we all said the same thing about Charbonnet and after his freshman season, it was warranted.
During that first season with Michigan football, Charbonnet looked like he was going to be a star and he scored 11 touchdows, while rushing for 749 yards and averaging 5.9 yards per attempt.
Even though he battled injuries all year long, which hampered him that first season, he had two 100-yard games and reached 80 yards in five different outings including the Citrus Bowl against Alabama, when he ran 13 times for 84 yards.
Following that performance and an offseason that allowed Charbonnet to get healthy, it was thought the former top-100 recruit would have a breakout season in 2020 and his first carry against Minnesota went for a 70-yard touchdown.
Yet, Charbonnet would get just 18 more carries during the 2020 season and that was even though he averaged less than four yards per attempt only once. Against Wisconsin, he got three carries for 21 yards and also had six for 26 against Rutgers.
What Charbonnet’s departure means for Wolverines
While it’s really disappointing to see Charbonnet leave, the only positive is that the Wolverines are fairly deep at the running back position.
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Hassan Haskins finished the 2020 season as the starter and he is expected to be back, along with Blake Corum who flashed at times as a true freshman.
Still, you can never have enough talented players, especially at the skill positions and it will be painful to see Charbonnet to go another program and have a major impact.
I was hoping the addition of Mike Hart could get him to stay, but with Haskins and Corum still in the fold, along with Edwards and fellow 2021 signee Tavierre Dunlap, things were probably a little too crowded especially after he was ignored, unjustifiably last season.
In the end, Charbonnet is another high-ranking running back to disappoint with the Wolverines but as long as Edwards breaks that streak, losing Charbonnet won’t hurt all that much.