This area needs to be solid for Michigan Football’s offense to prosper

When we try to dissect the most glaring potential weaknesses for the 2022 Michigan football team, replacing the production of Aidan Hutchinson and David Ojabo seems to come up the most.

I mean, you can’t really blame anybody for that answer. Hutch and David Ojabo accounted for 75% of Michigan’s total sacks last year, which is crazy to think about.

The thing everybody expects though is for this year to be a team approach. The expectation is nobody on the defensive line this season will have stats like that, but everyone will contribute more stats to make the team formidable as a unit.

On the flip side, this year’s offense is supposed to be the strength of the team, with very few, if any, glaring weaknesses.

There is one area that Michigan football really needs to be good at, as it is vital to the outcome of games, and, frankly, hasn’t been talked about enough as a potential weakness.

Why Michigan’s situational short-yardage rushing needs to be on point

It’s no secret that Hassan Haskins was Michigan’s do-everything running back last year. He was the featured back, as he was an outgoing senior that earned his way to a starting gig.

Haskins could do it all. He was a bruiser, always punishing opposing players, wearing them down over time, he could be a bell cow, and did it for a few weeks when Corum was injured for a few games last year.

Haskins could also block very well (which was a very good underrated part of his game that often went unnoticed), always recognizing the blitzing linebacker, and he always fell forward.

What really made Hassan Haskins great though, aside from all of those other great things mentioned, was his ability to pick up short-yardage first downs in critical situations when everyone knew Michigan football needed to keep the chains moving.

How many times in years past has Michigan football needed a first down badly and failed to get it because the running back got stuffed at the line of scrimmage and forced Michigan to punt, give up the winning touchdown, or go for it on fourth down, not get it, and lose the game?

That rarely, if ever, happened with Haskins, as he always seemed to pick up the first down to stop opposing momentum, or just to keep the chains moving and the offense humming along.

Who’s going to replace that lost production and bruiser back type of role this season?

Blake Corum is much more of a burner back. He can occasionally bruise other players, as his body is definitely built to take some and give some punishment (have you seen Corum’s calves and biceps?!) but his primary running style is outside the tackles.

Donovan Edwards is definitely the bigger back of the two, but he might be utilized more as a receiving threat this year, therefore taking away some of his carries, and we can’t forget, that he is still just a sophomore.

Lastly, Tavierre Dunlap has barely received any playing time throughout his career. He is a bigger back as well, but is he really ready to go from barely any snaps one year to a full-time workload the next?

And what about Kalel Mullings? I know he did well during spring practice, as he could be the next Hassan as a converted former LB, but I haven’t really heard much about him since (it could still be a good thing though).

Obviously, we will find out who gets Hassan’s old role when the season starts, as Michigan football is still a run-first team, but it is still a question mark right now.

The good thing is, Michigan has three games to figure it out before their game at Kinnick.

Michigan fans, who do you think should take over Haskins’ old role? Sound off in the comments below!