Michigan football head coach Sherrone Moore made it clear this week that Justice Haynes and Jordan Marshall are running backs 1A/1B for the Wolverines.
It wasn't necessarily clear who is going to be 1A or 1B. It will depend on each game, it sounds like, with similar opportunities for both backs. It's not that different from what Michigan did in 2021 with Hassan Haskins and Blake Corum, in 2022/2023 with Donovan Edwards and Corum, or last season with Edwards/Kalel Mullings.
Michigan is used to having a two-back system. U-M been incredibly successful with it, but there is another name that's emerging in the backfield, which could give this running back room a third talented back, sort of like Edwards did in the latter stages of 2021.
That name is Jasper Parker, a talented freshman running back who is turning heads, according to Michigan running backs coach Tony Alford. The 6-foot, 205-pound running back is from Louisiana. He was a blue-chip prospect but was overlooked.
LSU didn't recruit Parker super hard. That's going to be a mistake. Alford just landed the commitment of five-star Savion Hiter, a massive win for the Michigan football program, but in hindsight, Parker is going to look like a major recruiting win, too.
"An extremely bright future"
“I mean, extremely outstanding player,” Alford said via The Wolverine. “He’s a big, strong, physical kid. He’s got really good vision. One of the things — he’s a little taller than most of those guys in that room, but he has the ability to kind of sink his hips into contact and plays behind his pads really well. He’s elusive, and he’s got really, really good vision.
“As far as where he needs to improve, it’s just to improve on the details. Where’s your hand placement in blocks? How are you carrying your hands before you approach a block? Just little things and just the details, but in his defense, he’s played college football for what … I think we’ve had 23, 24 practices. June doesn’t count, July doesn’t count. He wasn’t here in the spring, so really, he’s only played football for 24, 25 days, in the detail that we need to have. He’s continually getting better and better and has an extremely bright future here.”
The carries are still going to be limited. The freshman could get his feet wet on Saturday night against New Mexico, if everything goes as planned. But as the season goes along, is there is any attrition in the room, as there is sure to be, Parker is a talented third option.
And after a few weeks in fall camp, it looks like Parker is even more dynamic than even some hoped. He could make an earlier impact than expected, and long-term, even more than just for this season, that's great news for the Wolverines.