Zach Charbonnet has superstar vibes at running back for Michigan football.
If Michigan wants to make the College Football Playoff, hand the ball off to Zach Charbonnet.
For the last two years, Shea Patterson largely underwhelmed at the quarterback position for Michigan football. The Michigan Wolverines have gotten back to respectably under head coach Jim Harbaugh. However, they have not been anything close to the offensive juggernaut we thought they could be under the guidance of their former starting quarterback, now back at his alma mater.
Christian McCaffrey’s younger brother Dylan McCaffrey may end up being the Wolverines’ starting quarterback in 2020. Michigan does have committed to them a five-star pro-style passer in J.J. McCarthy of the IMG Academy by way of La Grange Park, Illinois. Let’s just hope he’s better than then last IMG Academy quarterback they had in Patterson…Either way, it’s all about Charbonnet.
Give Zach Charbonnet the ball out of the backfield and good things happen.
Charbonnet is coming off a fantastic freshman season for the Wolverines. He earned Third-Team All-Big Ten honors, as he carried the ball 149 times for 726 yards and 11 rushing touchdowns. Charbonnet played in all 13 of the Wolverines’ games, averaging 4.9 yards per carry and 4.8 yards per touch. Though he’ll need to get better as a receiver out of the backfield, he could be special.
He was a prized recruit in the 2019 recruiting class. Charbonnet was tabbed as a top-10 running back by all major recruiting services. Despite growing up on the other side of the country in Camarillo, California, Charbonnet early enrolled at the University of Michigan in January 2019. He underwent knee surgery shortly after arriving on campus. Imagine if he was completely healthy…
It would not be out of the realm of possibility if Charbonnet rushes for over 1,000 yards in his sophomore season with the Wolverines. Keep in mind he’ll be playing with a new starting quarterback, coming off an off-season that was unprecedented given the global pandemic we’re all very much still in the middle in. So look for offenses to be even more ground-centric this fall.
Let’s also not overlook that the Big Ten will be playing conference-only games this season. Maybe the nine-game slate gets bumped up to 10 games or so, but either way, Michigan will be going up against teams in plays fairly regularly. They’ll have their six against their Big Ten East rivals and three or four more out of the Big Ten West. Running the ball will be the Wolverines’ best friend.
Given that McCaffrey hails from a long line of athletes, he’s probably got some wheels on his like his older brother and Super Bowl champion father Ed McCaffrey. Mobility will be key in the Michigan offense being more flexible than it has been in years. Look for Charbonnet to lead the way in 2020. If he’s great, then maybe the Wolverines are great? Can they win the division?
That’s going to be tough sledding for Michigan. Odds are, the Wolverines will be looking up at the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Penn State Nittany Lions in the Big Ten East standings again. Unless we get a huge charge out of the Indiana Hoosiers, expect the Wolverines to be no worse than third place in the division this year. Winning it is a bit of a stretch, but anything is possible this year.
As long as Charbonnet is healthy, Michigan can hang with the upper tier of the Big Ten this season.
For more NCAA football news, analysis, opinion and unique coverage by FanSided, including Heisman Trophy and College Football Playoff rankings, be sure to bookmark these pages.