The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/480355
BY JOHN BORTON T his fall, Michigan figures to run the football better than it has the last two seasons, for any number of reasons. The backs are more experienced, the line they're running behind figures to take a leap forward, etc. There's also a wild card in the mix compared to last season, one upon which more than a few sets of binocu- lars will be trained come Michigan's spring game April 4. Junior Ty Isaac, the former Rivals.com five-star pros- pect, finally made it to Ann Arbor by way of Los Angeles. (Note: Class years indicated are for fall 2015.) He'd taken a side trip following his heavy recruitment by Michigan, opt- ing for USC. Isaac put in a solid fresh- man year for the Trojans in 2013, the 6-3, 240-pounder piling up 236 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 40 car- ries. He also showed an ability to catch the ball out of the backfield, hauling in four passes for 57 yards as a rookie. Soon, though, the notion of catching a flight back closer to his home in Shore- wood, Ill., sounded awfully appealing. There were more than enough schools willing to accommodate such a move; the fiercely sought-after prep star had set a Joliet Catholic Academy record by rushing for 5,305 yards in his high school career. He chose the Wolverines, sitting out last season as mandated by NCAA transfer rules. Now, under a new coaching staff and with a wide-open opportunity, he's embracing the proving grounds. At the same time, new running backs coach Tyrone Wheatley is understand- ably reluctant to make big distinctions among his backs in the early part of spring practice. "He's got great feet, good vision, is a smooth runner," Wheatley said. "I