The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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DECEMBER 2016 THE WOLVERINE 31 "It was just Coach Wheat's call. I'm not going to fight it," Smith said. "I fumbled, put the ball on the ground, but he also gave me two carries right after that. … He just said, 'Rest your body — there's no need for you to be taking all these hits when we have all these other running backs.' "I feel healthy. When you get into the meat of the schedule … there's definitely going to be time for us run- ning backs to pick it up even more." They'll continue to be competitive in practice, Higdon said, for the right to their carries. And when they get in games, they all understand the importance of performing at a high level. The guy with the hot hand is often the one who gets to play. "By far, I think that's important — if you have a four-man rotation or a one-man rotation. You have to capitalize on the opportunities you get," Higdon said. "I think that's the difference between good and great running backs. "You always want to be the guy, but just because you are the guy doesn't mean you're going to pro- duce the way you should. With that being said, you've got to take what- ever's being given to you and capi- talize on it." It improves all of them, he contin- ued. "I think it's part of the building process," Higdon explained. "It makes you better as a competitor and better as a player knowing you have somebody who can easily step up and take your spot, take your oppor- tunities. It just pushes you to become better and better. "Those coaches, they've done it at high levels. Whatever they say, I trust it and I go with it. I definitely see how the logic is working, and we'll see it work more and more." There are no hard feelings, he said, no matter how it plays out down the stretch. Everyone in the locker room is playing for wins, not to pad the stats, and if one shines, the others are quick to congratulate him. "We're very tight. We do a lot of different things together out of foot- ball, stay in contact with each other, push each other through school," Higdon said. "It's more than just football in that running back room." That team-first attitude might just lead to a championship a few weeks down the road. ❏ Michigan's Top Running Back Combos Of The Last 40 Years 1976: Rob Lytle, Harlan Huckleby, Russell Davis Heavy wishbone was the offense of choice in a 10-2, Big Ten Championship season, and College Football Hall of Famer Lytle led the way. He rushed for 1,469 yards and 14 touchdowns, carrying 221 times and averaging 6.65 yards per carry; while tailback Huckleby (155 carries, 912 yards, 11 TDs, 5.88 yards per carry) and fullback Davis (105 rushes, 596 yards, 5 TDs, 5.68 yards a carry) were also part of a three-man platoon that ran over opposing defenses. Quarterback Rick Leach added 638 yards and 10 scores, as well, to make it a quadruple threat on the ground. The Wolverines had two 100-yard rushers in three different games in 1976, and three in a 51-0 blanking of Stanford when the three running backs all reached the mark. 1989: Tony Boles, Leroy Hoard, Allen Jefferson Michigan didn't have a 1,000-yard rusher in 1989, but the Wolverines had a pair of 800-yard ground gainers in Boles (839 yards, nine TDs, 6.4 yards per carry) and Hoard (832 yards, six scores, 5.14 yards a rush), and added 380 yards from Jef- ferson and 208 from fullback Jarrod Bunch. Boles and Jefferson were track stars whose breakaway speed made them threats to take it the distance every time they touched the ball. Hoard was a "tweener" who ran exceptionally hard and earned Rose Bowl MVP honors the prior January in a win over USC. 1992: Tyrone Wheatley, Jesse Johnson, Ed Davis, Ricky Powers Wheatley, a sprinter in a linebacker's body, averaged a whopping 7.34 yards per carry and earned Rose Bowl MVP honors against Washington while rushing for 288 yards and playing through back spasms. He led the group with 1,357 yards. Johnson wasn't a blazer, rather a compact back with quick feet, but he added 792 yards (5.11 per carry), while the diminutive Davis managed 374 yards and Powers, the leading rusher the previous year, played through injury to add 321. The Wolverines didn't lose a game in 1992 but tied three times. 1994: Tyrone Wheatley, Tshimanga Biakabutuka, Ed Davis Wheatley didn't play in the opener at Notre Dame due to injury, but Biakabu- tuka stepped in and rushed for over 100 yards to lead a 26-24 upset win. The two would eclipse 100 yards in the same game twice, including a 40-20 victory over Michigan State in which Wheatley managed 153 and Biakabutuka 141. Wheatley finished with 1,144 yards and 12 touchdowns on the ground for his third straight 1,000-yard campaign, while Biakabutuka added 783 yards and seven scores rushing. Davis chipped in 339 yards and three scores as the comple- mentary back. — Chris Balas Tyrone Wheatley was a critical component in two of U-M's finest by-committee groups of the last 40 years and now leads the 2016 edition as its position coach. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN