The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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70 ■ THE WOLVERINE 2017 FOOTBALL PREVIEW RUNNING BACKS 70 ■ THE WOLVERINE 2017 FOOTBALL PREVIEW RUNNING BACKS PLAYER BIOS POSITION COACH Jay Harbaugh is in third season with the Wolverines and begins his first as the team's running backs coach and assistant special teams coach. The son of U-M head coach Jim has worked with the special teams during each year on staff in Ann Arbor, while he previously men- tored the tight ends. Under Harbaugh's guidance last year, Jake Butt became the first-ever Wolverine to win the John Mackey Award, annually given to the nation's top tight end. He also earned his second straight All- America honor and repeated as the Big Ten Tight End of the Year while becoming the school's all-time leading receiver from the position. In 2015, Harbaugh led a Michigan tight end group that accounted for 72 catches, 926 receiving yards and three touchdown grabs. Harbaugh spent the three seasons prior to coming to Michigan with the Baltimore Ravens, working under his uncle John Harbaugh, including the 2014 season as an offensive quality control coach focus- ing on statistical analysis, self-scouting reports and breakdowns of opposing defenses. He was also part of the coaching staff that won Super Bowl XLVII in 2013, beating his father's San Francisco 49ers team. Harbaugh spent four seasons as an undergraduate assistant at Oregon State under head coach Mike Riley. The Beavers played in two bowl games from 2008-11, including a win in the 2008 Sun Bowl. Harbaugh also interned for the San Francisco 49ers in the scouting department during the summer of 2011. A native of San Diego, he holds a bachelor's degree in sociology from Oregon State. RETURNING PLAYERS CHRIS EVANS • RB So. • Indianapolis Ht.: 5-11 • Wt.: 200 Career Highlights: Played in all 13 games in 2016 … Made one start as a slot receiver … Carried the ball 88 times for 614 yards and four touchdowns in 2016 … Also made six catches for 87 yards … Set career highs for carries (11) and rushing yards (153) against Rutgers. Prep: Caught 128 passes for 1,628 yards, rushed for 2,895 yards and scored 59 touchdowns in his career … Secured 40 passes for 511 yards and four touchdowns as a senior while rushing 188 times for 1,115 yards and 15 touchdowns … Made 51 receptions for 676 yards and 10 touchdowns as a junior, ran the ball 185 times for 1,249 yards and 18 touchdowns, and helped lead Ben Davis High to the Class 6A state title … Ranked as a three-star recruit, the No. 7 player in Indiana and the No. 32 athlete in the nation by Rivals.com. Personal: Born Oct. 5, 1997 … Played on an AAU basketball team with U-M quarterback Brandon Peters … Evans' uncle, Richard, performed in the NFL for both the St. Louis Rams and the Tennessee Titans. Year GP/GS Att. Yds. Avg. TD 2016 13/1 88 614 7.0 4 Totals 13/1 88 614 7.0 4 KARAN HIGDON • RB Jr. • Sarasota, Fla. Ht.: 5-10 • Wt. 189 Career Highlights: Has played in 15 career games … Saw action in 12 games in 2016, carrying the ball 72 times for 425 yards and six touchdowns … Set career highs of 13 rushes, 108 yards and two touchdowns against Rutgers … Rushed for 19 yards on 11 attempts in three ap- pearances in 2015 … Made his college debut against Northwestern, carrying the ball eight times for 16 yards. Prep: Rushed for 1,471 yards and 16 touchdowns his final two years of high school … Posted 565 yards as a senior, when he was limited to six games due to injury … Averaged 6.7 yards per carry over the course of his career at Riverview High School … Ri- vals.com listed him as a three-star recruit, Florida's No. 77 senior and the nation's No. 45 running back. Personal: Born Sept. 8, 1996 … Enrolled in the Col- lege of Literature, Science and the Arts. Year GP/GS Att. Yds. Avg. TD 2015 3/0 11 19 1.7 0 2016 12/0 72 425 5.9 6 Totals 15/0 83 444 5.3 6 KHALID HILL • FB 5th-Sr. • Detroit Ht.: 6-2 • Wt.: 263 Career Highlights: Has seen ac- tion in 31 games at tight end and fullback in his career, getting eight starts … Played in all 13 games in 2016 … Ran the ball 25 times for 39 yards and 10 touchdowns, and tied for the team lead in rushing TDs… Also had 16 catches for 118 yards and three touchdowns … Scored a career-high three touch- downs against Rutgers … Appeared in 12 games in 2015, catching four passes for 71 yards from the tight end position … Garnered two catches against BYU for 39 yards, with a career-long grab of 20 yards … Switched from tight end to fullback following the season … Caught four passes for 37 yards in his red- shirt freshman year … Started four of the six games in 2014 before going down with a season-ending ACL injury in October. Prep: Attended Crockett Technical High School … Was named to the U.S. Under-19 National Team as a senior … Rated as the No. 21 player in Michigan and No. 32 tight end nationally by Rivals.com. Personal: Born June 4, 1995 … Enrolled in the Col- lege of Literature, Science and the Arts. Year GP/GS Att. Yds. Avg. TD 2014 6/4 0 0 0 0 2015 11/2 0 0 0 0 2016 13/2 25 39 1.6 10 Totals 30/8 25 39 1.6 10 TY ISAAC • RB 5th-Sr. • Shorewood, Ill. Ht.: 6-3 • Wt.: 230 Career Highlights: Has played in 20 games at Michigan, garnering one start … Played in 12 games in 2016, carrying the ball 74 times for 417 yards and five touchdowns … Also notched two catches for 42 yards … Appeared in eight games with one start during the 2015 season … Rushed for a total of 205 yards on 30 attempts … Had his first Michigan start at Maryland, running six times for 17 yards … Ran for a career-best 115 yards and a touch- down against UNLV, posting a career-long 76-yard run to notch his score … Practiced all year with the Wolverines in 2014 while sitting out the season due to NCAA transfer rules after coming in from USC … Appeared in all 14 games for the Trojans in 2013 … Tallied 40 carries for 236 yards (5.9 yards per rush) and two touchdowns … Added four catches for 57 yards … Had his best day at Cal, with 11 carries for 87 yards and two scores. Prep: A four-year starter for Joliet Catholic Acad- emy, racking up 5,305 rushing yards during his career … Totaled 1,500 rushing yards and 22 touchdowns as a senior, despite missing several games to injury … Registered 2,490 rushing yards and 49 touchdowns ROSTER No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Year Elig. Hometown (High School) 30 Joe Beneducci* FB 5-9 212 Sr. Jr. Far Hills, N.J. (West Morris Mendham) 35 Brian Chu* FB 5-10 223 Sr. Sr. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 39 Spencer Dickow* FB 6-0 237 Jr. Jr. Bloomfield Hills, Mich. (Brother Rice) 12 Chris Evans RB 5-11 200 So. So. Indianapolis (Ben Davis) 41 Greg Froelich* FB 6-2 257 5th Sr. Maplewood, N.J. (Deerfield Academy) 27 Joe Hewlett* RB 6-0 195 Sr. Jr. Novi, Mich. (Northville) 22 Karan Higdon RB 5-10 189 Jr. Jr. Sarasota, Fla. (Riverview) 80 Khalid Hill FB 6-2 263 5th Sr. Detroit (East English Village Prep) 32 Ty Isaac RB 6-3 230 5th Sr. Shorewood, Ill. (Joliet Catholic Academy) 42 Ben Mason RB 6-3 247 Fr. Fr. Newtown, Conn. (Newtown) 19 Henry Poggi FB 6-4 257 5th Sr. Baltimore (Gilman School) — O'maury Samuels RB 5-10 192 Fr. Fr. Los Lunas, N.M. (Los Lunas) — Kurt Taylor RB 5-8 197 Fr. Fr. Covington, Ga. (Grayson) 40 Nick Volk* FB 5-11 250 Sr. Jr. Frankenmuth, Mich. (Frankenmuth) 6 Kareem Walker RB 6-1 207 So. Fr. Wayne, N.J. (DePaul Catholic) 27 Tru Wilson* RB 5-10 190 So. So. Warren, Mich. (De La Salle) * — Walk-on