Jim Harbaugh maintains confidence in Michigan football run game: 'Absolutely nothing wrong'

Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh said he liked what he saw the moment he sat down for his news conference following his team’s 31-7 win over Rutgers.

It turns out after watching the tape back on Sunday, he liked it even more, particularly on the side of the ball that didn’t receive as much love on game day.

“I thought Sherrone Moore, it was one of Coach Moore’s best games,” Harbaugh said of the offense. “Planning, the play-calling, the balance, the creativity, the timely calls, just everything. One of his very best, a real gem.

"The rest of the offensive staff as well, but I thought particularly play calling was outstanding.”

The success was reflected on the field, where Michigan scored the final 31 points of the game and controlled the ball for more than 31 of the final 45 minutes. It's the formula the Wolverines desire, as No. 2 Michigan ran 40 times for a season-high 201 yards and two touchdowns as nearly half of it — 21 carries for 97 yards and both scores — came from Blake Corum.

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But as important as it was to see Corum cutting and slicing against an elite defense, perhaps even more relevant was how quarterback J.J McCarthy ran seven times for a season-high 51 yards. Not only did Corum say it helped the run game open up for him, McCarthy nodded along Monday when prompted with the notion it helps him get into a rhythm with his arm.

He'll likely need his legs again Saturday at Nebraska (3:30 p.m., Fox), the nation's No. 1 run defense (46.4 yards per game).

“Coach Moore knows how I play, like every single play that I’m gonna go at 100%, 100% of the time, so he wanted to limit the chances of (an injury) happening through three games as much as possible,” McCarthy said. “But Big Ten play … that’s the time to use it because it’s so effective, because it helps our run game so much and helps our pass game so much.”

Though Corum and McCarthy appeared back to their 2022 ways, noticeably, Donovan Edwards did not contribute on the ground, with just six rushes for 13 yards.

It’s been a trend for the standout from West Bloomfield, who through four weeks of the season has run 33 times for 109 yards (3.3 YPC) and has yet to find the end zone. He’s also added 11 catches for 100 yards, which Harbaugh has chosen to focus on as he pushed of any notion about potential concern surrounding Edwards.

“He's good, you know, like he's always been,” Harbaugh said. “Statistics don’t really mean anything to us.

"He really affected the game catching the football, he's an outstanding back because he can do all the things — he can run inside the tackles, he can run outside the tackles, he can pass protect and he can catch the ball out of the backfield. So to answer your question, no, absolutely nothing wrong with Donovan Edwards."

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Harbaugh then spoke about how he focuses on each player individually, how he tries to think of them as both a father and an agent and marry that with what he needs as a coach.

He pointed out how most years he’s had one feature back — Hassan Haskins in 2021 with Corum behind him, or Corum in 2022 with Edwards behind him for example — and the reason Edwards’ touches have been limited is he wants to “leave tread on the tire.”

However, it doesn’t quite add up, given Corum is a year older, ran 15 more times than Edwards on Saturday and had had as many rushing attempts last year (247) as Edwards has touches through his collegiate career.

On top of that, when Corum came out in the fourth, Kalel Mullings went in, but again, Harbaugh insisted it was because of the depth of the room.

"I was reminded of Toby Gerhart watching Kalel and those and those carries, and I hope that continues,” Harbaugh said, comparing U-M’s third string back to his Heisman trophy runner-up at Stanford. “Absolutely nothing wrong with the running back room.”

U-M captain and left guard Trevor Keegan was a mainstay on each of the past two Joe Moore Award winning offensive lines and has been entrusted, along with Zak Zinter, in leading the group this year.

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Michigan isn’t putting up the number it did a season ago, when it averaged more than 230 yards per game on the ground, but Keegan was quick to point out that’s more game style than anything.

"Most people don't really realize how the clock rules have changed college football,” he said. “If you're not breaking out these long runs, you don't have to rush for 300 yards anymore. Does it dwell on the guys? A little bit that we're not rushing 300 yards, but I mean, those days are there over because of the clock rules.”

Michigan ran 600 times for 3,334 yards last year — an average of 5.6 yards per carry.

So far this season, Michigan has run 135 times for 671 yards — an average of 5.0 yards per carry.

So no, the sky isn’t falling Keegan said, it's just the line is still coming together. Michigan is still working in several transfers (Drake Nugent at center, Myles Hinton at right tackle and/or LaDarius Henderson at left tackle), none of whom practiced at U-M this spring.

The communication and cohesion is still a work in progress, but not only does Keegan know what it takes, he knows the talent that's in the room.

"It's coming," he said. "It's coming real soon.

Contact Tony Garcia at apgarcia@freepress.com. Follow him @realtonygarcia.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Jim Harbaugh maintains confidence in Michigan football run game