Kalel Mullings' goal: Turn Michigan football back into 'thunder & lightning' backfield

The Michigan football running back room is going to look different next season now that the program's all-time leader in rushing touchdowns, Blake Corum, is headed to the NFL.

Before anybody simply hands the keys of the room over to the athletic and reinvigorated Donovan Edwards as the next lead back, consider another option: the return to a true one-two punch.

The man who's hoping to be the other half of that combination, Kalel Mullings, has bounced between linebacker and running back for the better part of four years in Ann Arbor, but is now all-in on offense as well as higher on new running back coach Tony Alford's depth chart.

Halfway through spring practices, the 6-foot-2, 239-pound senior has drawn comparisons to another one of the top running backs to come through Ann Arbor in recent years; and not for the first time.

"I think Kalel is a lot like Hassan (Haskins),” Edwards said earlier this spring. “I think everybody sees that.”

When Haskins was No. 1 in the room and Corum was the No. 2, the duo were called thunder and lightning, for Haskins' bulldozing ability and Corum's shiftiness and straight-line speed. For this upcoming year, it would appear that Edwards would be the home-run hitter in the open field and Mullings the wrecking ball between the tackles.

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"I think that's a great comparison," Mullings said with a smile Thursday. "I know H2 played a little defense back in his day. I did as well. We're about the same size; both run hard, so that's a great comparison ... when I was first making this transition to offense, that's really who I was looking at as a role model. I'm all for that comparison."

While he wants to be seen as a hard runner, he doesn't want to be typecast as just that kind of back.

Last season, Mullings was a distant third option, rushing 36 times for 222 yards (6.2 yards per carry) and had one touchdown. With Corum as the primary ball carrier and goal-line option and Edwards as the change-of-pace and top receiving threat from the position, it left one specific role for Mullings: short-yardage back.

More than half Mullings' carries came in situations of less than 4 yards to go for a first down and he was quite effective as 18 of them went for either a first down or a score. On Thursday, the senior left little to the imagination when asked if he was capable of a role beyond that.

"There's definitely more to my game that I want to show," Mullings said. "I view myself as somebody who can do it all. I honestly think that you can ask my to do anything on the football field and I can do it.

"I'm confident in all my abilities. I believe I'm a true back, I'm really dynamic and it's really about just showcasing that. That's my goal for this season."

There are a plethora of factors that will determine not just what the RB room looks like, but how successful it is. For one, how does the new look offensive line come together without a single returning starter? Who is the quarterback, and what type of complement does he need?

There are some interesting options at running back, including Benjamin Hall, Cole Cabana and Tavierre Dunlap. But there's reason to believe Mullings role will expand this fall.

The West Roxbury, Massachusetts, native averaged an impressive 4.14 yards after contact on his rushes last season according to Pro Football Focus — Corum was 2.42 last year and 3.36 in his All-American campaign, while Edwards was 2.67 last season and 3.71 in his breakout sophomore season in 2022. Mullings also he forced 10 missed tackles on 36 carries, Edwards forced just 14 on 119 attempts.

A linebacker turned running back with just 50 career carries, he may not exactly challenge for a Heisman Trophy this year. But after waiting his turn, Mullings is willing to bet on himself as a major part of the offense.

"Yeah, I definitely think Dono and myself, our games complement each other," Mullings said Thursday. "I mean Dono can take that thing 90 yards like that and I can definitely bring some thunder to that lightning. It will be great to play off each other."

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan football RB Kalel Mullings: I'm more than short-yardage back