Sherrone Moore offers running back room injury and workload update as ground game continues to carry Michigan Wolverines offense

Justice Haynes is still week to week, but Jordan Marshall, Bryson Kuzdzal, and Jasper Parker should carry the Michigan Wolverines

Travis May — College Football Managing Editor
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Michigan Wolverines Official Press Conference – Northwestern Week

Bryce Underwood and the Michigan Wolverines’ passing attack continues to struggle, even against their weaker opponents this season, but the ground game has been the stabilizing force that keeps Sherrone Moore and company on track.

This isn’t exactly surprising considering that the physical run game has been the brand of Michigan football for some time now, but to dominate without their best player has been impressive. When asked about the running back room, especially concerning Jordan Marshall’s workload and a possible return for Justice Haynes, head coach Moore offered some updates ahead of the Northwestern game.

Michigan Wolverines backfield stats ahead of Northwestern

  • Justice Haynes was averaging over 120 rushing yards per game and nearly seven yards per touch prior to missing time due to injury
  • Jordan Marshall has logged three straight games of 110+ rushing yards and scored five touchdowns on the ground in that span
  • Running back Jasper Parker has more snaps on the season than Bryson Kuzdzal, but only logged one offensive play against Purdue
  • Bryson Kuzdzal just saw the most action since the Central Michigan game as he logged four tough carries last week on seven snaps and he may be the Wolverines’ primary backup running back for now

Sherrone Moore excited for running back room even without Justice Haynes

First off, and most importantly, when asked about Justice Haynes and his potential return date coach Moore offered the same slightly annoying response. He called his situation week to week, which means absolutely nothing. The good news is that the team’s running game looks like it’s in a great position to succeed anyway. Moore made sure to emphasize that point when asked about his remaining trio of trustworthy running backs.

Moore also made sure that it was clear (despite further injury concerns) that the team was going to “do what it needs to do to win”, even if it means riding the shoulders of Jordan Marshall rather heavily. So far so good, as Marshall has racked up over 400 rushing yards and five touchdowns on the ground in the last three games alone.

Moore did emphasize to the media that it’s not all just on Marshall though. He highlighted just how impressive that Jasper Parker and Bryson Kuzdzal have been, as well as offering what their roles might look like moving forward this month:

“Yeah, Jasper Parker is in a great place – keeps getting better and better. Him and Bryson Kuzdzal. You’ll see both of those guys on Saturday. Both of those guys will get a chance to carry the ball and protect and do different things because you’vegot to keep it balanced. You can’t just have them in there to run the ball, because when they’re in there [opponents] will just scream out, ‘Run!’ They’ll both be in there to do a couple things to help take the load off of Jordan [Marshall]. They’ve done a really great job throughout the week.”

Moore also talked up the development and athleticism of Bryson Kuzdzal. The former two-star recruit had very little practice and in-game work ahead of Justice Haynes’ now extended absence, but has quickly proven himself to be one of the fastest, most impactful, physical players on the entire offense according to coach Moore:

“Bryson is probably the second fastest [running back] behind Justice [Haynes], if not close to his speed. He’s a fast dude. I would love to see him get out into open space, see what happens, and see if anybody can catch him. I don’t know if they will. He hit some of those runs the last game. I think he only had four or something carries, but he hit them hard. He hit them physical. He ran as physical as we’ve seen him run. I was really proud of how he ran in that game. Especially when you know it’s a run, and you’ve got to stop the run, and he ran downhill. He ran fast. He ran physical. And he can make people miss, so it’ll be interesting to watch him in the game because it’s always so different in practice.”

Michigan fans might be tired of watching the Wolverines’ terrible passing attack, but they can rest easy knowing that Sherrone Moore’s running back room has the goods to carry them throughout the rest of November. Fans just need to hope that Justice Haynes is back to himself in time to face the Ohio State Buckeyes when it matters most. Relying on a young, inexperienced running back stable on that day may not be the best idea.

We’ll be back with more Michigan Wolverines coverage here at A to Z Sports soon! Follow me (@FF_TravisM) and A to Z Sports (@AtoZSportsNFL) on X for all the latest football news!

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