I am going to exclude the Rich Rod and Hoke years, when our running back recruiting was weak.
Starting in 1990, and continuing for about the next eight years, Michigan recruited the running back position exceptionally well. The pattern was that younger, more talented guys were always coming into the program, and often supplanted talented, more experienced players.
Start in 1990. Junior John Vaughn begins the year with games of 201 and 288 yards against ND and UCLA respectively. Incredible, right? In the final four games of the season (Illinois, MN, OSU, and the Ole Miss bowl game), Vaughn has 44 carries for 238 yards (still a respectable 5.4 per carry). Freshman Ricky Powers in those four games carries 88 times for 511 yards (5.8 per carry, and 128 yards per game). Vaughn leaves for the NFL, where he's drafted in the fifth round.
In 1991, Powers rushes for 1251 yards. Jesse Johnson sees his first game action and runs for 634 yards. Heralded freshman Tyrone Wheatley runs for 548 yards, averaging 6.4 per carry. In the Rose Bowl, the Washington defensive line led by Steve Emtman overwhelms the Michigan offensive line, and Powers runs for just 10 yards on 10 carries. Late in the game, Wheatley rips off a 53 yard touchdown run, finishing with 9 carries for 68 yards. Michigan loses a one-sided game, 34-14.
The next fall, Powers sustains an injury, and Wheatley never looks back. During the next three years, he runs for 1387, 1168, and 1144 yards. Powers, meanwhile, runs for 336 yards as a junior in 1992 and 304 yards as a senior in 1993. In 1992, Johnson runs for 792 yards, and freshman Ed Davis runs for 374 yards, averaging 6.1 per carry.
By 1993, Johnson is kicked off the team, Powers sees limited action (336 yards), and Davis has a decent season (464 yards, 4.7 per carry). In our game against Purdue toward the end of the year, a little known freshman named Tim Biakabutka emerges, rushing for 140 yards on 24 carries, with 3 TDs.
In 1994, Davis starts the opener against Boston College and rushes for an uninspiring 50 yards on 20 carries, as Wheatley is hurt. Biakabutuka, however, runs for 128 yards in that game, and takes over the #1 role until Wheatley comes back, at which point they share carries in what is probably the most talented Michigan backfield of my lifetime.
In 1996, with Biakabutuka gone to the NFL, Chris Howard (762 yards) and Clarence Williams (837 yards) take over. By 1997, while Howard is still the featured back (967 yards), freshman Anthony Thomas emerges, rushing for 583 yards while Williams gains only 285. In 1998, Williams' senior year, he still ran for 673 yards, but Thomas was the main back running for 893.
Even from 1998-2000, we see this same pattern. Thomas is the starter, but in the fall in 1998 freshman Justin Fargas emerges until he sustains a gruesome injury. By 2000, Fargas is back, but he is running third string behind senior Thomas and talented true freshman Chris Perry, so he asks Lloyd Carr if he can move to safety, just to get on the field. He then transfers to USC, where he has a nice finish to his career, running for 715 yards in 2002 for a 10-2 team that won the Orange Bowl, blowing out Iowa.
The point here is that John Vaughn, Ricky Powers, Jesse Johnson, Ed Davis, Clarence Williams, and (maybe - the situation was a little more complicated) Justin Fargas were all very talented Michigan running backs who could have probably started for 8-9 other Big Ten programs, but were beaten out by even more talented guys coming up behind them (Powers, Wheatley, Biakabutuka, Thomas, Perry).
These days, you would think a guy like Powers (1250 yards as a sophomore) would transfer after beating beaten out as a junior without question. Same for Williams, who had 837 yards as a sophomore but lost his job.
In that context, it seems to me the ZC transfer makes a lot of sense. Haskins beat him out for the bulk of the carries this year, and deservedly so, IMO. Corum, in this offense, provides an element ZC does not. And Edwards (it seems) is destined to be the next great Michigan RB.
I imagine ZC winds up at Cal, or UCLA - somewhere he can play and be reasonably likely to start next year (or maybe even this year, who knows).
Also, a comment on the rotation. It doesn't work when you're not running the ball well. Go back and look at the 1990-1993 teams, and you see several players with lots of carries and yards. That was because the OL play was exceptional. Conceptually, it's great to have 3-4 guys who can play, be productive, and offer different things. But that only works if the blocking and run game are strong. When that's not the case, you see games like Charbonnet with 5 carries for -3 yards against MSU. He's not happy with his workload, and obviously his production was negative.
Starting in 1990, and continuing for about the next eight years, Michigan recruited the running back position exceptionally well. The pattern was that younger, more talented guys were always coming into the program, and often supplanted talented, more experienced players.
Start in 1990. Junior John Vaughn begins the year with games of 201 and 288 yards against ND and UCLA respectively. Incredible, right? In the final four games of the season (Illinois, MN, OSU, and the Ole Miss bowl game), Vaughn has 44 carries for 238 yards (still a respectable 5.4 per carry). Freshman Ricky Powers in those four games carries 88 times for 511 yards (5.8 per carry, and 128 yards per game). Vaughn leaves for the NFL, where he's drafted in the fifth round.
In 1991, Powers rushes for 1251 yards. Jesse Johnson sees his first game action and runs for 634 yards. Heralded freshman Tyrone Wheatley runs for 548 yards, averaging 6.4 per carry. In the Rose Bowl, the Washington defensive line led by Steve Emtman overwhelms the Michigan offensive line, and Powers runs for just 10 yards on 10 carries. Late in the game, Wheatley rips off a 53 yard touchdown run, finishing with 9 carries for 68 yards. Michigan loses a one-sided game, 34-14.
The next fall, Powers sustains an injury, and Wheatley never looks back. During the next three years, he runs for 1387, 1168, and 1144 yards. Powers, meanwhile, runs for 336 yards as a junior in 1992 and 304 yards as a senior in 1993. In 1992, Johnson runs for 792 yards, and freshman Ed Davis runs for 374 yards, averaging 6.1 per carry.
By 1993, Johnson is kicked off the team, Powers sees limited action (336 yards), and Davis has a decent season (464 yards, 4.7 per carry). In our game against Purdue toward the end of the year, a little known freshman named Tim Biakabutka emerges, rushing for 140 yards on 24 carries, with 3 TDs.
In 1994, Davis starts the opener against Boston College and rushes for an uninspiring 50 yards on 20 carries, as Wheatley is hurt. Biakabutuka, however, runs for 128 yards in that game, and takes over the #1 role until Wheatley comes back, at which point they share carries in what is probably the most talented Michigan backfield of my lifetime.
In 1996, with Biakabutuka gone to the NFL, Chris Howard (762 yards) and Clarence Williams (837 yards) take over. By 1997, while Howard is still the featured back (967 yards), freshman Anthony Thomas emerges, rushing for 583 yards while Williams gains only 285. In 1998, Williams' senior year, he still ran for 673 yards, but Thomas was the main back running for 893.
Even from 1998-2000, we see this same pattern. Thomas is the starter, but in the fall in 1998 freshman Justin Fargas emerges until he sustains a gruesome injury. By 2000, Fargas is back, but he is running third string behind senior Thomas and talented true freshman Chris Perry, so he asks Lloyd Carr if he can move to safety, just to get on the field. He then transfers to USC, where he has a nice finish to his career, running for 715 yards in 2002 for a 10-2 team that won the Orange Bowl, blowing out Iowa.
The point here is that John Vaughn, Ricky Powers, Jesse Johnson, Ed Davis, Clarence Williams, and (maybe - the situation was a little more complicated) Justin Fargas were all very talented Michigan running backs who could have probably started for 8-9 other Big Ten programs, but were beaten out by even more talented guys coming up behind them (Powers, Wheatley, Biakabutuka, Thomas, Perry).
These days, you would think a guy like Powers (1250 yards as a sophomore) would transfer after beating beaten out as a junior without question. Same for Williams, who had 837 yards as a sophomore but lost his job.
In that context, it seems to me the ZC transfer makes a lot of sense. Haskins beat him out for the bulk of the carries this year, and deservedly so, IMO. Corum, in this offense, provides an element ZC does not. And Edwards (it seems) is destined to be the next great Michigan RB.
I imagine ZC winds up at Cal, or UCLA - somewhere he can play and be reasonably likely to start next year (or maybe even this year, who knows).
Also, a comment on the rotation. It doesn't work when you're not running the ball well. Go back and look at the 1990-1993 teams, and you see several players with lots of carries and yards. That was because the OL play was exceptional. Conceptually, it's great to have 3-4 guys who can play, be productive, and offer different things. But that only works if the blocking and run game are strong. When that's not the case, you see games like Charbonnet with 5 carries for -3 yards against MSU. He's not happy with his workload, and obviously his production was negative.
