2021 Michigan Pro Day Results

Tag: Chris Evans


28Mar 2021
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2021 Michigan Pro Day Results

Chris Evans (image via Maize ‘n’ Brew)

Several NFL Draft hopefuls worked out at Michigan’s pro day on Friday, March 26. Here are some of the noteworthy results:

WR Nico Collins (6’4″, 215 lbs.)
40 time: 4.43 seconds
Bench press reps: 14
Vertical jump: 37.5″
Broad jump: 10’5 3/4″
3-cone drill: 6.71 seconds
5-10-5 drill: 4.32 seconds

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28Dec 2020
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Anatomy of a Running Back Substitution, Part 2

Zach Charbonnet (image via Freep)

The other day I posted about Michigan’s running back rotations (LINK). Today I will be addressing why running backs might get rotated.

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There are a lot of reasons to rotate running backs from play to play. Ideally, you have a perfect, three-down running back who never gets hurt or makes mental mistakes . . . but those are rare.

Hit the jump for a discussion of eight reasons to sub in new running backs.

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23Nov 2020
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Michigan vs. Rutgers Awards

Giles Jackson (image via Wolverines Wire)

Let’s see more of this guy on offense . . . Cade McNamara. I wasn’t quite ready after the Wisconsin game, but now I’m ready. Quarterback Cade McNamara should be the starter going forward. He went 27/36 for 260 yards, 4 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions, and he also ran in 1 touchdown. This happened after starter Joe Milton was 5/12 for 89 yards.

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28Sep 2020
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2020 Season Countdown: #16.5 Chris Evans

Chris Evans (image via Wolverines Wire)

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Name: Chris Evans
Height: 5’11”
Weight: 216 lbs.
High school: Indianapolis (IN) Ben Davis
Position: Running back
Class: Fifth year senior
Jersey number: #12
Last year he played (2018): I ranked Evans #15 and said he would be a backup running back with 120 carries for 650 yards and 5 touchdowns with 22 catches for 220 yards and 2 touchdowns. He ran 81 times for 423 yards (5.2 yards/carry) and 4 touchdowns, plus 18 catches for 148 yards and 1 touchdown.
TTB Rating: 68

Okay, every year I screw up and leave someone off the countdown, having to fix it halfway through once I realize my mistake. I thought I was doing well this year, because I made DOUBLE SURE to include every 2020 signee and carry over every roster member from 2019. But of course, Chris Evans wasn’t a signee and wasn’t on the 2019 roster, so I had to wedge him in here after I realized my mistake.

Evans took a step back in his true junior season of 2018, going from 600+ rushing yards in each of his first two seasons to just 423 yards in 2018. However, he did reach a career high in receptions (18) while watching Karan Higdon handle the starter’s workload. The coaching staff really seemed unable to get him going, with his only successful games coming in blowouts or mismatches (SMU, Rutgers, Western Michigan, etc.). It was the first year he did not reach 100 yards in at least one game, with a high of 86 coming against the MAC’s yearly sacrifice, the Broncos.

This year I decided to place Evans at #16.5, a few spots higher than Zach Charbonnet (LINK), not because I think Evans will be the starter or take a plurality of the workload. The reason is that I think Evans opens up some more possibilities for the offense. He’s the best receiver out of Michigan’s backfield, and Josh Gattis’s offense is a knockoff of systems that have used running backs in the passing game more often than what we saw Michigan use in 2019. Saquon Barkley caught 54 passes at Penn State. Alabama’s top two backs caught 22 and 20 passes in 2018 when Gattis was there. Even the forgettable Bill Belton caught 26 passes for Penn State back in 2014.

Michigan running backs totaled 20 catches in 2019, led by Charbonnet’s grand total of 8.

Assuming Gattis wants to replicate the more diverse passing game we’ve seen in other versions of this offense, I think Evans will pair well with Charbonnet in the backfield. I would like to see both of them on the field at the same time, and I would like to see Evans used in the RPO game as a slot receiver. Whether that will happen or not remains to be seen, but I think it would be a mistake to just use one running back at a time when the Wolverines have three guys available with starting experience (Charbonnet, Evans, and Hassan Haskins).

Michigan’s most talented non-freshman skill guys are the following group, so I would try to get them together whenever possible:

  • WR Ronnie Bell
  • WR Giles Jackson
  • RB Zach Charbonnet
  • RB Chris Evans
  • TE Nick Eubanks

Prediction: Backup running back

Here are some highlights to remind you of some of his ability:

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