Tag: Kalel Mullings

Michigan 28, Arkansas State 18

Just go away already, Red Wolves. I just wanted Arkansas State to quit. Michigan kept gashing them in the run game. Michigan kept stuffing their run game. And yet . . . Arkansas State wouldn’t quit. It was 28-3. And then it was 28-10. And then it was 28-18 after a touchdown and a two-point conversion against Michigan’s third- and fourth-stringers. So the final was closer than it should have been, because Michigan was trying to get its top players a rest going into the USC game next week. Those two teams are not just a 10-point differential away from each other. But the situation will be forgotten shortly and people will just look at the score. Good for Arkansas State for not quitting, but I wish they would have.

Hit the jump for more.

Michigan vs. Texas Awards

Let’s see more of this guy on offense . . . running backs carrying the ball. Michigan’s top two running backs, Donovan Edwards and Kalel Mullings, had just 14 total carries on Saturday. While they were only mildly productive, Michigan needs to commit to the run game to help out inexperienced quarterback Davis Warren. Michigan can’t just run the ball to run the ball, either; the coaches need to find creative ways to get them the ball and help them be successful.

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2024 Season Predictions

NOTE: I want to acknowledge that this post is coming out after Michigan’s first game. I usually get this post done prior to the season – for obvious reasons – but I was scrambling to finish the countdown and just couldn’t get it all wrapped up. Some of these predictions were already shared in the season countdown posts, but some were not addressed.

LEADING RUSHER
I’m not sure how well this prediction holds up after watching game one against Fresno State, in which Kalel Mullings outgained Donovan Edwards. But I believed Edwards would be the lead back and put up a good chunk of yards.
Prediction: Donovan Edwards, 1100 yards

Hit the jump for the rest of the prognostications.

Michigan 30, Fresno State 10

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PWO QB FTW. Well, it was a mild surprise when it was announced that former walk-on Davis Warren was named the starting quarterback for the season opener over Alex Orji and Jack Tuttle. Orji had received most of the hype in the off-season, and Tuttle is the most experienced. But Tuttle has been dealing with injuries and soreness, so he wasn’t really an option. Rumors started coming out a couple days before the game that Warren would be the guy. He finished 15/25 for 118 yards, 1 touchdown, and 1 interception and graded out as Michigan’s #4 offensive player (69.7 on Pro Football Focus). Overall, I thought Warren was mostly accurate. He overthrew a deep shot to Tyler Morris, and he underthrew Fredrick Morris on an open post route that could have been a touchdown but turned into an interception. There were a lot of checkdowns and short throws, probably by design to make things easy for Warren in his first start. But overall, I thought Warren looked composed and accurate.

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2024 Season Countdown: #21 Kalel Mullings

Name: Kalel Mullings
Height: 6’2″
Weight: 233 lbs.
High school: West Roxbury (MA) Milton Academy
Position: Running back
Class: Fifth year senior
Jersey number: #20
Last year: I ranked Mullings #38 and said he would be a backup running back (LINK). He had
TTB Rating: 78

Mullings was a linebacker at Michigan for his first two-plus years on campus. But in year three, Blake Corum suffered an injury against Illinois, and Michigan needed someone to help take the load in the backfield. So Mullings – a standout high school running back – threw a jump pass against Ohio State in 2022 and gained 31 yards on 14 carries, including scoring 3 touchdowns. Unfortunately, he fumbled on a goal line attempt against TCU in the College Football Playoff, and Michigan ended up losing by six points.

Instead of reverting to linebacker for 2023, Mullings stayed on offense to compete with Donovan Edwards for the backup position. At one point during the season, Mullings had earned the #2 spot and did some good things with it. He had a ho-hum non-conference performance (4 carries, 17 yards) to start the year, but he picked it up during the Big Ten slate and never averaged fewer than 5.0 yards per carry. Altogether, he ran 36 times for 222 yards (6.2 yards/carry) and 1 touchdown, a 20-yard scamper against Nebraska. Despite playing the season at 239 pounds, he showed nimble feet, good patience, and a decent burst.

The 2024 season should be another big step in his career now that Corum is off to the Los Angeles Rams. Edwards and Mullings are the #1 and #2 backs, and while Edwards is the favorite to win the job (after all, he was on the cover of NCAA ’25), Mullings can make a case to be the Thunder to Edwards’s Lightning. Edwards has struggled at times and has also been injured a little bit. Over the past three years of post-COVID Michigan football, the #2 back for Michigan has averaged 813 yards per season, including 950+ yards from both Corum (2021) and Edwards (2022). I don’t know that Mullings will approach 1,000 yards like those two, but he should have a pretty hefty rushing total by the end of the year while also serving as a short yardage and goal line back at times.

Prediction: Backup running back; 750 yards and 9 touchdowns