Tag: Tavierre Dunlap

2024 Spring Football Preview: Running Back

2023 Starter: Blake Corum
Losses: Corum, Leon Franklin, C.J. Stokes
Returning players: Kalel Mullings (RS Sr.), Donovan Edwards (Sr.), Tavierre Dunlap (RS Jr.), Cole Cabana (RS Fr.), Benjamin Hall (RS Fr.)
Newcomers: N/A
Projected starter: Edwards

For having lost such a large part of Michigan’s program over the past three years in running back Blake Corum, Michigan’s running game will look pretty familiar in 2024. Corum ran 675 times for 3,737 yards and 58 touchdowns in his career, becoming Michigan’s top career touchdown scorer. But his primary backup, Donovan Edwards, had some huge games at opportune times.

Edwards ran 119 times for 497 yards (4.2 yards/carry) and 5 touchdowns in 2023, and he caught 30 passes for 249 yards (8.3 yards/catch). His entire season was pretty ho-hum . . . except for a 22-yard touchdown in a tight game against Penn State . . . and then two 40+ yard scores against Washington in the national championship game. He goes into the spring as the odds-on favorite to start, but he’s somewhat of a proven commodity. Michigan showed last year that they don’t really want to subject running backs to extra wear and tear, and we even learned that Corum and Edwards basically weren’t tackled all the way through fall camp. We’ll see if the transition to Sherrone Moore as head coach changes that equation at all.

The other intriguing option at running back is former linebacker Kalel Mullings, who has been playing offense since the 2022 postseason. He ran 36 times for 222 yards (6.2 yards/carry) and 1 touchdown, and he even caught 2 passes for 32 yards, including a key 19-yard reception against Alabama in the Rose Bowl. There were times in 2023 when he looked like the more instinctive back, and he’s certainly more adept at breaking tackles.

Second-year player Benjamin Hall was the breakout star of the 2023 spring game, and his one solid showing during the season was a 9-carry, 58-yard performance against Indiana. He’s a bowling ball at 5’11” and 234 pounds, but he’s unlikely to break into the top two at the position. Fellow second-year back Cole Cabana had just 2 carries for 6 yards in 2023 and had some injuries that limited him to one game; at 6’0″ and 198 pounds, he’s a speedster who still has to get his body ready for the college game.

The Wolverines lost C.J. Stokes (transfer to Charlotte) and walk-on Leon Franklin (transfer to Tennessee Tech), so along with Cabana and Hall, expect to see a good-sized dose of guys like walk-ons Henry Donohue (career: 3 carries for 9 yards) and Bryson Kudzal (career: 0 carries) toting the ball to keep Edwards and Mullings fresh for the fall. Kudzal’s high school profile touts a 4.41 forty and a 40″ vertical, but he’s an in-state, small-school product who was a little bit stiff and upright as a runner in high school.

2023 Season Countdown: #80 Tavierre Dunlap

Name: Tavierre Dunlap
Height: 6’0″
Weight: 217 lbs.
High school: Del Valle (TX) Del Valle
Position: Running back
Class: Redshirt sophomore
Jersey number: #22
Last year: I ranked Dunlap #66 and said he would be a backup running back (LINK). He ran 9 times for 46 yards and caught 1 pass for 5 yards.
TTB Rating: 59

A blog contributor recently threw out the phrase “It’s getting late early” in jest for a true freshman who might not fit what the current coaching staff wants, and that was a phrase that I was holding out until I got to the Dunlap post. Dunlap was the #237 overall player in the 2021 class, but he was part of a two-back class that included Donovan Edwards. While Edwards had some big plays in 2021 and had a standout season in 2022, Dunlap has been quietly working in as the fourth or fifth back. Last season he finished with fewer touches than Edwards, Blake Corum, freshman C.J. Stokes, walk-on Isaiah Gash, and converted linebacker Kalel Mullings. It was especially damning when Gash got some short yardage carries and some crunch-time touches against Illinois while Dunlap watched from the sideline.

Going into the 2023 season, Dunlap will certainly be behind Corum and Edwards, and I expect him to also be behind Stokes and Mullings. The real question is whether freshmen Benjamin Hall and Cole Cabana pass him up, too. Hall had a solid spring game, and Cabana is a speedster with big play ability. So far Dunlap has not shown much wiggle, speed, or power, and those skills don’t often suddenly appear in year three. I would not be surprised if this is Dunlap’s final year in a Michigan uniform before transferring. But hopefully Corum and Edwards can get their touches, put Michigan ahead, and leave a lot of reps in the third and fourth quarters for the backups to show their stuff.

Prediction: Backup running back and special teamer

Potential Departure Candidates: Offense

With the onslaught of transfer portal entries in college football, it’s inevitable that Michigan will face some more departures this off-season. Three players have already announced their intentions to transfer, and one (Cade McNamara to Iowa) has already found a landing spot. Tight ends Erick All and Louis Hansen are both headed for, ahem, greener pastures.

McNamara and All are both somewhat unique cases of players who played a lot but felt slighted in some way, but Hansen is a more typical case of a player buried on the depth chart who wants to see some light at the end of the tunnel. This post explores several players in similar situations who may find greener pastures elsewhere:

DISCLAIMER: This post is speculative in nature and not intended to encourage/discourage any player from leaving Michigan’s program. The reality is that college football is now a lot like unrestricted free agency from year to year.

RB TAVIERRE DUNLAP
Why he should stay: Every Michigan starting running back during his tenure has turned in a 1,000+ yard season, but they had to wait three or more years to do it. Hassan Haskins and Blake Corum have both turned in star performances after waiting their turn. Dunlap has done well when given a chance, averaging 6.1 yards per carry.
Why he might leave: Opportunities are limited when you’re the third string back or lower, and there’s no reason to expect much of a change in scenery for 2023. While Corum is likely headed to the NFL, Donovan Edwards is a bona fide star in the making and freshman C.J. Stokes already has many more carries (55) in one season than Dunlap has in two (16), and walk-on Isaiah Gash (19 carries, 101 yards, 2 touchdowns) even topped Dunlap in touches. When it came to the Big Ten championship game and Ohio State, Michigan decided to use a big back at times . . . but that back was the 6’2″, 232 lb. backup linebacker Kalel Mullings instead of Dunlap (6’0″, 217).

Hit the jump for more.

2022 Season Countdown: #66 Tavierre Dunlap

Name: Tavierre Dunlap
Height: 6’0″
Weight: 222 lbs.
High school: Del Valle (TX) Del Valle
Position: Running back
Class: Redshirt freshman
Jersey number: #22
Last year: I ranked Dunlap #69 and said he would be a backup running back (LINK). He played in two games and ran 7 times for 51 yards.
TTB Rating: 59

Dunlap came into the 2021 season as a true freshman trying to earn carries in a loaded backfield. That was always going to be an uphill battle with the roster Michigan had, and being a 220 pound power back with Hassan Haskins on the roster was never going to work unless Haskins got hurt. Luckily, Haskins stayed healthy and Michigan had a great season, but Dunlap appropriately stayed on the bench for most of the year. He retained his redshirt, got a little experience against Northern Illinois and Indiana, and goes into 2022 with a better chance of contributing.

Unfortunately, linebacker Kalel Mullings has entered the mix. The staff realized they would miss Haskins a bunch and wanted to make sure they had a big back ready. This spring Mullings started pulling double duty at running back in addition to linebacker, and based on the spring game, it appears to me that Mullings is ahead of Dunlap. To me it looks like Dunlap is the fourth best back on the roster, and that might change if we get a look at C.J. Stokes in the non-conference season. Dunlap should get a few carries this season, but I don’t think he will play a critical role.

Prediction: Backup running back

What to Watch in the Spring Game

The spring game will be shown on the Big Ten Network on Saturday, April 2, at 12:00 p.m.

Here are a few things I’ll be curious to watch:

WHO TAKES OVER FOR HASSAN HASKINS?
Michigan needs to replace its leading rusher and toughest back in Hassan Haskins, a 6’1″, 220-pounder who is off to the NFL after rushing for 1,327 yards and 20 touchdowns in 2021. The Wolverines have two very talented running backs left, Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards, but neither one has proven to be a bruiser or short yardage back. They have home run speed but were listed at 200 and 202 pounds, respectively, last season. Redshirt freshman Tavierre Dunlap (6’0″, 222) might be able to step into the role as a big back, but does he have the instincts and power that Haskins showed? Michigan doesn’t need a leading rusher – that will be Corum or Edwards – but they need someone who can pound the ball inside.

Hit the jump for more.