Name: Zach Charbonnet
Height: 6’1″
Weight: 220 lbs.
High school: Sherman Oaks (CA) Oaks Christian
Position: Running back
Class: Freshman
Jersey number: #24
Last year: I ranked Charbonnet #19 and said he would be the starting running back with 120 carries for 600 yards and 8 touchdowns (LINK). He ran 149 times for 726 yards and 11 touchdowns, along with making 8 catches for 30 yards.
TTB Rating: 90
Charbonnet came in at #19 last year. Normally a starting running back would probably rank higher, but he was a freshman coming off knee surgery. He ended up having one of the best freshman seasons for any Michigan back in history. Charbonnet was mostly very efficient and steady, but he didn’t show the explosiveness that some – including me – expected coming out of high school.
After starting off with a bang (8 carries for 90 yards) against Middle Tennessee, he averaged 3.0 to 3.2 yards per carry in three out of his next four games. He hit 100 yards for the first time against Army in week two, plus 3 touchdowns, but that was on just 3.03 yards a pop. He saved his worst for the Ohio State game, when he averaged just 1.75 yards per carry on 4 attempts.
Word out of camp this fall is that Charbonnet is a different guy. Players are saying he’s more explosive and working extremely hard. How much of that is camp hype, and how much of it is the natural maturation from freshman to sophomore year? We’ll see.
At the very least, we should expect some continued Steady Eddie performances, hopefully with a few more big runs. Charbonnet should be at or near the top of the depth chart, along with Chris Evans, who sat out 2019 due to a suspension. Evans has a little more big play ability, so they would be a nice 1-2 punch.
Prediction: Part-time starting running back
Hit the jump for some of his 2019 highlights.
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