Michigan not worried about Edwards, confident in Mullings and Hall

Tony Alford isn’t worried. 

Despite the fact that senior Donovan Edwards only managed 27 yards on 11 carries in the No. 10 Michigan football team’s season opener, the Wolverines running backs coach still has full confidence in his star back. 

“Maybe I have to do a better job of coaching, maybe he’s got to do a better job of finishing some runs and things like that,” Alford said Wednesday. “But I’m not fearing having him in the game whatsoever. The guy’s a leader on this team. … He’s proven to be able to make plays in this program, which he’s done for many games.”

One season opener doesn’t change Edwards’ history with Michigan entirely, but it did look eerily similar to the way he opened his difficult 2023 season. As he did a season ago, Edwards struggled to run between the tackles on Saturday and never found the explosive play he’s known for. He did score his first touchdown on the first drive of the season — much sooner than last year, when it took him until the Wolverines’ seventh game — but had little else to show for his efforts. 

It didn’t help Edwards that his longest rush on Saturday, a 10-yard scamper up the sideline, was called back due to holding. And while Alford isn’t worried about Edwards’ performance as a whole, he still wants to make sure that Edwards doesn’t sacrifice solid yards for the elusive big play. 

“Let’s say you’re known for making a big play, and now all of a sudden it doesn’t happen,” Alford said. “You start trying to overcompensate to make a big play. Just stay in the structure of what will happen, and the big plays will come.”

Following that formula created success for graduate running back Kalel Mullings on Saturday, who kept “throwing punches,” as Alford puts it. Mullings consistently picked up solid gains, taking what the defense gave him, before breaking through for big gains in the fourth quarter. Alford said Wednesday that he wants to feed the hot hand, and Mullings’ hand was blazing. 

Mullings’ hot hand resulted in a 15-11 split in terms of carries for him and Edwards, respectively. While it’s not the bellcow workload that many expected for Edwards before the season, Alford was happy with the split. From effectively selling the fake when junior quarterback Alex Orji keeps the ball on read options to running hard each and every play, Mullings has given Michigan’s coaches a long list of reasons to keep him on the field. 

“(Mullings) has earned those carries, and he started earning those carries last spring,”  Alford said. “Kalel has proven to be a very accountable guy, not just within our room, but (also) special teams. There’s not a coach in the building that doesn’t respect what he’s doing and has done.”

While Alford was content with both Mullings’ and Edwards’ workload on Saturday, there’s one running back he wishes he could have gotten on the field: sophomore Ben Hall. Alford admitted that he “failed as a coach” by not getting Hall any snaps, as he earned them throughout camp, much like Mullings. After flashing against Indiana his freshman year, Hall has taken great strides according to Alford — particularly when he runs vertically instead of side-to-side — and is always looking to learn more.  

“I’m excited about him as a player and a young man, and he’s always asking about how to get better,” Alford said. “Matter of fact, I just got a text (from Hall) when I was walking in here about, ‘Coach, you talked about leading, what more can I do to lead?’ ”

With Mullings and Edwards ahead of Hall, it’s not like the Wolverines lack leadership in their running backs room. But Edwards and Mullings will be gone next year, and it also never hurts to have more leaders. Hall is taking that onus upon himself, looking to expand all facets of his game as he aims to step into a larger role.

So despite a subpar Week 1 for Edwards, Alford and the rest of Michigan’s coaches aren’t too worried about him for the future. But if he continues to struggle, they’re pretty confident in what they have alongside him in Mullings — and behind the duo in Hall — too.

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