Hassan Haskins Draft projection... and some memories....

Love me some Hassan and hope he can find success at the next level. I don’t think I’ve seen many backs at Michigan who were better at picking up an extra yard or two or three that wasn’t seemingly there. And obviously his hurdles were highlight worthy. The one at Nebraska was especially unique in that most hurdles don’t lead to an additional 25+ yards. He really came onto the scene in the win vs highly ranked Notre Dame in 2019 and he’ll rightfully best be remembered for his historic performance against Ohio State. He was huge on the road at Penn State to get us to the Ohio State game and a large part of me can’t help but wonder what would have happened at Michigan State had he received the bulk of the snaps like he did vs Penn State and Ohio State.

An interesting note that I didn’t find out until the end of the season is that he has an older brother (I’m assuming half brother), Maurice Alexander, who was also a low profile recruit out of Eureka high school and ended up being drafted in the 4th round as a LBer out of Utah State and played some in the NFL on special teams and as a S. His brother was getting starts in the NFL around 2017 so it’s a bit surprising to me that this didn’t help his recruitment at all. I believe Jay Harbaugh randomly found his tape when looking through a recruiting site and was looking to add another RB.

A GREAT diary post for a great player - thanks for pulling it together!

I hope Haskins has a great career. It will be interesting, as always, to see whether his exceptional abilities at the college level will "translate" at the next level.

I hope the Steelers take him. He'd be a great compliment to Najee Harris. They'd be leaping fools all over.

The Najee Harris comps are not crazy. Similar styles, both tall, not blazingly fast. And I think Haskins is a much better receiver than he was given credit for. Would love to see him go to the Rams or a team like that who is looking for serious production in those middle rounds rather than simply adding a guy to the roster. 

We seem to do better with 3* RB's than we do with 5* RB's.   That's some quality scouting right there.

Best of luck playing on Sundays.... cash that check!

So 32*4 = 128.    Not bad to go from 975 in your class to within the top 128 of this year's draft class (which includes 2-3 years of recruiting classes.)

For him to go in the fourth round would be pretty miraculous. Running backs, unless you are a truly exceptional one coming out of college, are oftentimes a dime a dozen in the league and don't find themselves in the early rounds too often anymore. Especially when you're an unheralded recruit like Hassan was. 

His lack of that "extra gear" on speed will probably prevent him from being a starter in the league, or being the uber-athlete that you'd expect to see with a first or second round RB selection, but he can absolutely still find a role somewhere as a complementary back. The guy you bring in on 2nd and 2 or 3rd and 1, or goal line situations when you need a guy who you know is going to be able to always fall forward and get you that extra yard. 

You mean he passed up Indiana St in French Lick, IN for Ann Arbor? Illinois St, Missouri St?  That was the easiest decision in the history of decisions.  I believe his game will translate well to the NFL.

Jay Harbaugh with a nice eye for talent 

Had a great career at UM and I think he'll show up well at th combine and the draft.

I will always love Mr. Hurdle a Fool, a great player and leader.

Haskins....It's not every day that I say I am proud of a player, but Hassan is one of those guys!

Joined Biakabutuka in OSU-Smashing-Glory!

Also doesn't fumble.  I would think his talents could keep him on an NFL roster for a few years at least.

4th or 5th round seems right to me.  His lack of long speed will probably keep him out of the early rounds, but that is the ONLY hole in his game.  He blocks well, catches well, has great short-area burst, gets extra yards after contact, and he can even leap over a defender now and then.

His ability to contribute as a ST player and do everything well will keep on him on NFL rosters for a long time.

I'll be suprised if he lasts to the fourth.   He is Matt Forte 2.0 and an everydown RB.

He also ran for 5 touchdowns in Michigan's win over Ohio State, 42-27. Feel like a lot of people forget that - 5 touchdowns. 42-27

Double post. My bad.

Haskins was just a complete back. Always getting extra yards , great pass blocker, could catch the ball if needed, never fumbled, no drama ,out performed his ranking... man Im going to miss watching him on Saturdays.

I am happy to take an "L" on Haskins.  I never thought he would be anything but an average B10 back.  Never been so happy to be wrong.

Good luck, Hassan!  I hope you have a nice NFL career and make some good cash.  

Haskins may not get a bell-cow role, but I suspect he will be a solid guy splitting time at RB, getting 15 or so early down carries + goal line work.  He has the ability to avoid negative-yard plays even with the blocking breaks down, and that is super valuable in the NFL where you can't assume your O-Line has an advantage every week.    

BTW I remember back when he first started getting carries in 2019--I didn't really know who he was and it seemed like he was just as good or better than all of our other backs.  Then he busted out with 100+ against Illinois and then followed it up with 150 vs Notre Dame. 

I know Charbonnet was the big recruiting prize but Haskins was he equal and was a big part of Charbonnet transferring.

I love to see a guy earn his way onto the field like that and then run with it.  Hope he gets the same shot at the next level.

Glad to see he will go higher than ever expected before the 2021 season. I hope he has a wonderfully long career, but I don't know that he will ever be a starter other than as a fill in just due to his speed. He's shown for certain that he has the ability to get tough yards and he certainly has heart. God speed Hassan and GO BLUE!

We’ll see what his 40 and 3 cone times look like. Hopefully he’s been working on catching the ball.

I feel like he was very similar to Deveon Smith-powerful bruiser that beats and batters defenses, but not outrunning anyone. Perfect Thunder punch to soften teams up for Lightning Corum

Hassan had more burst and agility than Smith. Hassan was explosive the first 10 yards, he just didn’t have the long distance speed to finish the home run like a true speedster can. But he’s much more than a typical power back. The only thing that keeps him from being a 1st/2nd round type of guy is that long distance speed. He has everything else you’d want in a feature back.

I'll never forget reading that the staff intentionally held off offering to avoid other teams scouting him and they thought he was a 5 Star caliber back. I became skeptical when he got moved to defense but Jaybaugh was proven right in the end. May be my all time favorite RB.

I remember reading he has never fumbled in a Michigan uniform. I had to go back to his first year and it is true. Awesome hands, tough runner and always willing to move the pile. It's rare you find a back like him and if i remember right wasn't he recruited as a linebacker?