jarek broussard

Previously: Quarterback

We return for the second edition of The Enemy, Ranked. After peering at QBs on Wednesday, we turn our attention to running back. Our ranking will be based on both the presence of a #1 option, but also the depth of options (ideally a solid #2). Grading on production, experience, talent and receiving ability, I have ranked all 12 Michigan opponents on the basis of their RB room. Let's get started with a new team in the cellar. 

12. Colorado State 

Not UCONN! The Rams find themselves last on the list with a RB room that, like many on the list, sees considerable turnover. Jay Norvell brought a back with him from Nevada, Avery Morrow, but he was RB3 in Reno a year ago and has just 25 career carries to his name. The pedigree, that of a 3* Who Dat recruit, isn't the most promising either. Morrow seems to be fighting for the job with A'Jon Vivens, who stuck around in Fort Collins through the coaching change. Vivens was also the third RB for his team last year, though with a bit more experience (90 carries in 2021). His stats last season were pretty middling, 3.6 YPC and the PFF grade mirrors that. Neither guy has a any experience being a lead back, neither guy has shown much at the NCAA level, and though they both add a small receiving element, it was pretty easy to put the Rams #12 on the list. 

[UCONN Athletics]

11. Connecticut 

The Huskies escape the cellar thanks to the return of Nathan Carter, one of the few bright spots amid another disastrous 1-11 UCONN season. Carter was the top running back for Connecticut last season, with 124 carries and 19 receptions leading the backfield and he did so with a respectable 4.62 yards per carry and a less-good 6.7 yards per reception. Carter figures to get the lion's share of the carries this fall for new coach Jim Mora Jr., while the backup RB position is more unknown, with ex-JUCO/Delaware transfer Will Knight seeming to be #2 right now. I put UCONN #11 because Carter gives them a higher floor than what CSU can offer, but even though his stats were better than some backs ranked ahead of this, a strength of schedule adjustment (some of Carter's best games came against stiff competition like UMass and Vandy) docks him and lands the team 11th. 

10. Rutgers

Believe it or not, we are finally freed from the memories of Isaih Pacheco outrunning Brad Hawkins in a game that feels like it happened 40 years ago. After a loooong B1G career, the wily Rutgers back departs the program and leaves behind him a sizable hole in the backfield. Right now it's looking like an RB-by-committee situation between three unsatisfactory options. Two returners who played a sizable role in 2021 are vying for the job, Kyle Monangai and Aaron Young. Both carried the ball ~60 times last season, with nearly identical stat lines, one at 3.8 YPC and one at 3.7 YPC, one with 5 TDs and one with 4 TDs. Both also caught the ball ~11 times last year, and both went for ~7 yards per reception. Their PFF grades were very similar too, so I'm starting to think Greg Schiano might have just cloned Monangai and named the other "Aaron Young".

Neither guy projects as much of an impact player on a team that struggles to run the football behind a very poor offensive line, so if there is a hope to have a big time back, it might need to come from 3* RS FR Al-Shadee Salaam. We don't know that much about him and he wasn't a particularly prized recruit, but perhaps Salaam is ready to be the breakout player in Piscataway for 2022. But based on the information we know now, Rutgers was pretty clearly last among B1G opponents due to the lack of a returning RB1 and the poor stats and running environment surrounding the returners. 

[AFTER THE JUMP: More transfers and some good backs]