Karan Higdon's Great Year
As I sit here waiting for a plumber to arrive at my house and charge me an exorbitant sum, I started wondering about just how good Karan Higdon's year was shaping up to be. The kid is a tank, and the last drive against MSU (which I've watched 5 times) was a work of art; staying low, grinding out yards, taking big hits in stride, and just killing that clock. So, I looked at some stats...
So far through 7 games (he was held out against SMU), Higdon has 831 rushing yards. That is an average of about 119 yards per game.
If he keeps that up in the remaining 4 games - and that seems fair, as he should over-perform in at least two of those games, and PSU doesn't strike me as a great D - and he will end the regular season with 1305 yards.
If we add in one additional game at the same pace - either the bowl game or the B1GCG - he will finish with 1425 yards. That would give him the 14th best season by a UM RB all time (13th if we exclude Denard).
However, at 1425 yards he would be in a tight pack of RBs with similar totals. So if he can get just 75 more yards - either by going 19 yards above average per game, like in the MSU game, or us getting both the B1GCG and a bowl game - and get to 1500 yards, he would leap to 7th all time (6th if we eliminate Denard). The latter option would give him one more game than the guys in front of him, but who cares? He will have been a big part of why we got that extra game.
I think Mr. Higdon deserves a giant HUZZAH! I also think Ed Warriner and the OL could use one too...
October 25th, 2018 at 11:43 AM ^
As much as you post maybe you should learn to spell Warinner. Otherwise yeah.........
October 25th, 2018 at 12:01 PM ^
Says the guy who can't spell Michigan...
October 25th, 2018 at 1:02 PM ^
Insert oh snap gif here
October 25th, 2018 at 8:29 PM ^
I’ve been there.
October 25th, 2018 at 11:44 AM ^
I thought he played the best game of the year on Saturday. Fumble could have been costly but he made some really nice runs on the day.
October 25th, 2018 at 12:26 PM ^
Shea got credit for the fumble but it sure appeared to be Higdon coming in too tight at the mesh point.
October 25th, 2018 at 12:31 PM ^
The fumble was clearly on Higdon, but it had to "credited" to Shea because he was the person in possession of the ball when it happened.
October 25th, 2018 at 1:24 PM ^
The fumble was just dumb bad luck. Higdon lost his footing and his facemask knocked the ball out of Patterson's hands.
October 25th, 2018 at 3:37 PM ^
Higdon stumbled into the mesh point because he couldn't get traction on that abomination of a field. Not really fair to blame it on him, and it's definitely not a sign that he's fumble-prone or anything.
October 25th, 2018 at 11:45 AM ^
He’s not a tank...he’s an ABSOLUTE UNIT.
October 26th, 2018 at 12:32 PM ^
He hungry.
October 25th, 2018 at 11:47 AM ^
He will get to 1,000 against Penn State. Their run D is trash.
October 25th, 2018 at 12:08 PM ^
Corrected for you:
He will get a 1,000 against Penn State. Their run D is trash.
October 25th, 2018 at 2:42 PM ^
Corrected for you:
He will get 1,000 against Penn State....They're trash
because FUCK PENN STATE!
October 25th, 2018 at 6:03 PM ^
And Penn State at 4.00 YPC is actually the best run defense remaining on their schedule. He had 200 yds and 158 yds against Indiana and Rutgers last year, and both of those teams have run defenses that are just as bad this year.
October 25th, 2018 at 11:49 AM ^
I think after this bye week we will see different OL schemes that will be even better... Higdon is only starting to show how great he is... With the second half of the season everyone has multiple bumps and bruises, he will punish defenders and break even more tackles... He is a dude for sure... Another 200 yard game would not surprise me...
October 25th, 2018 at 11:56 AM ^
200 years against PSU would be great. 200 yards against OSU would be sublime.
October 25th, 2018 at 12:04 PM ^
300 yards against OSU would be spontaneously orgasmic...
October 25th, 2018 at 12:07 PM ^
If he puts 300 on OSU, Urban will drop dead on TV.
October 25th, 2018 at 12:24 PM ^
Well, he'd at least PRETEND to die on TV. He'd pop up a few years later with a mustache as the coach of a team in Kyrgyzstan.
October 25th, 2018 at 1:17 PM ^
All above scenarios sound wonderful to me...
October 25th, 2018 at 12:32 PM ^
Where's timmy b when you need him?!
October 25th, 2018 at 3:38 PM ^
I went to a Vanderbilt game earlier this year and saw Eddie George in the stands (his son plays for Vanderbilt). I got a chance to mention 313 yards, at which point he told me to kiss his ass.
October 25th, 2018 at 4:14 PM ^
You’re a brave man (or woman) Ali G.
October 25th, 2018 at 11:49 AM ^
I actually think Higdon is one of the least replaceable pieces we have on offense. I like Evans, but I feel like the dropoff between Higdon and Evans is significant.
Obviously if you are ranking importance, losing Patterson would also be disastrous, but I kind of wonder if McCaffery might be able to step in and do well. And I have no sense of what an O-line injury would look like. But Higdon seems able to find a lot of big extra yards on his runs when it looks like there is just nothing there.
October 25th, 2018 at 11:57 AM ^
He's a playmaker. He's getting hard yards for first downs at an amazing rate. His catch on that awful pass was the sort of play that Michigan players haven't been making for the last 10 years.
He's a huge part of our success.
October 25th, 2018 at 11:59 AM ^
I agree with this. What does RB look like next year? I don't think that Evans is going to be an every-down back. Tru doesn't seem to have the speed to punish a defense once he breaks through. Between the two of them, I think you have a competent backfield. One of the younger guys could have a breakout year next year, though. With the line improving, we may not need a grind it out back next year. If the line is consistently generating 3 yards, Evans may be the one to capitalize on that.
October 25th, 2018 at 12:02 PM ^
Charbonnet
October 25th, 2018 at 8:17 PM ^
Agreed...see how he adapts to the college game. I believe Samuels is going to be an excellent bridge here. If Warrrinnnerrr sticks around the RB position may become significantly easier.
October 25th, 2018 at 12:02 PM ^
Karan improved a lot over this last offseason. He was good before, but not spectacular. I trust the coaching staff to develop someone for next year. I don't know who that will be. Maybe an EE highly rated freshman?
October 25th, 2018 at 12:18 PM ^
I think it's going to be more of a running back by committee than this year. The majority of snaps will go to Evans and Tru Wilson. They will sprinkle in Samuels and Turner. Let's see if they give Charbonnet a redshirt to bulk up.
October 25th, 2018 at 12:29 PM ^
I don't know if Charbonnet needs to bulk up, unless some his 215 is bad weight.
October 25th, 2018 at 1:00 PM ^
Ayy I like your flag too!
October 25th, 2018 at 12:47 PM ^
Evans will be the starter going into spring. A freshman will get a shot, and perhaps someone like Turner or Samuels will take a step forward.
I wouldn't rule out Ben Mason picking up some more carries, either. Harbaugh likes bruisers and he has proven that he is able to hit a basic hole and thunder forward for yardage.
If I had to guess, I'd figure on Evans and Charbonnet being 1 and 1a.
October 25th, 2018 at 1:13 PM ^
From what I have seen with his limited snaps and with an off-season to improve, I expect Turner will have a very big role next year.
October 25th, 2018 at 1:18 PM ^
Christian Turner will win the starting job... He may not have had all the hype doing recruiting but this kid is a star in the making...
October 25th, 2018 at 1:42 PM ^
I agree, he runs with some animosity and has good vision. If he can pass protect and knows the playbook I'm guessing that Turner is 1a or 1b next year.
October 25th, 2018 at 2:06 PM ^
Yeah, the coaches have already given Turner a bunch of pt. When Evans was out, Turner was the 3rd back...and looked like he'd really earned it. He looks good--he runs like Higdon.
October 25th, 2018 at 8:27 PM ^
Look out for Ben VanSumeren if at FB(Primarily TE in HS). Kid was committed to WMU until he put up freakish numbers at Nike’s The Opening.
October 25th, 2018 at 11:57 AM ^
Oh I also recommend shutting your whore mouth the next time you try to exclude Denard from anything.
October 25th, 2018 at 12:09 PM ^
I loved Denard with all my heart and soul. Wish he could have played on better teams, however...
.gif)
October 25th, 2018 at 12:56 PM ^
This was my thought as well
October 25th, 2018 at 11:58 AM ^
I never understand excluding a player from a list like this due to playing a different position. What is the difference between the yards Denard's rushing yards and anyone else's?
October 25th, 2018 at 12:03 PM ^
There's none. It's just that some lists are "All-Time Running Backs" and others "All-Time Rushing Yards." Denard would be on one, not the other...
October 25th, 2018 at 12:15 PM ^
Higdon is playing really well. He has transformed himself as a blocker (it was visible right away against ND, and he has continued blocking well throughout the year) and is contributing crucial yards in every game. Just in the last two games he has become a weapon in the stretch/pin-and-pull runs Michigan has been running where he cuts upfield and rockets through the hole.
It's been a different kind of year for him than last year. Last season he had a couple really big games, single-handedly beating Indiana and gashing teams like Minnesota for huge plays. This year he doesn't have as many gigantic plays and hasn't had the huge games (partly because he leaves early in games against bad teams). But he's been much more consistent (in large part due to the OL) against tough opponents and has made key plays.
He's not the perfect back, but he's excellent. I think he's the best back we've had since Hart, and I don't think it's actually that close.
October 25th, 2018 at 5:27 PM ^
Toussaint had the potential to be great, but the rest of the team not so much back then.
October 25th, 2018 at 10:28 PM ^
It gets a little odd when these backs that you say aren't even close ended up on NFL rosters. Clearly there were issues that god help us are behind us now ( please no more OT transfers.)
October 25th, 2018 at 12:31 PM ^
Herbert and Warinner impact is really showing ... Higdon's yard after contact have really improved and the OL is strong and ascending in technique. Really built well for the 4th quarter - those two coaches deserve all of the credit.