The Michigan Wolverines rotated Chris Evans, Ty Isaac and Karan Higdon at running back during their 33-17 win over the Florida Gators on Saturday, but only one of the group - Isaac - made a noticeable impact on the game.
He only got 11 carries (compared to 22 for Evans and seven for Higdon), but outpaced both with 114 yards (the other two combined for 106). It seemed as though that performance would give him top back duties moving forward, but that is not the case.
Running backs coach Jay Harbaugh told the media on Wednesday that they will continue rotating all three backs, as it is key to what Michigan wants to do on offense and makes them more difficult to defend.
"I think it's a great thing," Harbaugh said. "They're all different, they all have unique skill sets. I think that makes it a little hard on the defense and you're getting different guys thrown at you with different styles and different types of moves, different ways of hitting certain runs. It is what it is, they're not the same so you can't treat them all the same but, ideally, if they all have the same level of competency then they are interchangeable. They're just going to hit certain runs in their own way.
"They're certainly competitive and every running back is going to want the ball. They've done a great job of being unselfish as a group. Each rooting for each other's success and still taking advantage of their own opportunities. I expect them to want the ball more. As a coach, I'm just going to assume everyone is going to have a healthy discontent with your role because they think they're the guy. If you're recruiting the right guys then that's going to be the case. They've done a really good job balancing that, that natural selfish instinct as a back. Balancing that with, hey, I'm a team guy, this is a team within a team and I want to see my brothers succeed and do well."
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Evans did earn the start against Florida and received most of the carries, and while that may change to Isaac this weekend, Harbaugh said that decision isn't important.
"It matters in terms of that guy [who starts], it's a great thing to start a game and has the confidence of your coaches and your teammates," Harbaugh said. "In terms of roles throughout a game, things change tremendously from the first quarter to the fourth quarter. In the big picture who starts isn't terribly important."
Michigan has their home opener on Saturday against Cincinnati. Kick off is set for noon ET and will be televised on ABC.
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