Michigan fell to the No. 8 Indiana Hoosiers on Saturday, but the game marked the return of the Wolverines’ future RB1:
The Michigan Wolverines dropped a winnable game on the road yesterday, losing 20-15 to the No. 8 Indiana Hoosiers . On the bright side of the loss was the return of true freshman running back Jordan Marshall, who played for the first time since Week 2 following an injury.
Here’s who’s had a chance to play as a true freshman this season. An asterisk (*) indicates they saw playing time against Indiana:
- RB Jordan Marshall (2 games)*
- WR Channing Goodwin (1 game)*
- OL Andrew Sprague (2 games)*
- OL Jake Guarnera (4 games)
- TE Hogan Hansen (7 games)
- LB Cole Sullivan (9 games)*
- Edge Dominic Nichols (4 games)
- DL Manuel Beigel (1 game)
- DB Mason Curtis (6 games)*
- DB Jo’ziah Edmond (6 games)*
- DB Jacob Oden (3 games)*
Marshall had four kick returns for 100 yards, including a 37-yard return to start the second half. The coaching staff has talked about Marshall’s big playmaking ability, and while it’s tough he missed so much time, it was nice to see some of that ability in this game. He gave Michigan a bit of a spark on special teams and proved why the coaches gave him the role.
Another guy still getting playing time is safety Mason Curtis. The Wolverines burned his redshirt last week, and he posted another tackle against the Hoosiers. Michigan had Brandyn Hillman and Jyaire Hill back in the secondary this week, but Curtis was still able to play nine snaps, a good sign that the coaches see value in him.
The other two defensive players still seeing the field are linebacker Cole Sullivan and cornerback Jo’Zaiah Edmond. They were on the special teams unit against Indiana, and both burned their redshirts already this year.
Wide receiver Channing Goodwin hit the field for the first time all season in this game. He was in on special teams, as was safety Jacob Oden. Andrew Sprague also played special teams, but was on the field for one snap along the offensive line as well.
Another thing to note is that freshman tight end Hogan Hansen did not play on Saturday due to an injury. Hansen saw most of his offensive snaps when the Wolverines lost Colston Loveland to an injury early in the season, but he has also contributed in other games since then, with the most recent one being against Illinois.
The Wolverines are on another bye week, but will host Northwestern on Nov. 23 for the home finale before hitting the road to play Ohio State . Michigan still needs one more win for bowl eligibility.