One of Michigan football’s top running backs plans to leave the program.
Sophomore Zach Charbonnet entered the NCAA transfer portal Monday, the Free Press has learned.
The former four-star recruit rushed for 124 yards and one touchdown on 19 carries this season. Almost half of his yardage total came during one 70-yard run against Minnesota in the team’s opener.
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Charbonnet’s decision to explore a move to another school comes less than a week after Mike Hart was hired as the team’s running backs coach. He is the 15th scholarship player to enter the portal since October 2019 and the fifth since September.
The 6-foot-1, 220-pound Californian’s career in Ann Arbor began with great promise. In his second game, Charbonnet gained 100 yards on 33 carries and helped the Wolverines hold off Army in a double-overtime victory. The following month, he rushed for 116 yards in a rout of Illinois.
But Charbonnet never reached that total again despite being named the team’s Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2019 and producing 756 yards all-purpose yards as a freshman. This year, he was marginalized in a rotation that featured three other running backs — Hassan Haskins, Chris Evans and Blake Corum.
In this season’s arrangement, the most carries Charbonnet received was six. On the majority of his 103 snaps, he either went out for a pass or blocked.
The loss of Charbonnet will be mitigated by the arrival of four-star prospect Donovan Edwards of West Bloomfield.
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Edwards will join a running back room that is smaller after Evans left to pursue a career in the NFL and Charbonnet looks for a fresh start at a different program.
Contact Rainer Sabin at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @RainerSabin. Read more on the Michigan Wolverines, Michigan State Spartans and sign up for our Big Ten newsletter.
