GEN5 MODIFIED
Michigan has a future Doak Walker-winner in its backfield.
Swear my daddy got me a Christmas gift. It's a Gen5 and that bitch is modified
- Drake, musician
TAKE THAT ARROW AND SHOOT IT RIGHT THROUGH MY HEART—A five-star RB who is already getting mention of seeing significant reps this upcoming season? We love to see it. Especially so at this publication.
And apologies to my man Jordan Marshall, but #5’s ascendancy does almost feel inevitable. I don’t exactly know what to make of the Michigan RB situation yet, but after originally feeling pretty peachy about Marshall I am officially on “do not touch” mode there.
The better idea is starting to feel like drafting Hiter in a much later round currently. According to Campus2Canton.com, Marshall had a March ADP of 16.4, which is probably around the second or third rounds in many drafts, whereas Hiter was at 361, which is significantly later.
I should also address the elephant in the room—there is obviously a new staff this year at Michigan. The Wolverines are essentially importing the Utah offensive regime over to Ann Arbor via former Ute head coach Kyle Whittingham and OC Jason Beck. Despite the new faces on staff I expect the offensive game plan to remain familiar for Michigan fans: a steady diet of the run game and play action off of that to the TEs.
I’ve written many articles about Whittingham when he was with the Utes, specifically looking at his RBs, so we are no stranger to him at this publication.
The long story short of his profile is that his system was money in the 2010s, but has dipped significantly in the 2020s. What was once an annual pig producer, the Utah RB position was flaky between 2021 and 2025. Outside of Tavion Thomas, there wasn’t really a ‘great’ 'Ute RB during that time, and even he was only good for a short period of time.
But it’s a new day. And a change of scenery can work wonders for players and coaches in kind. Whittingham and co. will have the benefit of (potentially) two above average B1G RBs this season, with one probably being elite, at least, eventually in his career.
Also, technically it will be the OC, Jason Beck, who will have primary control over the shape of the offence. His experience as a play caller at the FBS level is not lengthy, with only the previous three seasons at Syracuse, New Mexico and Utah under his belt.
Nonetheless, his track record from those three seasons is somewhat promising. The receiving usage of his RB1s are good, at least. The rushing volume could be better.
And again, while it is a new staff, I wouldn’t expect a departure from the Michigan brand of football of the last few years, which is obviously good news for the RBs.
Historically speaking, Whittingham’s Utes averaged ~58% run plays between 2018 and 2025. Beck is very similar, and in fact when he was with Syracuse his Orange averaged a whopping 63% rush plays. Thus, it’s reasonable to infer that a heavy run skew is what we should expect this upcoming season from the Wolverines once again.
Furthermore, I would expect that offensive line play from the Boys in Blue will continue to be stout, not only because Michigan has done a solid job recruiting that position, but also because Whittingham’s Utes routinely developed OL at a high level. So this is another plus-one for the running backs.
Ultimately, the delineation between elite CFF asset and non-relevancy will come down to volume concentration between the RBs. With Jordan Marshall as the incumbent starter (took over when Haynes went down in 2025), I would expect that he’ll open the year getting the first carries in each game.
“Jordan Marshall is RB1, make no mistake,” Whittingham said. “Came out of spring ball, he’s a terrific player, terrific leader. Can’t say enough good things about him.”
What is working in Hiter’s favour though is the fact that Michigan plays UTEP and WMU in two of the first three weeks of the season, so if he’s going to see major run (pun intended), those would be two great opportunities for the former five to do so.
SAVION HITER (6’0, 210)
As you’d expect with a five star rated RB prospect, Hiter was one of the most highly recruited players in the C/O 2026. His top four programs on decision day were Ohio State, Tennessee, UGA and Michigan, however insiders mentioned the battle really came down to the Volunteers and Wolverines in the end.
Evidently, the Boys in Blue won out on this one and it appears that their (likely sizeable) investment is already paying dividends. Here are a few quotes from head coach Whittingham and RBs coach Tony Alford (via 247 Sports):
"He's going to be a contributor for us this year without a doubt," Whittingham said.
"The way Savion handled himself and went about his business this spring was very impressive. He's a true professional. He was not a typical freshman that might be a little emotional or volatile. He's mature beyond his years and physically, it's incredible. He's about 6 feet, 220 lbs, not an ounce of fat on the kid. Great contact balance, will pick up blitzes, has really good hands out of the backfield, explosive runner, can make you miss. His future is very, very bright. And like I said, his future starts now. He'll be getting carries from game one."
“An exceptionally explosive, off-the-charts explosive athlete,” running backs coach Tony Alford said of Hiter earlier this year. “Powerful kid when he moves. You watch him in some drill work or doing conditioning, he’ll make a cut and change direction. It’s impressive.”
Alford added: “Here’s what I love about him the most: He’s not a typical wide-eyed freshman. He comes in and he’s kind of like an alpha right now, and he wants to compete at a high level. If something’s not right, he’ll go back and do it again without you having to say, ‘Go do it.’ ... He’s got some of that about him, which I really like because like I said, he’s an alpha male now.”
He confirmed some of the spring hype with a strong spring game performance, taking 10 carries for 44 yards, apparently looking quite impressive doing so. Here’s coverage from 247 Sports once again:
In terms of the running backs, Hiter stood out the most in a game where Marshall was undoubtedly going to be limited in his carries. Hiter played more snaps when there was tackling, and was able to showcase his physicality as a runner — something after the game he said he wants to be known for at the collegiate level. Notably, Hiter told us he has added 21 pounds to his frame this offseason, but has had "no change" to his speed.
I’m going to draw what might look like a far-fetched comparison but it is a situation that came to mind when writing this article, and that is the 2023 Boise State running back room.
For those who may not remember, in 2023 BSU brought back incumbent starter George Holani, and a promising second string nobody named Ashton Jeanty. Ultimately, Holani suffered an injury early in the year and Jeanty became one of the most productive and sought-after RBs in CFF that fall. Even when Holani came back and was available, Jeanty’s ability was too much to overcome for the fifth-year player and the Broncos kept riding the former Florida three star.
I could see something like that happening through a myriad of ways here at Michigan in 2026. Whether it be an injury to Marshall, or simply just inadequate performance in a game where Michigan needs plays to be made (perhaps in week two vs. Oklahoma). All it takes is one opportunity (think Breece Hall with ISU in 2019) for a future CFF pig to emerge.
At worst, both players will play a ton and that limits the ceiling of each. Best-case scenario for Marshall truthers is that this year’s Michigan team reverts back to the splits we saw from the Harbaugh era Wolverines where one lead runner would see ~250 carries, and the other settled in behind him around 150.
In 2021, it was Hassan Haskins who received 270 carries while Blake Corum saw 144. The following two seasons Corum led the way with ~250 touches while Donovan Edwards carried the rock between 100 and 140 times each season.
Even if that scenario plays out, the question in 2026 will be: who is who in that equation? The easy answer is to say Marshall will be the lead back for the entirety of the season but I’m not taking Whittingham’s quote above as gospel. Either way, Marshall will be lower in my upcoming RB rankings, and Hiter will probably make an appearance as a late-round flyer type of player. ◾
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Totally unrelated to the article, but since we're on the topic of Michigan, do you know if JJ Buchannon will be TE-eligible this fall? It looks like it could be a brutal position this fall if he's not.