Ann Arbor — In the early stages of this season, which is still waiting to be fully formed as competition continues and starting spots are still being filled, there have been some consistent highlights for Michigan’s football team.
Among them is Kalel Mullings, the 6-foot-2, 235-pound former linebacker who now leads the team in rushing. Mullings, who moved to offense late in the 2022 season, is coming off a career-high 153 yards and two touchdowns in the Wolverines’ win over Arkansas State last weekend.
When Big Ten play begins Saturday at Michigan Stadium against No. 11 USC,thThe top-ranked Wolverines have made it clear that the offensive identity they want is a physical running game, and that’s where Mullings, who lost about eight pounds in the offseason to get faster, has left his mark, leading the team with 270 rushing yards and an average of 7.5 yards per carry through three games, which ranks 14th.th at national level.
With Blake Corum moving on to the NFL after last season, in which he set Michigan’s all-time touchdown total and also the career record, Mullings and Donovan Edwards knew they would have bigger roles this season.
“I’ve been working in the offseason to prepare myself and my body for this expanded role,” Mullings said during training camp. “And I definitely feel like these preparations that I’ve been making and the changes to my body, trying to get a little lighter and a little faster, are definitely going to help.”
Edwards praised Mullings at a press conference Monday for his offseason work to improve his speed. Against Arkansas State, Mullings scored a 30-yard touchdown, another 30-yard run and a 38-yard run.
“Kalel can roll,” Edwards said. “Kalel is fast. We used to tease Kalel because he didn’t look that fast, but now, like in practice, he rolls. It doesn’t surprise me that he had three 30-yard runs where he looked really fast. It doesn’t surprise me that he and Hassan have similarities.”
He was referring to Hassan Haskins, the former Michigan running back who set the program record that Corum broke last year with 20 rushing touchdowns in 2021. Earlier this season during spring practice, Edwards gave a rundown of each of the running backs and said at the time that Mullings reminded him of Haskins.
The comparison has caught on in part because of their similar playing styles and physical stature. Against Arkansas State, Mullings forced four missed tackles, according to Pro Football Focus – he had seven in the season opener against Fresno State – and of his 153 rushing yards, 133 came from contact. Mullings has not lost a single yard this season.
“I’ve always said this guy is Hassan,” head coach Sherrone Moore said Monday. “He runs so hard, he runs physical, but when you have Blake, you don’t take him out. The runs that (Haskins) got, he took advantage of. I mean, 15 runs for 153 yards and 10 yards per run (10.2), that’s unbelievable. Hard running, physical running, getting guys out of bounds, running guys over, running speed. So, blessed and lucky that he’s doing a heck of a job and doing what we expected of him.”
This is Tony Alford’s first season as Michigan’s running backs coach, so he wasn’t there when Mullings moved from linebacker to running back. He’s just glad the move happened.
“Complete team player,” Alford said on the “Inside Michigan Football” radio show Monday night. “The selflessness of a guy who came from defense, played on all the running teams and special teams, he’s so selfless. He’s a guy who’s a team leader. So much respect from his teammates and coaches.”
After the Game 2 loss to Texas, Alford told running backs to rush second- and third-string defenders. He didn’t mean rushing a safety by “shaking him off his shoes,” but running through tackles. He saw Mullings do that last Saturday.
“A tireless worker who really wants to be a good player and works to do it,” Alford said. “He takes coaching. He’s a big running back and can run, man. He runs really hard, and he runs behind his pads and he makes things happen. What I love about him is he pushes the ball vertically. There’s not a lot of running east to west, he’s a vertical guy going downhill.”
Michigan hopes Mullings can continue to provide momentum in the running game as Big Ten play begins.
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