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Michigan assistant compares freshman RB Zach Charbonnet to NFL superstar Adrian Peterson
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Everyone on the Michigan coaching staff has been extremely impressed with freshman running back Zach Charbonnet. Not only did he run the ball well in the Wolverines’ opener on Saturday, he was extremely good in his blocking assignments.
In fact, it’s the work he did as a blocker that has been drawing most of the praise. And, for one assistant, it drew a comparison to NFL superstar running back Adrian Peterson.
Michigan tight ends coach Sherrone Moore, who played with Peterson at Oklahoma, said Charbonnet looked an awful lot like his former teammate in Saturday’s 40-21 win over Middle Tennessee.
“I have only seen one other freshman back block like that,” Moore told Ryan Zuke of MLive.com. “That was really impressive to watch that guy with nine of nine (blitz) pickups, just go and strike people, never back down and know who to block with all those exotic pressures those guys brought.
“You could just tell by the way Zach carries himself, he is all about his business. He is very mature for his age, and obviously he is a special talent.”
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Following Michigan’s win, Harbaugh commended Charbonnet for his ability to go nine for nine on blocking assignments, saying he didn’t think he’s ever seen a running back do that in his time in Ann Arbor.
As if that wasn’t enough, Charbonnet also tallied 90 yards on eight carries in his first collegiate game. Not too bad at all for the freshman.
There were concerns about Michigan’s running back situation after losing Karan Higdon to graduation and Chris Evans to eligibility issues. It’s only been one game, but seems things are in really good hands in the backfield.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB