Michigan Football: Top 5 storylines to follow this spring

3. Can Michigan effectively replace Karan Higdon?

Michigan’s running game was successful mostly because of running back Karan Higdon’s contributions. He first burst onto the scene as a junior, but during his senior year, Higdon took major strides.

He had a prodigious finale to his college football career by ripping off seven consecutive games of 100 or more yards.

This lengthy stretch allowed Higdon to amass a total of 1,178 yards and 10 touchdowns on 5.3 yards per carry. During his senior season, Higdon notched career highs in both carries and rushing yards.

Now that Higdon has graduated, the Wolverines forge ahead without its breakout performer and will have to look elsewhere for production on the ground.

Michigan enters the 2019 season possibly without senior Chris Evans, who was the team’s second-leading rusher last season.

In February, Dan Murphy of ESPN reported that Evans was dismissed from the team for having academic issues –– leaving his status for the new season in limbo.

Should Evans not be reinstated to the team, the Wolverines next man up is senior running back Tru Wilson, who only carried the ball 62 times for 364 yards and a lone touchdown in 2018.

Without an effective running game, Michigan will have to rely almost exclusively on the passing attack. That’s not necessarily a bad thing for the Wolverines, who have their core members responsible for the passing game returning.

However, having an effective running game to open up the passing game is vital to an offense –– especially in a difficult conference such as the Big Ten.