Is this freshman the next elite Michigan football running back

The top player in Jim Harbaugh’s 2023 signing class, according to the composite rankings, is current freshman Cole Cabana. Cabana is yet to truly get his chance in a game — largely due to the incredible depth of the Michigan football running back room — though behind the scenes, he continues to impress. Today, RB coach Mike Hart, a former Wolverine himself, broke down the strides that Cabana has made since arriving in Ann Arbor.

Is this freshman the next elite Michigan football running back

Cole Cabana started the 2023 season limited due to injury. Through five games, the freshman running back has only seen two carries for six yards — both of which came against Bowling Green in Week 3. Still, the former top-ranked Michigan football commit is earning some high praise from Mike Hart and others, prompting heads to turn, and some to pin him as a potential breakout star for the Maize and Blue down the road.

“Cole (Cabana) is getting better every week,” Mike Hart said on Wednesday. “He got banged up (with a lower-body injury) in spring, didn’t play in the spring game, and got banged up in fall camp. But nothing major, at all. He’s getting better every day. Obviously, we have those opportunity scrimmages every Monday that you’ve heard Coach (Jim Harbaugh) talk about. He does a great job in those. But we’re deep in the backfield right now, and he has to continue to get better. But he’s going to be a talented kid. He has a lot of talent.”

Cole Cabana still competing for more reps this fall

Mike Hart added a player comparison to one of the current elite backs that leads the Michigan football running back room: Donovan Edwards. Despite Edwards’ slow start to the 2023 season, he is still a top RB in the country right now and is being pinned as a major NFL Draft prospect, largely due to his duel-threat ability as a rusher and a receiver.

“He’s got a skill set like Donovan (Edwards), to be honest with you,” Mike Hart added. “He (Cole Cabana) is really explosive, he can catch the ball out of the backfield, he’s fast.”

Still, as I mentioned, Cole Cabana has to wait his turn to see the field for Michigan football. Ahead of Cabana is a plethora of talented backs with bigger frames and more experience, so playing time is hard to find for a freshman in Ann Arbor.

“It’s just, where do you put him in right now? You just don’t put someone in the game to put them in the game, and right now, the best guys are going to play, and that’s who’s playing,” Hart said.

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