Michigan football freshman is turning into a star

Heading into the Wolverines’ game against the Indiana Hoosiers last weekend — a game the Maize and Blue won 52-7 — no one was expecting Michigan football freshman running back Benjamin Hall to be the team’s leading rusher. That said, the first-year Wolverine got his chance to shine and took it, helping lead Michigan to a perfect 7-0 start heading into the Michigan State game this weekend. Today, we got more from Jim Harbaugh on the rise of Hall and what it means for Mike Hart’s running back room.

Michigan football freshman is turning into a star

Back in April, during the Michigan football spring game at the Big House, Benjamin Hall had his first head-turning performance as a Wolverine. While Hall was yet to truly get a chance to prove himself during the regular season this year, he got on last weekend and capitalized on every carry.

Against Indiana, during Michigan’s massive 52-7 win, Ben Hall carried the football nine times for 58 yards — he led all Michigan football running backs in rushing yards, and turned some heads while doing so.

Jim Harbaugh praises running back Benjamin Hall

One of the people who noticed Hall’s success the most is Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh, who has seen his fair share of elite running backs during his time with the Maize and Blue so far. Today, Harbaugh gave more insight into his freshman running back and what makes him so special.

“(Ben Hall) has been good,” Jim Harbaugh said. “I mean, go back to — as a mid-year enrollee, spring game — he was tremendous. He’s been tremendous. He got slowed up a little bit, was working through something (an injury) that now is — he’s back.

“I mean, you just have to look at him from behind, and the legs, the posterior chain, the quads, the calves, and to understand how he can — there could be a 280-90 pound guy jumping on his back to make a tackle, and he continues on for another three or four yards,” Harbaugh added. “But that’s how he’s able to do it. Tremendous leg strength and drive, and he’s got the vision, the balance, and the speed and the running instincts to be a real great running back.”

The 2023 Michigan football signing class was not Jim Harbaugh’s best class on paper, but through seven games of their first year in Ann Arbor, it’s clear that these freshmen have a lot of potential. Among the top Michigan freshman performers right now is Benjamin Hall — with Corum and Edwards potentially both leaving after this season, Hall is a name that all fans need to acquaint themselves with.

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