Michigan’s Tony Alford still looking for more from running backs

ANN ARBOR – Michigan’s offensive coordinator Kirk Campbell wasn’t embellishing when he called running back Kalel Mullings a superstar leading up to the team’s last game against Washington.

With the Wolverines’ listless passing offense struggling to find a pulse this season, Mullings has been the heartbeat of a unit that ranks No. 119 of 134 FBS teams in yards per game.

The fifth-year senior ranks 23rd nationally with 589 rushing yards on 91 carries and has drawn wide praise for his hard and bruising running style.

But in the Wolverines’ 27-17 loss to Washington, the Huskies snapped Mullings’ streak of three straight games of 100-plus yards on the ground, holding him to 49 on 14 attempts.

Michigan (4-2, 2-1 Big Ten) still finished with more rushing yards than passing for a fifth time this season, courtesy of senior captain Donovan Edward’s most productive game of the season (14 carries, 95 yards and a touchdown). First-year head coach Sherrone Moore made another change at quarterback, turning to veteran Jack Tuttle after the offense punted on its first three drives with Alex Orji behind center.

The Wolverines continue to produce minimal yards through the air, ranking 132nd in passing this season, but running backs coach Tony Alford said Wednesday there is still more his group can do to invigorate the offense.

“It makes it a little bit more difficult and challenging, but at the end of the day, we’ve got to go do our job and execute on the plays that are called,” Alford said. “We are where we are, right? We’re continuing to get better, trying to continue to enhance our offense in a way that we can. Whatever the duty is, if you’re called upon to do something within your job description, that’s what you do. Listen, no one cares if there’s more or less of a passing threat. You have a job to do. Go do your job.”

Partially contributing to Michigan’s offensive struggles is its poor third-down conversion rate, moving the chains at a 38.96% clip, which ranks 73rd in the country. Alford said the team is facing too many third-and-long situations – a drive-killer for a team that has just 27 pass plays for 10-plus yards this season, which ranks fourth-worst nationally.

“We’ve got to stay ahead of the chains,” Alford said. “We can’t have negative yardage plays and put ourselves behind the chains with, pre-snap penalties and self-inflicted wounds. As far as the running backs go, we’ve got to make sure that we’re turning what is maybe a 2-yard, 3-yard gain into a 4-, 5-, 6-yard gain. We’ve got to do a really good job of running through tackles, running through trash, making guys miss in the second, third level of the defense.

Mullings has excelled churning out yards after contact this season, averaging 4.32 yards after contact compared to Edwards’ 3.12, according to Pro Football Focus. But an area Alford wants to see the entire running back room improve in is pass protection.

Per PFF, both Edwards and Mullings have been well-below average in protecting the quarterback in 2024, earning 31.7 and 20.8 grades, respectively. An average grade is about 64.

“We could be better,” Alford said. “I’m kind of a perfectionist that way as far as pass pro goes and kind of a nut job about it. We’ve done a decent job, but we can be better. I think we can be more technically sound. They know that. I think Kalel in particular could do a better job with his hands as far as his blow delivery and hand delivery. But he knows those things, and our players all know that. It’s a work in progress. We’ll continue to try to enhance that.”

Coming off a bye, Alford has more time to evaluate each running back’s role and usage in the offense. Mullings has started the past two games after Edwards got the nod in the first four, but both have maintained large roles throughout the season.

Mullings has 91 carries to Edwards’ 73, but the latter is third on the team with nine catches, while Mullings has one.

“I think Donovan is more of a guy that you can put out in space and do some things as far as running routes,” Alford said. “I think some of the more rugged, tougher yard stuff is probably more attributed to things that Kalel might be more suited for in certain situations. But the whole objective is to make sure that we’re trying to develop guys that are three-down players, that they can play every single down.

“Some guys are a little bit better at this or that than others. The key is to put the best 11 guys on the field for that particular situation.”

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