It’s been a slow start to the season for Michigan running back Jordan Marshall.
Marshall had 11 carries in Week 1 against Western Michigan for 44 yards and had 11 carries in Week 2 versus Oklahoma for 32 yards and a touchdown. Marshall is averaging 3.5 yards per carry after averaging 6.2 yards per carry last season, for 932 yards and 10 touchdowns.
On Monday, Michigan head coach Kyle Whittingham spoke about Marshall’s output through two games.
“Hasn’t got on track quite yet, but Jordan’s a great leader,
and he’s RB1,” Whittingham said. “I expect, as the season goes on, he’ll start to become more productive. When you look at last year’s tapes, he becomes more productive as the game wears on, typically, and the more carries he gets. And so we’ve got to find a way to do a little better job of getting him on track.”
Marshall’s 2025 season started off in similar fashion, rushing for just 57 yards on 20 carries through two games. However, he never averaged under 4.9 yards per carry in his final nine appearances in’25.
Whittingham noted that other backs will continue to receive carries, calling Savion Hiter “a very good back” with “a lot of potential” and saying that Bryson Kuzdzal “is another guy that’s in the mix.” Hiter has rushed for 21 yards on 13 carries, and Kuzdzal has three carries for 12 yards.
The lack of production from all three backs points to improvement being needed at the position, but when looking at the film, there are many plays where the offensive line can improve. Quarterback Bryce Underwood has been Michigan’s leading ball carrier thus far, rushing for 134 yards on 27 carries with two scores. Underwood is averaging 5.0 yards per carry and is the first Michigan QB to lead the team in rushing in consecutive weeks since Devin Gardner did so in 2013.
Underwood being Michigan’s lead ball-carrier every week shouldn’t be expected, and it’ll soon be Marshall’s time to step up.
“Jordan is the lead guy, and we need to try to get him in a little more of a groove than we’ve been able to do the first two weeks,” Whittingham said.
