Michigan Football: Who's Up/Down on the Wolverines' Running Back Depth Chart?

Another Saturday, another win for rookie coach Brady Hoke and his Michigan Wolverines.

This weekend's triumph, a 31-3 romp over in-state "rival" Eastern Michigan, was undoubtedly the Wolverines' most comprehensive of this young season. But there are still several significant issues that need to be dealt with prior to the kickoff of the Big Ten conference schedule.

Though he struggled throwing the ball, quarterback Denard Robinson scampered for 198 yards and a touchdown—more than doubling his yardage through the air—as Michigan totaled 376 yards on the ground.

But the Wolverines' production from the running back position continues to be a bit of a problem.

With Vincent Smith, Fitzgerald Toussaint, Stephen Hopkins, Michael Shaw and Thomas Rawls all pining for carries—and none really stepping to the forefront thus far in 2011—Hoke will still have some decisions to make going forward.

But based on this weekend's performance, there will still be a hierarchy heading into next weekend's tilt with San Diego State. Let's take a look at where things stand today.

5. Thomas Rawls

Freshman Thomas Rawls ran for four yards on two carries against Eastern, his first action of the season.

Though he's obviously not in the upper echelon of current Wolverine tailbacks, Hoke has been impressed with the 5'10", 220-pound Flint native. In fact, some coaches felt that Saturday was a good opportunity to get Rawls even more action.

“I struggle with that a little bit because I never felt real good about the game," Hoke told reporters on Monday. "I know [running backs coach] Fred [Jackson] probably would have liked to get him in, but I wasn’t feeling as comfortable where we were as maybe other people were.”

It appears that red-shirting Rawls is still an option, but that's likely to depend on how the four backs ahead of him perform leading up to Week 6.

As Hoke said Monday, "The best players have got to play.”

4. Michael Shaw

Shaw, a 6'1", 187-pound senior, was thought to be in the mix for the starting role early in the season, rushing for 54 yards and a score in the opener against Western Michigan.

But he's gotten less and less action as the weeks have gone on, tallying just one carry for three yards on Saturday against Eastern.

Still, he'll remain part of the equation going forward, says Hoke.

“He’s just got to perform a little better, and he is. He’s conscious about what he needs to do,” Hoke said Monday.

3. Stephen Hopkins

“[Sophomore] Stephen Hopkins is still a guy who we think is a pretty good back," Hoke said Monday. "He has a little bit of a sub-flexor, whatever that is…I don’t know what that is, but that hurt him a little bit."

Hopkins didn't play on Saturday and has just five carries for 10 yards through three games.

But if he's able to get over his sub-flexor, whatever that is, Hopkins could—and should—quickly rejoin the tailback fray.

2. Fitzgerald Toussaint

Redshirt sophomore Fitz Toussaint was the apparent No. 1 on the Wolverines' depth chart to start the season, and he performed solidly against both Western and Eastern Michigan, games that sandwiched a DNP due to injury against Notre Dame.

"I was real encouraged by him coming out with some toughness and running the ball hard and coming off that shoulder," Hoke said Monday of Toussaint's 46 yards and a touchdown over the weekend, "so I was pleased with that."

1. Vincent Smith

But the clear No. 1 back heading into next weekend's showdown with Hoke's former school is Vincent Smith, who rumbled for 118 yards on just nine carries (13.1 yards per carry) against Eastern Michigan.

And although Denard Robinson struggled throwing the ball, Shoelace's success on the ground opened things up that much more for the bite-sized Smith.

“No. 1, he played good with his vision and where to go,” Hoke said. “Listening to [running backs coach] Fred [Jackson] as we go through the game about [him] pressing the ball more in the line of scrimmage and then reacting off the center’s tail end, and where you would cut…those kinds of things [impressed].

But the 5'6", 180-pound Smith impressed in other areas of the game, as well, according to the head coach.

“Vince has been a tremendous pass protector. ... He does a lot of things very well, and he’s doing a lot of things well."

Smith's small stature? Still not an issue, says Hoke.

"He might be smaller, but he's put together. I'm sure you've seen him. He's rocked pretty well together and his mentality is that of a tough guy."

Brady Hoke's Take

So is Smith the clear-cut workhorse looking ahead to San Diego State? Well, it appears not.

He clearly had the most success on Saturday, and as a result, Smith might start in the backfield. 

"I think Vince right now probably has earned that right, [with] his performance and his production," Hoke said Monday.

Of course, that doesn't preclude Toussaint and others from getting some carries as well.

The real key for Hoke and company isn't getting one back to rise to the top of the depth chart. It's to get reliable yardage from whomever totes the ball.

"The running game, I thought, came on," he continued. "As we saw, we still don't want to run Denard 26 times a game. That's a good way to get him beat up and hurt. So we have to keep plugging away.

"I thought with Vince [Smith's] production, Fitz [Toussaint] gave us some good runs in there and took a little bit of the load off of him, but we've got to make sure that we are a healthy football team as we continue forward."

Here's hoping Hoke is able to continue to spread the wealth around...and eat up huge amounts of yardage in the process.