The comparison has been made for a while for those who've seen them the most, but now it's on tape for all to see.

Kalel Mullings, Michigan football's breakout senior running back, (6-foot-2 and 233 pounds) sure runs an awful lot like Hassan Haskins (6-foot-2, 228 pounds), who had 1,327 rushing yards set a then-program record with 20 touchdowns as a senior in 2021 when he was named unanimous first-team All-Big Ten.

High praise to be sure, especially considering Haskins was seen as the gold standard of running back in the new age at U-M until Blake Corum took that title in 2022 and 2023.

“That’s the guy we compared him to last year. I always said, like, ‘This dude’s Hassan,’” head coach Sherrone Moore said Monday. “He runs so hard. He runs physical. But when you got Blake (Corum), you’re not going to take Blake out. But the carries he got, he took advantage of."

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He capitalized even more on his opportunity Saturday, when the Wolverines picked up a 28-18 win over Arkansas State in large part because of his career day. The converted linebacker ran 15 times for a career-high 153 yards (10.2 yards per carry) and two touchdowns as Pro Football Focus had him graded (87.3) as the top Wolverines player on either side of the ball.

The advanced numbers were even better. Mullings, who'd never had a rush for 25 yards in his career, had three for 30 yards or more, the first of which came after he broke through a tackle and rumbled home for the game's opening score.

“A tireless worker,” his position coach, Tony Alford, said of Mullings on the “Inside Michigan Football” radio show. “Wants to really be a good player, and he works at it. He takes coaching and he’s big. He’s a big back and can run, man. He’s really running hard and he’s running behind his pads and he’s making things happen.

"What I love about him is he pushes the ball vertically. There’s not a whole lot of east-to-west running.”

Getting up and down the field in a north-south variety is exactly what the Wolverines' staff was looking for when it said last week it wanted a renewed emphasis on rushing the football and Mullings provided the desired balance of both consistency and home-run plays.

Nearly half of the senior's rushes moved the chains (7 of 15) against the Red Wolves while he picked up 133 of his total yards after initial contact. The other focal running back, Donovan Edwards, also had a better game vs. Arkansas State which was encouraging, as he scored for the first time on the ground all year and had a season high 82 rushing yards.

But still, the burst has lacked as he has just one rush for 10 yards or more (12 yards) on the year. Through three weeks, Mullings has run 36 times for 270 yards (7.5 yards per carry), Edwards has run 36 times for 150 yards (4.2).

“Running hard, running physical, making guys miss, running over guys, running with speed," Moore said of Mullings. "Blessed and happy that he’s doing a heck of a job and doing what we thought he could.”

Center competition

As Moore announced Monday, the Wolverines have made a change at quarterback and opted to go with junior Alex Orji. He's replaced senior Davis Warren, who won the job after a lengthy battle in the offseason, but couldn't hold onto it after turning the ball over six times in three weeks, most notably three interceptions in Week 3 vs. Arkansas State.

That's not the only position which may be switching hands. After offensive lineman Dom Giudice had dominated the majority of snaps at center through two weeks, Greg Crippen worked into the rotation and split time in Week 3.

"Dom actually graded a little bit better than Crip, but Crip made some tremendous plays within this communication thing," Moore said. "So, for us, we've got to definitely push that envelope to see how we can make that the best it can be."

Giudice and Crippen played 34 snaps a piece, and during that time Pro Football Focus mirrored what Moore saw, as Giudice (63.4) finished ever so slightly ahead of Crippen (62.8) in offensive grade. Giudice appeared to excel in the pass blocking department (81.4), his third consecutive game above an 80 however he struggled in the run game (59.4), his third consecutive game below 60 in that regard.

Crippen's numbers were similar, just not quite as high in the pass (78.5) and not quite as low in the run (60.2). Though the spot is certainly not where it has been the past two years with Olusegun Oluwatimi (2022, Outland and Rimington winner) or Drake Nugent (2023, All-Big Ten) holding down the fort, both players are coming into their own and in turn, the line is starting to show some signs of growth.

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"Felt like they played a lot more physical," Moore said. "Ran off the box. When you run for 301 yards, it's a really good day on the ground. So, felt that we made some progress there, so we'll continue to push those guys and push everybody in every position to make sure they're playing at their best."

Also, there's also a potential battle brewing at right tackle. Evan Link hasn't been as solid as staffers had hoped after winning the position, while Andrew Gentry came in as a sixth offensive lineman for 14 plays and finished as the second-highest graded lineman (69.9) behind Gio El-Hadi.

"Not bad," Moore said of Gentry's effort. "Still got to get better, still some stuff to clean up, but played good in that extra lineman role, gave us some power, some thump there, which we needed."

Next up: Trojans

Matchup: No. 17 Michigan (2-1, 0-0 Big Ten) vs. No. 12 USC (2-0, 0-0), Big Ten opener.

Kickoff: 3:30 p.m., Saturday; Michigan Stadium, Ann Arbor.

TV/radio: CBS; WXYT-FM (97.1).

Line: Trojans by 5½.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: As Michigan football establishes run game, search for center continues