Michigan RB Chris Evans won’t play for program in 2019

Michigan running back Chris Evans may suit up wearing maize and blue in 2020, but as far as the chances of him being part of the football team in 2019 go, he will be suspended for the season.

“Chris Evans is suspended for the year,” Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh said Sunday at a football camp at Grand Valley State, per The Detroit News.

Evans was suspended by the university, not the football program, due to what Evans deemed an “academic mistake”.

The stable of running backs is obviously thinner and more unproven than it would have been otherwise with Evans now out of the picture. Michigan will have to rely on the likes of incoming freshman Zach Charbonnet, along with Christian Turner and Tru Wilson. Out of the three backs, Wilson has the most experience, but all three will have a legitimate shot at being the lead back.

Evans rushed for 1,108 yards and 10 touchdowns the past two seasons while also being an asset in the passing game, hauling in 34 receptions for 305 yards and 2 scores.

This is an unfortunate development for the program, but they have had plenty of time to prepare for this, as Evans wasn’t part of any spring practice activities. The news today is clarity on the matter for the outsiders looking in. Evans was a back with flashy speed and it would have been interesting to see how he meshed with the new ‘Speed In Space’ scheme, but we’ll have to wait until 2020 at the earliest to see Evans in action at Michigan.