Michigan RB Savion Hiter flashes sky-high potential in breakout game vs UTEP

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The world of college football has been waiting to see who Savion Hiter is for a year. They’d heard the whispers of his high school production, and of his blend of speed, power and vision that made him such a tantalizing prospect. They’d witnessed the buzz that surrounded a five-star recruit and his commitment to Michigan. 

But they hadn’t seen the man himself in action. The sparks they’d witnessed were relatively dim and often involved Hiter being blown up before even reaching the line of scrimmage thanks to the Wolverines’ deeply erratic run-blocking.

Until Saturday where Hiter, quietly but effectively, announced himself to the world with an 11-carry, 62-yard, two-score outing against UTEP in Michigan’s 52-17 demolition of the Miners.

“The ceiling is very high, and you saw flashes of what his capabilities are,” head coach Kyle Whittingham said. “He’s a very violent runner, powerful runner.”

What made Hiter’s breakout game especially noteworthy was how restrained it was. There weren’t necessarily any eye-popping runs, and a lot of his use was in short yardage. But he was able to find something rare for most young players: rhythm. With the exception of his unfortunate fumble in the first half, Hiter consistently looked comfortable running the football. He consistently attacked the middle of the line rather than running away from contact, and both of his touchdown runs came right up the middle.

“He needs to get padded up a little bit,” Whittingham said. “And my guess is when he starts to become a 20-carry-a-game back, whenever that might happen, he’s going to be very effective.”

As things stand, Hiter probably won’t take over RB1 duties immediately — those responsibilities still belong to junior Jordan Marshall, even though he left the game with an injury and never returned.

Marshall and Hiter bounce off each other well. Marshall is similarly a runner who excels at breaking contact and can power through defenders. But he is also eight pounds heavier than Hiter, which allows him to burden a bigger load than Hiter at the current moment. The two combined for 121 yards and three scores on Saturday, demonstrating their ability as a two-headed battering ram.

Hiter didn’t pop up on the highlight reel so much as he did the small things well on Saturday. But that was all he was asked for, and he executed it well. After all, he’ll have plenty of time to steal the show — and he’ll probably use it wisely.

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