RB Savion Hiter’s path to Michigan Football, outlook for 2026
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A major recruiting win for Michigan, true freshman running back Savion Hiter joins the Wolverines looking to make an instant impact. He is one of the most hyped up prospects in Michigan football history and looked the part during the spring game. He is expected to play and play often this fall.
The story so far
Hiter spent four years terrorizing high school defenses in Virginia. After spending his freshman year at Louisa County High School, he transferred to Woodberry Forrest for his sophomore season. He then returned to Louisa County for his final two years.
As a junior, he ran for 1,698 yards and 26 touchdowns, while also returning three kicks for touchdowns. He followed that up by rushing for 1,445 yards and 25 touchdowns as a senior, earning the Gatorade Player of the Year award in Virginia.
He was a consensus five-star recruit and was the highest rated running back in the class. For context, Hiter is the ninth-highest-ranked recruit in Michigan football recruiting history.
Hiter’s offer sheet was monstrous, as nearly every major power offered him. However, his final four schools consisted of Michigan, Ohio State, Georgia and Tennessee, with the Volunteers being the largest threat. In the end, position coach Tony Alford pulled off yet another mammoth recruiting victory.
His skills are unquestioned at the high school level. Our very own Sam Bernardi wrote the following immediately after Hiter’s commitment:
Hiter can do it all. As an inside rusher, he does a great job hitting the hole hard and making himself skinny. That flexibility and fluidity help him evade initial tacklers, and he has the bruising style to punish second-level defenders.
He also has a mean stiff arm that he loves to utilize near the boundaries, and he is more than willing to set his shoulder down and lay into linebackers. While Hiter did not have much pass blocking film — mainly because it is an inefficient use of his talents against this competition — he should have no issues rounding out his game with the Wolverines.
Outlook moving forward
Hiter has all the tools needed to be an immediate contributor. Michigan returns a bell-cow back in Jordan Marshall, but given how much the program has historically loved to run the ball, as well as how much new head coach Kyle Whittingham and offensive coordinator Jason Beck love the run game, I would expect a committee approach once again.
Make no mistake, Hiter will be receiving his fair share of meaningful carries this fall. Improvement is needed when it comes to his pass catching abilities and blitz pickups, so don’t expect him to be on the field in obvious passing situations. However, a near 50-50 split between Marshall and Hiter on running downs is certainly not out of the picture.
The official spring football roster lists Hiter as 6-foot and 210 pounds, which is certainly playable before even considering a summer in the weight room. In case we haven’t made it clear yet, he is as plug-and-play as a college freshman can be. Be sure to enjoy his time in Ann Arbor while you can because I’d be surprised if we saw him in the winged helmet for more than the minimum three years.
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