They say the grass isn’t always greener on the other side, but the California sunshine seems to be treating former Michigan Wolverines running back Zach Charbonnet just fine.
The UCLA transfer ballcarrier burst onto scene in his Pac-12 debut with an impressive first quarter. He racked up 81 rushing yards and two scores early on in the first 15 minutes of the Bruins season opener against Hawaii at the Rose Bowl.
Charbonnet didn’t slow down for the rest of the first half and went into the locker room with six carries for 106 yards and three touchdowns. With two more quarters to go, the former Michigan running back set himself up for a historically good day.
UCLA led 31-3 at half.
#UCLA running back Zach Charbonnet, the #GoBlue transfer, already with 81 rushing yards and two scores in the first quarter of the opener against Hawai’i.
— Adam Rittenberg (@ESPNRittenberg) August 28, 2021
I don’t want to exaggerate, but this is the most embarrassing tackling in college football history. pic.twitter.com/WsTGlNbnGI
— Jimmy Traina (@JimmyTraina) August 28, 2021
Charbonnet’s UCLA debut was certainly impressive, but it wasn’t entirely unexpected after his solid two-year career at Michigan. As a freshman for the Wolverines in 2019, he played in all 13 games and rushed for 726 yards and 11 touchdowns. At that point, he looked like he would be a staple of the Michigan rushing attack for years to come.
However, during the 2020 season, Charbonnet was put to the side. He carried the ball just 19 times for the Wolverines for 124 yards and one score. Seeing the writing on the wall, he entered the transfer portal last January.
Now at UCLA, Charbonnet is poised to split time with fifth-year senior Brittain Brown. Both running backs got in on the action early against Hawaii, which shows how Chip Kelly might plan to use them throughout the 2021 season.
After Charbonnet’s first half performance, the Bruins would be wise to feed him more regularly.
Fans can tune-in to the second half of UCLA vs. Hawaii on ESPN.
The post Former Michigan RB Zach Charbonnet Off To Insane Start At UCLA appeared first on The Spun.
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