Michigan Running Back Suffers Season-Ending Injury

It's a tough blow to the junior running back. The running back room is quite deep, but there have been high hopes for Ka'apana since committing to the Wolverines. He is a speedy back, who can catch the football out of the backfield. In Jason Beck's new offense, Ka'apana had a chance to see the field in a variety of ways this season.

Since coming to Michigan, Ka'apana ran the ball 10 times last year for 38 yards. Between 2024 and 2025, Ka'apana had caught two passes for 12 yards.

Ka'apana was a three-star recruit out of Las Vegas (NV) Bishop Gorman. He had picked Michigan over the likes of Oklahoma State, BYU, and Hawaii, among others.

Big expectations for Michigan's running back room

Despite losing some depth, Michigan is still expected to have one of the best running back rooms in the Big Ten.

Whittingham noted the room has been a strength of Michigan, and it's Jordan Marshall and Savion Hiter leading the way.

Marshall is entering Year 3 with the team and is coming off of a 932 yard season in 2025, while battling injuries. Marshall began the season behind Justice Haynes, but once the former Michigan tailback got hurt, Marshall shined. He led the Wolverines in rushing and tied Haynes with 10 rushing touchdowns.

While Marshall is going to be the lead back this season, Hiter is receiving a lot of praise.

"I mean, the tailback, Savion Hiter, is special. I believe he's going to be a special player..." Whittingham said back in March about Hiter.

The Virginia native is entering his true freshman season with the Wolverines, and the five-star was the wire-to-wire top-ranked running back in the 2026 recruiting class. Hiter could've picked any college he wanted, but opted to stick with Michigan once Sherrone Moore was fired.

Aside from Marshall and Hiter, Michigan returned Bryson Kuzdzal, who made an impact on games last season. The former walk-on had 326 yards and four touchdowns for Michigan as the No. 3 back a year ago. Kuzdzal had a 100 yard game against Maryland last year when both Marshall and Haynes were banged up.

Michigan also has true freshman Jonathan Brown and redshirt freshman Donovan Johnson on the roster.