Three Michigan players to Watch: Washington at Michigan

Player #1: Jordan Marshall

When Justice Haynes got banged up early against USC it was Jordan Marshall who stepped up in his stead and he played really well. He runs with authority and has shown multiple times now in his Michigan career that he can be the lead back in a good backfield. The two times he's been a lead back thus far in his career were in the Reliaquest Bowl against Alabama and this past week at USC. In the Reliaquest Bowl, he totaled 100 yards on 23 carries and against USC last weekend he totaled 100 yards on 15 total touches. When he's gotten the chances to play, he's played really well and with Justice Haynes sounding questionable for this week's game against Washington, I expect Marshall to pick up the slack and get a bigger slice of the carries even if Haynes can recover in time to play this weekend.

Player #2: Jaishawn Barham

Michigan is playing a very mobile quarterback in this game in Demond Williams Jr. In his last game, Williams threw for 402 yards and ran for another 136 with 4 total TD's. He’s especially dangerous when he escapes the pocket and can buy time to find an open wide receiver down the field. It’ll be up to Jaishawn Barham and company to keep him in the pocket and limit his rushing yards. Barham so far this season has looked like a 2nd or 3rd round NFL Draft pick ever since he moved to the edge, as it looks like a more natural position for him which has really allowed him to excel. He's leading the team with 3 sacks and 6 tackles for loss and he'll need to play really well once again against Washington to keep a guy like Demon Williams Jr. in check.

Player #3: Andrew Marsh

Andrew Marsh has played really well these last two games and they also happen to be his first two career starts. Last week he fully broke out to a tune of a team high 9 targets and finished with 8 catches, 138 yards and a TD. In that game against USC he showcased his football intelligence and foot speed when he settled into a nice hole in USC's coverage and once he caught the football, he made a man miss and took it the distance for a 69-yard TD. He already looks like the focal point of this Michigan passing attack as a true freshman and he’ll have to continue to play well so that Michigan can keep growing this passing game.