Zack Charbonnet racked up 4,471 yards and 62 touchdowns at his California high school and was among the top-rated running backs as a senior. He had already signed with Michigan prior to his senior season when he had just posted 2,049 rushing yards and 23 during his junior season.
He needed knee surgery prior to his freshman season and missed practice time until late summer. Charbonnet was still the primary back that year while sharing with Hassan Haskins. He set the Michigan freshman record with 11 rushing touchdowns. In the COVID-shortened 2020 season, Michigan only played six games and Charbonnet was limited to only 19 carries while Haskins saw the bigger workload. That led Charbonnet to enter the transfer portal and end up in UCLA as a Junior.
Charbonnet became the workhorse back he should have always been, leading the Bruins for the next two seasons. He returned for his outstanding senior season when he rolled up 1,680 total yards and 14 touchdowns. Charbonnet was a First Team All-American and a semifinalist for the Doak Walker and Walter Camp awards. He ranked No. 15 in the nation in rushing yards despite missing two games.
