Michigan is off to a 3-0 start, but the offense remains a concern. Particularly the offenses’s explosiveness and its ability (or lack thereof) to finish off drives. It’s still early, but the Wolverines are tied with a gaggle of teams for 78th nationally with 19 plays of 10-plus yards and have turned 10 red zone trips into only one touchdown, a figure that ranks one spot above dead last in FBS.
Fixing those numbers became a little more difficult on Monday.
Head coach Jim Harbaugh announced Monday that freshman wide receiver Tarik Black has suffered a cracked foot and will undergo surgery to repair it. There is no timetable for his return.
“He’s going to be out. He’s going to need surgery. He’s got a crack in his foot,” Harbaugh told the Detroit Free Press. “On the outside of his foot.”
Black started each of the Wolverines’ first three games, catching a team-high 11 passes for 149 yards and a touchdown. It was that 11th grab that pushed him out, as Black injured his foot while being tackled from behind in Saturday’s win over Air Force.
In a positive development, Harbaugh said he expected senior running back Ty Isaac to be fine moving forward. Isaac left Saturday’s game under his own power with an apparent lower back injury. Isaac leads the club with 47 rushes for 336 yards.