Zachariah Charbonnet (/ˈʃɑːrbən/ SHAR-bə-nay; born January 8, 2001) is an American professional football running back for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Michigan Wolverines and UCLA Bruins. He was a two-time All-Pac-12 Conference selection with UCLA and was named an All-American by the FWAA in 2022. Charbonnet was selected by the Seahawks in the second round of the 2023 NFL draft.

Zach Charbonnet
refer to caption
Charbonnet with Michigan in 2019
No. 26 – Seattle Seahawks
Position:Running back
Personal information
Born: (2001-01-08) January 8, 2001 (age 23)
Bellflower, California, U.S.
Height:6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight:214 lb (97 kg)
Career information
High school:Oaks Christian (Westlake Village, California)
College:
NFL draft:2023 / round: 2 / pick: 52
Career history
Roster status:Active
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of Week 14, 2024
Rushing yards:862
Rushing average:4.2
Rushing touchdowns:8
Receptions:69
Receiving yards:472
Receiving touchdowns:1
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Early life

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Zach Charbonnet was born on January 8, 2001, and grew up in Camarillo, California.[1] His mother, Seda, is part Cambodian and Chinese, and she immigrated to the United States from France.[2] His father, Mark, is African-American. Charbonnet did not begin playing football until the seventh grade.[2]

He attended Oaks Christian School in Westlake Village, California, where he tallied 4,741 rushing yards and 62 total touchdowns. He had 2,049 yards and 23 touchdowns as a junior.[1] Former Oaks Christian coach Jim Benkert described Charbonnet as follows: "He's the best there is. He's got all the measurements and loves the game. He's one of those guys who can take over a game on either side of the ball and is probably the best running back in the country. He competes at a high level on every play. You can't coach that kind of stuff. He's a throwback player. He does his job and doesn't care about statistics. All he cares about is winning."[2]

Charbonnet was rated among the top running back prospects in the country – ranked No. 3 by 247Sports.com, No. 4 by Rivals.com,[3] and No. 6 by ESPN.com. He was also invited to play in the 2019 Under Armour All-America Game.[1] On June 23, 2018, prior to the start of his senior year in high school, Charbonnet committed to play college football at the University of Michigan.[2]

College career

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Michigan

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Charbonnet in 2019.

Shortly after his enrollment at Michigan in January 2019, Charbonnet underwent knee surgery. He missed spring practice while recuperating, but was recovered by late summer.[4][5]

Charbonnet started at running back in Michigan's 2019 season opener. He totaled 99 yards, 90 rushing yards on eight carries and nine receiving yards on two receptions.[6][7]

On September 7, against Army, Charbonnet had his first 100-yard rushing game, and recorded three touchdowns.[8] On October 12, against Illinois, Charbonnet had 108 rushing yards in the first half. He finished the game with 116 yards on 18 carries, and a touchdown.[9] On November 2, against Maryland, Charbonnet recorded two touchdowns, setting a Michigan program record for the most touchdowns by a freshman with 11.[10]

Charbonnet concluded the 2019 season with 726 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns (a Michigan freshman record) on 149 carries. During the 2020 season, Charbonnet totaled 124 yards and one touchdown on 19 carries. In January 2021, Charbonnet announced his intent to transfer and entered the NCAA transfer portal.[11]

UCLA

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On January 30, 2021, Charbonnet announced his intention to transfer to the University of California, Los Angeles.[12] During the 2021 season, he and Brittain Brown shared the Bruins' rushing duties in a two-back system. With Brown out injured against USC, Charbonnet had season highs of 28 carries and 167 yards, while surpassing the 1,000-yard milestone for the season.[13] Pac-12 coaches voted Charbonnet second-team all-conference,[14] and the Associated Press named him the conference's newcomer of the year.[15] He finished with 1,137 yards rushing and 13 touchdowns, ranking second in the conference in rushing yards per game with 94.8, behind B. J. Baylor of Oregon State.[14]

On January 14, 2022, Charbonnet announced that he would return to UCLA in 2022 for his senior season.[16] On October 8, he rushed for a career-high 198 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries in a 42–32 win over No. 11 Utah.[17] He tied his career-high with 198 yards rushing in a win against Stanford, rushing for three touchdowns while also leading the team with five receptions for 61 yards.[18] Charbonnet finished the season with 1,359 yards rushing and 14 touchdowns, while catching 37 passes for 321 yards.[19] He was named a first-team All-American as an all-purpose specialist by the Football Writers Association of America.[20] He led the nation with 168 all-purpose yards per game. His 1,680 all-purpose yards were the eighth-highest single-season total in UCLA history. After the season, Charbonnet declared for the 2023 NFL draft, forgoing his remaining year of eligibility, which was granted by the NCAA for all players on a roster during the 2020 season impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.[19]

Statistics

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Season Team Conf GP Rushing Receiving
Att Yds Avg TD Rec Yds Avg TD
2019 Michigan Big Ten 13 149 726 4.9 11 8 30 3.8 0
2020 Michigan Big Ten 5 19 124 6.5 1 6 41 6.8 0
2021 UCLA Pac-12 12 202 1,137 5.6 13 24 197 8.2 0
2022 UCLA Pac-12 10 195 1,359 7.0 14 37 321 8.7 0
Career 40 565 3,346 5.9 39 75 589 7.9 0

Professional career

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Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press
6 ft 0+38 in
(1.84 m)
214 lb
(97 kg)
32 in
(0.81 m)
9+78 in
(0.25 m)
4.53 s 1.54 s 2.58 s 4.46 s 7.16 s 37.0 in
(0.94 m)
10 ft 2 in
(3.10 m)
18 reps
Sources:[21][22]

Charbonnet was selected by the Seattle Seahawks in the second round of the 2023 NFL draft with the 52nd overall pick.[23] In Week 13, he scored his first NFL touchdown on a one-yard rush against the Dallas Cowboys.[24] As a rookie, Charbonnet appeared in 16 games and started three. He finished with 108 carries for 462 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown to go with 33 receptions for 209 receiving yards.[25]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Zach Charbonnet". mgoblue.com. Michigan Wolverines. Retrieved August 30, 2019.
  2. ^ a b c d Sondheimer, Eric (August 9, 2018). "Oaks Christian running back Zach Charbonnet is the strong, silent type". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 12, 2019.
  3. ^ "Zach Charbonnet, 2019 Running Back, Michigan". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 7, 2023.
  4. ^ Chengelis, Angelique S. (September 1, 2019). "Freshman Zach Charbonnet's Michigan career off to stirring start". The Detroit News. Digital First Media. Retrieved September 12, 2019.
  5. ^ Bastock, Ashley (August 28, 2019). "Michigan coaches heaping praise on freshman RB Charbonnet". The Blade. Block Communications. Retrieved September 12, 2019.
  6. ^ "Middle Tennessee vs. Michigan – Box Score – August 31, 2019". ESPN. Retrieved August 31, 2019.
  7. ^ Sang, Orion (September 1, 2019). "Michigan football goes with freshman Zach Charbonnet as No. 1 RB. He shows why". Detroit Free Press. Gannett. Retrieved September 12, 2019.
  8. ^ "Postgame Notes: #7 Michigan 24, Army 21 (2OT)". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive. September 7, 2019. Retrieved September 7, 2019.
  9. ^ "Postgame Notes: #16 Michigan 42, Illinois 25". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive. October 12, 2019. Retrieved October 12, 2019.
  10. ^ "Postgame Notes: #14 Michigan 38, Maryland 7". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive. November 2, 2019. Retrieved November 2, 2019.[permanent dead link]
  11. ^ Sabin, Rainer (January 18, 2021). "Michigan football RB Zach Charbonnet plans to transfer". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved August 7, 2023.
  12. ^ Biggins, Greg (January 30, 2021). "Commit Analysis: Close Look at New UCLA Commit Zach Charbonnet". 247Sports. Retrieved August 7, 2023.
  13. ^ Williams, James H. (November 21, 2021). "UCLA's Zach Charbonnet rushes past 1,000-yard milestone". Los Angeles Daily News. Retrieved December 20, 2021.
  14. ^ a b Williams, James H. (December 7, 2021). "Kyle Philips leads UCLA's nine All-Pac-12 football selections". Los Angeles Daily News. Retrieved December 21, 2021.
  15. ^ Peterson, Anne M. (December 10, 2021). "USC's Drake London named AP Pac-12 offensive player of the year". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. Retrieved December 20, 2021.
  16. ^ @zachcharbon (January 14, 2022). "Not done yet" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  17. ^ Bolch, Ben (October 9, 2022). "Don't tell anyone, but Chip Kelly is enjoying UCLA's run: Four takeaways from Utah win". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
  18. ^ Bolch, Ben (October 29, 2022). "Zach Charbonnet bulldozes Stanford's Rose Bowl winning streak in dominant UCLA win". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 13, 2022.
  19. ^ a b Williams, James H. (January 16, 2023). "UCLA RB Zach Charbonnet declares for NFL Draft". Los Angeles Daily News. Retrieved February 24, 2023.
  20. ^ Turi, Alex (December 9, 2022). "Tyler Davis earns All-American Honors". USA Today. FWAA. Retrieved December 16, 2022.
  21. ^ "Zach Charbonnet Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved April 16, 2023.
  22. ^ "2023 NFL Draft Scout Zach Charbonnet College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved April 16, 2023.
  23. ^ Boyle, John (April 28, 2023). "Seahawks Select RB Zach Charbonnet With 52nd Overall Pick". Seahawks.com. Retrieved August 7, 2023.
  24. ^ "Thursday Night Football highlights: Dak Prescott, Cowboys beat Seahawks 41-35 in thriller". FOX Sports. November 30, 2023. Retrieved August 2, 2024.
  25. ^ "Zach Charbonnet 2023 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved August 2, 2024.
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