Blake Corum reveals how weight gain has helped development
With Hassan Haksins off to the Tennessee Titans, this season was a prime opportunity for Blake Corum to take hold of the Michigan running back job, even with the highly-touted Donovan Edwards in the fold. The third-year back out of Maryland has done just that, serving as Michigan’s bell cow amid a 5-0 start.
What’s been particularly impressive is that in Michigan’s first two conference games, against Maryland and Iowa, with Edwards out and then available on a limited snap count, Corum carried the ball a combined 59 times. It’s a testament to the durability for the 5-foot-8, 210 pound back who added even more weight and muscle this offseason.
“I definitely feel more durable, especially with the workload I had these last two weeks,” Corum said the week after carry the ball 29 times against the Hawkeyes. “I think it’s definitely helped. And going back to your question before, I think my weight has helped with that, as well. Bringing a little more power and things that, so definitely.”
Corum has been one of the best running backs in the country — Michigan’s top-shelf offensive line deserves some credit, here — both in terms of his necessity to his team’s offensive success and his overall production.
Corum has 93 carries through five games. Michigan’s next two running backs on the depth chart — Edwards and true freshman CJ Stokes — have 43 combined carries. Edwards did miss a few games with an injury.
It’s not just volume of carries that Corum is feasting on, either. The junior has 611 rushing yards for nearly 6.6 yards per carry and 10 touchdowns, currently leading the nation in rushing touchdowns. Corum is 12th nationally in yards per carry, but the of the 11 players ahead of him, none has carried the ball more than 75 times.
In short, Corum is making the most of his touches and he’s getting a lot of touches, so far. And that volume is built on Corum’s ability to weather the physical beating a running back takes.
Head coach Jim Harbaugh is so thoroughly impressed with Corum, he quipped that the running back could play multiple football games in a day.
“He came to me, after he told you guys that, he saw me upstairs, ‘Yeah, I was telling them you could play at 12:30 and 3:30 or 4’ or whatever is. And I just started laughing. I was like, ‘You know what, Coach? I think I could, too.’ It was, it means a lot when he says things like that. It means he watches what I do, he knows the work I put in. He knows how much I care about Michigan football. So it means a lot to me when he says things like that,” Corum said.