Update on Blake Corum, health of Michigan football team before College Football Playoff
HOLLYWOOD, Fla. — Michigan Wolverines football got key contributions from second-year freshman running back Blake Corum in both the Ohio State contest Nov. 27 and the Big Ten championship game, ripping off a 55-yard run in the former and aa 67-yard touchdown dash in the latter.
Corum, who’s rushed for 939 yards and 11 touchdowns this season, had been dealing with a high-ankle sprain that forced him to miss two full games (at Penn State, at Maryland) and most of another (versus Indiana). He returned for the final two outings but played at less than 100 percent.
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The speedster said last week that he would be ‘100 percent’ by game time in the Orange Bowl against Georgia Dec. 31, and he appears to be getting closer to that mark as New Year’s Eve approaches.
“Personally, I feel great,” Corum said Monday morning. “I feel like my ankle is finally back. I feel like I have my cutting ability, my speed and my top-end speed, my burst. I feel like I have all that back.”
Offensive coordinator Josh Gattis echoed Corum’s statement, adding that the rest of the team is healthy as well. The Wolverines have had injuries throughout the season, but the only long-term ailment has been to junior wideout Ronnie Bell, who is out for the season with an ACL injury he suffered in the season opener.
“Blake is healthy,” Gattis said. “We’re a healthy team, and that’s where we’re fortunate. Being able to take the last few weeks and get ourselves back to 100 percent, because as everyone noticed the last few weeks of the season, we were playing some really tough teams, but we had some bumps and bruises along the way, certain players being out. But the good thing for us is the next man stepped up and was always ready.
“We’re excited now that we’re finally back to full speed and healthy. Just having great depth has allowed us to be in this position. Other than the few weeks where we had to put a lot on Hassan’s plate, we’ve been able to have great depth and have different guys step up, whether it’s Blake, whether it’s [freshman running back] Donovan [Edwards], and so we’re excited to finally get a chance to see a full-speed Blake Corum.
“I think a little bit of what people saw about him in the Big Ten Championship Game was him catching himself back up to full strength, and he’s ready to go, he’s excited, and we’re glad to have him back to 100 percent.”
Corum and the Michigan offense have a big challenge ahead. The Bulldogs check in top three nationally in scoring defense (9.5 points per game, 1st), total defense (253.2 yards per game, second), rushing defense (81.7 yards per game, second) and passing defense (171.5 yards per game, third).
With Corum back to full form, the Wolverines have a much better shot at exploiting them.
“Georgia is pretty stout,” Corum said. “They’re a stout defense. They have a good front seven. We’ve just got to continue doing what we do. There’s no need to change anything. We’ve had a wonderful year. Offensive line has done great, our tight ends have done great, our receivers, everyone has done great. Just continuing to prepare and watching film on them and just keep going.”
