Michigan Football’s Blake Corum deserves all the hype he’s getting

Michigan football running back Blake Corum has been named to multiple preseason award watch lists and the hype is justified.

Just about every single list of top-10 running backs heading into the 2022 season has Blake Corum on it and there’s a good reason for that.

While Hassan Haskins is the Michigan football running back that got the most attention last season, especially down the stretch thanks to his incredible performance against Ohio State, Corum was an injury away from reaching 1,000 yards as he carried the ball 144 times for 962 yards and scored 11 touchdowns.

He’s also dynamic in the passing game and caught 24 passes as well as a touchdown. Donovan Edwards is going to have a big role too and I think it’s possible they both hit 1,000 yards. At the very least, they should hit 1,000 yards from scrimmage.

Corum should be the top ball carrier this season and assuming he’s able to stay healthy, he should have a major breakout campaign. He’s on the watch list already for the Maxwell Award, which is given to the best overall player in college football, as well as the Doak Walker Award — the award given to the nation’s best running back.

Corum should have a true breakout season

The running back benefited from playing behind one of the best offensive lines in the country last season and that will be the case once again in 2022.

Edwards will see his carries increase and it’s likely he gets the number of touches Corum did last season, plus probably a few more targets in the passing game.

As much as Corum is poised for a huge season, something in the 1,200-yard range, I fully believe Edwards won’t be far behind and that might prove to be the biggest reason why Corum doesn’t win any individual awards next season — he and Edwards might cancel each other out.

Either way, it’s a great sign that the Wolverines have someone on both watch lists. It’s how it used to be and it’s how it should be.