5 areas where Michigan Football could improve in 2022
Running Game
Improvement in the running game seems unlikely given the departure of Hassan Haskins and the 1,327 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns he takes with him.
However, I believe there is a path, and it starts with sophomore Donovan Edwards.
Last season, the Wolverines deployed a two-headed monster with Haskins and Blake Corum combining for nearly 2,300 rushing yards.
There is a chance that Corum and Edwards top that this season — which, admittedly, sounds a bit farfetched.
Allow me to paint the picture for you.
Let’s start with Edwards, a former five-star talent who flashed his electric playmaking ability down the stretch last season with his true breakout performance coming against Maryland where he recorded 10 catches for 170 yards and a touchdown.
The sophomore does not have the power that Haskins had between the tackles, but what he does have is a propensity for the big play, as evidenced by his 77-yard touchdown grab against Maryland.
If he is deployed similarly to Corum a year ago, he could also flirt with 1,000 yards — or maybe more — because he is that talented.
So, what does Blake Corum have in store for what is likely his final season in Ann Arbor?
Well, Corum racked up nearly 1,000 yards on the ground last season as the second option while finishing the season on a bum ankle which held him out of most of the Indiana game, and the entirety of Michigan football’s games against Penn State and Maryland.
Through the first eight games of the season, while Corum was fully healthy, he recorded 774 yards on the ground — a 1,161-yard pace.
It has been reported that Corum has bulked up a bit from last season, so he looks like an early candidate to get increased work between the tackles and in short-yardage situations.
By projecting health, an increased workload, and further improvement from his sophomore to his junior year, Corum could conceivably match or surpass Haskins’ mark of 1,327 yards.
At the very least, I expect the running game to pick up where it left off a year ago, and I also expect the running backs to get more work catching balls out of the backfield as well, especially Edwards.