With Blake Corum back, it’s championship or bust for Michigan

Michael Cohen

College Football and College Basketball Writer

INDIANAPOLIS — As players trickled onto the field for early warmups ahead of last year’s Fiesta Bowl between Michigan and TCU, running back Blake Corum crutched along the periphery to interact with fans. He signed autographs, posed for pictures and smiled through gritted teeth while ruing the torn meniscus, sprained MCL and significant bone bruise that sidelined him for the most critical juncture of the Wolverines’ season.

And once the game began, once Michigan fell behind by 14 points in the first quarter and 18 in the second before mounting an eventual rally, Corum’s aggravation soared to new levels.

“S—, you can call it helplessness,” Corum said Thursday when speaking with reporters at Big Ten Media Days in Indianapolis. “That’s what I felt. That’s how I felt on the sideline on crutches, man. I’m looking at the defenses, and the only thing I can really do is just bring my teammates up and tell them what I’m seeing. That might go a long way, but in my head, I’m thinking like, ‘Damn, man, what would I do if I was out there? What would I do? Could I make someone miss? Could I score a touchdown?’ So all these things and all these emotions were running through my body. It was frustrating for sure. It was tough. It was definitely tough.”

Such a promising season had been derailed when Corum absorbed a low tackle that damaged his knee in the win over Illinois on Nov. 19. He attempted to return the following week against Ohio State but carried only twice before removing himself from the game. It was then that Michigan fans began to wonder if they’d seen the last of Corum, whose 247 rushes for 1,463 yards and 18 touchdowns had positioned him as both a Heisman Trophy challenger and a surefire pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. He never took the field for the remainder of Michigan’s season.

But on Jan. 9, just a few hours before Georgia demolished TCU in the national championship game, Corum spun the Wolverines’ faithful into a tizzy by announcing his intention to return for a senior season. He’d considered advice from his teammates, his family, his advisors and his coach, Jim Harbaugh, with the latter encouraging him to declare for the draft, and decided he had “unfinished business” at Michigan, which welcomed him back with open arms. So seven months and one surgical procedure after his final carry of the 2022 campaign, Corum arrived in Indianapolis feeling completely healthy for the first time and espousing a message of national championship or bust after back-to-back losses in the College Football Playoff semifinals.

“Made my day, made my week, made my offseason,” Harbaugh said Thursday when asked about his reaction to Corum’s decision to stay at Michigan. “What he shared with me was he wanted the full offseason (to recover). He wanted to be able to get not even back to where he was — but better, stronger, faster, quicker than where he was. He wanted that (senior) season. And then when it was time for him to go into the NFL, he wanted to be able to go in fully prepared with a full workout leading up to those combines and to that draft.

“And when that time comes, I mean, nobody’s going to get a better guy. They’re not going to get a better, more talented player. They’re definitely not going to get a player that works harder or cares more or is more of an infectious, positive (influence) to his teammates in terms of being a leader.”

An injured Blake Corum signs autographs for fans ahead of last season’s Fiesta Bowl. “What would I do if I was out there?,” he later thought while watching the game from the sideline. (Photo by Michael Cohen)

Once Corum decided he wanted to remain in Ann Arbor, the Wolverines’ medical staff devised a slow and cautious recovery timeline of approximately seven months. The overarching goal was to ensure Corum, who earned unanimous All-American honors last season, would be at or near full health by the start of fall camp in early August. That would ensure Corum had four weeks to recondition his body to the rigors of football before Michigan kicks off against East Carolina on Sept. 2.

Ever the gym rat, Corum immediately focused on strengthening his upper body in the weeks and months before he was allowed to run. He progressed from straight-line movements to gentle changes of direction as the restrictions were slowly lifted. And earlier this month he resumed the kind of explosive movements that forced 73 missed tackles in 2022, according to Pro Football Focus, which was the fifth-most among Power 5 running backs behind Bijan Robinson of Texas (104), Chase Brown of Illinois (83), Trey Benson of Florida State (79) and Quinshon Judkins of Ole Miss (76).

“I mean, you could say a couple weeks ago, that’s when I realized my speed is coming back,” Corum said. “Then I started feeling the burst. Then my cutting ability. There was definitely a point in time where I was like, ‘OK, I like where this is heading. I see the hard work paying off. The knee is feeling great, the body is feeling good.’ So a couple weeks ago I would say that really kicked in, and I was like, ‘OK, this is nice.'”

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Shortly after that, and a few days before he traveled with teammates Kris Jenkins and Mike Sainristil to Big Ten Media Days, Corum said he received the final green light from his doctor. He joked that maybe he should double-check with the medical staff before the team’s first practice, just to ensure it really was “the official clear,” but then Corum smiled and said he feels so good that he’s ready to clear himself. He expects to be a full participant when the Wolverines begin fall camp on Aug. 2.

How much or how little Corum’s workload changes will be among the biggest storylines of the season. A year ago, Corum accounted for 49.8% of carries by Michigan running backs despite missing the final two games of the season and only lasting 22 combined snaps in the wins over Illinois and Ohio State. His final tally of 247 rushes was still the second-most by a Wolverine in the last 12 seasons, and Corum averaged 27.6 carries per game against Big Ten opponents before hurting his knee. An argument can be made that Corum’s sheer volume of touches increased his risk of injury beyond what was necessary given the presence of backup Donovan Edwards, a former five-star recruit who rushed for 520 yards and three scores across the final three games of last season.

“Whatever gets the job done, you know?” Corum said. “If they need me to one game carry the ball 40 times, I’m good for it, you know? I’m good for it, man. I know the work I put it in. If they want me to carry it 10 times, I can do something with 10, you know? I know I have guys in front of me that are going to pave the way for us running backs. Whatever the team needs me to do, I’m there for them.”

In what is beginning to feel like an annual tradition, Harbaugh has spent the last few months outlining his desire for a more balanced offense this season. He’d love the Wolverines to inch closer to an even split of rushes and passes after running the ball on 61.9% of snaps last season and 59.3% the year before. He’s gone as far as suggesting Corum and Edwards should each carry the ball no more than nine or 10 times per game in 2023, with a still-to-be-determined third running back earning a few carries as well.

It’s difficult to imagine the Wolverines getting over their national semifinal hump by slashing Corum’s touches in half. It’s championship or bust for Michigan — a motto the players themselves have adopted — and that means doing whatever it takes to get there.

“I have high standards, so yeah, it’s win or bust,” Corum said. “I think the guys know that, but we don’t have to say anything. We know what it is. Talk is cheap.”

Michael Cohen covers college football and basketball for FOX Sports with an emphasis on the Big Ten. Follow him on Twitter at @Michael_Cohen13.