Michigan RB Blake Corum is 'back' and 'feeling stronger than ever' ahead of summer workouts

Michigan Wolverines football senior running back Blake Corum tore his meniscus and MCL last November, cutting his season short. He finished seventh in Heisman Trophy voting after accumulating 1,463 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns, and decided to return for another year in Ann Arbor.

The Wolverines start summer workouts at the beginning of June, and Corum is nearing full health.

“When I say recovery is going great, it’s going great,” he said on The 33rd Team’s ‘Road to Recovery, Part 2.’ “My knee is feeling stronger than ever, I’m feeling stronger than ever. The other day, I started cutting for the first time. I’m getting my cuts back, I’m going to be making a lot of people miss this year.

“Within these next couple weeks, I hope to be anywhere from 90 to 100 percent, and back to the regular BC.”

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Corum spent the spring lifting and training with other teammates who were injured, while also doing individual rehab. The Michigan team has the month of May off, before the summer cycle ramps up ahead of a much-anticipated 2023 season.

“We don’t start team workouts until next Friday, so I can’t wait,” Corum said. “I cannot wait until next Friday, because I’m really just like full-go. I don’t have to be hesitant like, ‘I can do this, I can’t do that. I’m watching my teammates do a conditioning test, I can’t do a conditioning test.’ I’m back. I’m really in it now, so I cannot wait for summer workouts.

“I’m going to be doing everything the guys are doing — squatting to lifting to doing individual drills. I feel like I’m back to myself, and I’m as happy as can be, man. When I was cutting the other day, it didn’t look as good as I wanted it to, but I feel it. It feels good to be able to do a little bit.

“I’m really excited for these team workouts. Throughout this month, I’ve been working with the trainers at the facility, and I’ve gotten a lot stronger throughout this month off. But I’ll tell you, when this team work starts, oh it’s on. I’m going to have all the guys ready, and we’re going to be ready for September.”

Blake Corum gives back through youth camp

Corum has said football is his “passion,” but giving back to the community is his “purpose.” He’s handed out turkeys to Ypsilanti, Mich., families in need among many other gestures. He recently held a youth camp near his hometown of Marshall, Va., too, which was attended by over 400 young football players.

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A post shared by Blake Corum (@blake_corum24)

“A lot of people ask me, ‘Why do you feel the need to come back home and hold a camp?’ Because this is where it all started,” the Michigan star explained. “I’ve told people before, I’m from a small town, Marshall, Virginia — 1,000 people, one stoplight. I had to see the vision. My parents had to help me see that vision, as well, growing up. Now, I go home and hold a camp.

“This camp was huge. We had 400 kids there at this camp. My camp was a little different. We conditioned, we ran before we had any type of fun — and the kids loved it. Like I said, there were 400 kids out there in blue and maize, going at it, one-on-ones, cat and mouse drills, individual drills. A lot of learning was going on. At the end, we gave away a lot of Blake Corum jerseys, a lot of Blake Corum shirt jerseys, over 20 trophies, trading cards, trading packs, my 5-touchdown game.

“It was a lot of fun. It was a great event. But the main reason I do it is to really just give back to the community, to show them that you may be from a small town, maybe you don’t feel like you have the resources — you can make it.

“As long as you just lock in … you have to lock in and be consistent and really sit down and ask yourself, ‘What do I want? What do I want? Do I want to go to college? Do I want to go play D-I? Do I want to go to the NFL? But do I really, really want it? Do I want to risk not hanging out with friends in middle school and high school? Am I willing to not go to this party?’

“Really to speak to the youth and inspire them, because it’s possible. I don’t care if you come from a big city or a little town, anything is possible. God has blessed each and every one of us with some type of ability. I’m just trying to tell the guys that, first you have to believe in yourself and be consistent in everything you do.”

Corum could have been on an NFL roster had he chose to go that route this offseason, but he felt returning to Michigan was the right decision. He’s likely to be one of the top running backs taken in next year’s draft, and he’s excited about that due in part to what it can do for the next generation of players.

“Making it to the NFL, not only for myself but for my hometown and the local kids, would mean a lot,” Corum said. “People send me videos all the time of kids in high school, middle school, doing presentations on me. They’re already looking up to me, but if I make it to the NFL — or when I make it to the NFL — the local kids might even believe in themselves even more. The parents might actually start believing in their kids. In today’s day, parents just think their kids are going to grow up, go to college and work a 9-5. But I don’t see it like that. I think kids should dream, man, and dream big and chase them dreams. 

“Going to the NFL will inspire kids like that. ‘He’s from the same town I’m from, oh, I can do it too.’ That’s what I hope will happen, and I believe it will happen.”

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