25 days until Michigan football: How the Wolverines replaced Hassan Haskins' short-yardage prowess last fall
There’s much anticipation heading into the Michigan Wolverines football season, and TheWolverine.com is counting down the days until the Sept. 2 opener against East Carolina. We’ll discuss current Michigan events, the upcoming season and/or take a look at a significant number that correlates with how many days remain until kickoff, whether it be a player’s jersey number, a year, a date, a score, etc.
Michigan had a ‘thunder and lightning’ duo of Hassan Haskins and Blake Corum at running back in 2021. Corum suffered a high-ankle sprain late in the season, and Haskins became even more of a bell cow for Michigan. He famously rushed for 5 touchdowns in a 42-27 win over Ohio State and was steady the entire year (and really, for most of his career, after converting from linebacker).
A second-team All-American per the American Football Coaches Association, Haskins’ best trait was his toughness. He oftentimes carried defenders to gain extra yardage and was almost impossible to bring down for a loss, even in short-yardage situations (especially on those plays).
Haskins set Michigan’s single-season record with 20 rushing touchdowns, accumulating 1,327 yards. He led the nation with 103 first downs. The next-highest amount by a Power Five running back was Oregon’s Travis Dye at 85, 18 less than Haskins.
Michigan had Corum and now-junior Donovan Edwards at the top of its running back room last season, but questions remained about how the Wolverines would fill the void in short-yardage situations. Senior Kalel Mullings transitioned over to running back during fall camp, before being moved back to linebacker due to a lack of depth at his original position.
But while outsiders questioned, Corum went to work. Seen as a ‘scatback’ in the past by some, the 5-foot-8, 210-pounder (as listed on Michigan’s 2022 roster; he’s now up to 213 pounds), Corum was the last one Wolverines fans thought would be able to carry the load in short-yardage situations.
By the middle of the season, it was clear Corum was arguably better than Haskins in that area. We charted every run by Corum last season, and found that he converted on 76.8 percent of his short-yardage rushes (3 yards or less for a first down or touchdown). He also still had his extra gear of elusiveness that Haskins didn’t necessarily possess. And he was every bit as much of a workhorse, averaging 29 carries per game when fully healthy against Big Ten opponents.
Corum ran 247 times for 1,463 yards and 18 touchdowns last season, and if it weren’t for a season-ending knee injury suffered in November, he likely would’ve been a Heisman Trophy finalist, perhaps the winner.
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In unprecedented fashion, Corum decided to return for his senior season. He went through rehab and is now back at practice, with fall camp having begun Aug. 2, and says he’s going to be ‘the old Blake, plus some.’
“I bulked up; I got to 225. But now I’m currently 215,” Corum told TheWolverine.com in July. “I bulked up in the winter, shed a little bit. I’ll probably shed a few and play at like 212, 213. I played at 208, 210 last year. I put on a couple pounds, and in the winter I was huge, but I lost some of that. But I feel good.
“I’m stronger than ever, I’m faster and my cutting ability is crazy, so I’m feeling great, man. I’m excited to get back out there. I’ve been putting in the work, our team has been putting in the work. I’m just excited.”
And now, nobody is questioning who Michigan’s short-yardage back will be, even with an improved Edwards along with Corum in the running back room.
Michigan football countdown to kickoff
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