Mike Hart on short yardage, red zone, and a ‘better than expected’ element
Michigan had different style running backs last year in Hassan Haskins, the “thunder and lightning” in the backfield. Sophomore Donovan Edwards likes to call this year’s version “lightning and lightning,” but it’s clear a short-yardage option has emerged … and it’s none other than Blake Corum.
RELATED: ‘Built to beat OSU’ Michigan offense still missing one thing
RELATED: Yes, Michigan football absolutely has more than one path to the playoff
With thighs the size of redwoods and a penchant for bouncing off tackles, Corum has surprised just about everyone. The Wolverines experimented with linebacker Kalel Mullings and others at the position, but Corum wanted the job, and he got it … and he’s really good at it.
“I figured he could do it. He’s better than I thought he was going to be, to be honest with you,” Michigan running backs coach Mike Hart said. “I knew he could do it. He’s strong. He runs low. He has great pad level. You don’t need to be 230 [pounds] to be a short yardage back. That’s my biggest thing.
“So … I’m just proud of him, proud of the way he does things.”
He does them a lot like his coach used to as a Michigan running back from 2004-07. He’s got the same vision, power … but he’s also got a bit more speed. He’s a chain mover and more, and his stats would be even more impressive if someone else were getting the tough, third down yards.
But Corum isn’t one to complain. He just wants to win.
“Honestly, if he wasn’t a short yardage back, he’d probably be averaging 8 yards a carry,” Hart continued. “You take all the goal line carries away, all those third and ones away. The kid is special.
“When you go from Hassan Haskins, who got everything on third down … we wanted to think we could be better than that. Whether it’s the O-line, tight ends, we’ve been consistent on third and one. Give him the ball. Same thing with Hassan, but last year we thought we were going to get every every third and one. We thought we’re not [this year … but we’re doing it again.
“Hats off to the offensive line, Coach [Sherrone] Moore, the tight ends, and Blake. He didn’t go in on third and one last year. We didn’t know if he could do it, but he did it, and he’s doing it.”
Hart has no worries about the red zone offense
He’s also getting the job done near the goal line, though it’s taking a bit more effort than some would like. Twice, Michigan needed four carries inside the 5 to get the score at Rutgers. Twice, they barely got it.
Top 10
- 1Breaking
Dylan Raiola injury
Nebraska QB will play vs. USC
- 2
Elko pokes at Kiffin
A&M coach jokes over kick times
- 3New
SEC changes course
Alcohol sales at SEC Championship Game
- 4
Bryce Underwood
Michigan prepared to offer No. 1 recruit $10.5M over 4 years
- 5Trending
Dan Lanning
Oregon coach getting NFL buzz
But they got it, Hart noted, and that’s all that matters.
“No,” he said when asked if he was concerned. “Rutgers is a phenomenal team, and I think people underestimate them. Greg Schiano is a great coach. They know what they’re doing; they know how to do it. Sometimes it takes that long. As long as you get in the end zone, that’s what I care about.”
He had one piece of advice for Corum, he added.
“Don’t jump high and get smacked,” he said with a laugh, talking about one play last game. “No … I was messing with Blake last week.
“It’s the same thing. It just speeds up, is really what it is. Everything just speeds up a little bit. It’s faster. You’ve got to make your reads faster, and you’ve got to protect the ball. They’re going to do what they do inside the two. We know what we’re going to do. It’s just man on man. Let’s go.
“Blake … he’s been pretty efficient — we’ve been pretty efficient when you talk about third and 1. It’s okay to get two yards from the six. it’s okay to get another two yards, another two, and then go for it on fourth and a half yard. That’s the way I view it. It’s tighter; it’s faster. They’re going to be digging in there, but we’ve just got to do what we’ve got to do.”
That might change on a weekly basis. For now, however, it appears that’s the plan. It certainly was against Rutgers, and though it wasn’t sexy, it worked just fine.
