The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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2020 FOOTBALL RECRUITING ISSUE two bonded throughout the process and clicked at bowl game practices. "We're close," Corum said. "We talked three or four times a week [during the recruiting process]. We have a really close relationship, and I'm looking forward to learning more from him." At 5-8, 193 pounds, Corum plays a lot like Denver Broncos star Phil- lip Lindsay, who even in the NFL is listed at just 5-8, 190, but has rushed for 1,000 yards in each of his first two professional seasons. Corum may not be the biggest back, but he is speedy, explosive and more than capable of making big plays. He hopes to bring a dif- ferent element to the Michigan of- fense, and Rivals.com Mid-Atlantic recruiting analyst Adam Friedman, who watched Corum play live on multiple occasions, is a big believer in his ability and skill set. "He had a phenomenal season," Friedman said of Corum's senior year. "The Michigan signee has shown the ability to take handoffs up the middle and break them to the outside. He has plenty of toughness even though he's not such a big back. He's got pretty good hands as well. We love his physi- cality. He's a guy that can run away from players, but also run over play- ers. He has speed to break off big gains. "If he's used the correct way at Michigan, along with their other running backs, he's going to be a big-time playmaker for them. He's going to be a difference maker, and someone we could see change mo- mentum in games and come up with momentum-shifting scores." While Corum is ranked highly and garnered a ton of accolades, he is often times knocked for his size. That has given Corum motivation for the future, and it's clear he has a chip on his shoul- der going into his collegiate career. "I play like I'm underrated," Co- rum said. "That's how I feel. I think I'm the best. All the hard work I put in throughout the year, I just try to show that on the field." The Gatorade Player of the Year for the state of Maryland, Corum rushed for 1,266 yards and 19 touchdowns on 145 carries this past season, lead- ing St. Frances to an 11-1 record and a consensus top-five national rank- ing according to HighSchoolFoot- ballAmerica.com (No. 3), MaxPreps (No. 3) and USA Today (No. 5). Co- rum also caught eight passes for 152 yards and three touchdowns. Perhaps his biggest game of the year came against Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei, which topped the national rank- ings at the time. In a matchup broad- cast across the country, Corum totaled 252 yards from scrimmage against a good defense (17.8 points allowed per contest) littered with FBS prospects. "Blake Corum is by far the best back we've played against this sea- son and, actually, in recent memory," Mater Dei head coach Bruce Rolli- son said. "His toughness, vision and breakaway speed are what makes for highlight films." ❑ Corum on going through some bowl practices after enrolling early at U-M "I got to practice with Michigan for three days. … With me being at St. Frances, where we play the best competition, I felt like I fit in." Corum rushed for 2,681 yards over his final two prep campaigns for national powerhouse Baltimore St. Frances. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM MARCH 2020 THE WOLVERINE 35 DID YOU KNOW? • Was coached in high school by former U-M staffer Biff Poggi. The squad had 11 class of 2020 recruits sign with Football Bowl Subdivision programs, including fellow future Wolverines Osman Savage and Nikhai Hill-Green. • During his senior year, St. Frances beat Miami Central, which went on to win a state title in Florida and was ranked No. 21 nationally by MaxPreps, and IMG Acad- emy, another Florida powerhouse that finished the year ranked among the nation's top 10. Its only loss was to Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei, the nation's No. 2 prep squad per MaxPreps, and Corum gained more than 200 yards against IMG and Mater Dei. • He ran a 4.44-second 40-yard dash at Nike's The Opening Regional camp. He also had a shuttle of 4.22 seconds and a vertical jump of 33.8 inches. THEY SAID IT • Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh: "He's a dedicated guy. You watch a lot of high school players and their work ethic — I can't think of anybody with a higher level of work ethic than Blake Corum. He's a guy that whether it's football practice, training, he's very diligent." • Rivals.com Mid-Atlantic recruiting analyst Adam Friedman: [In his senior year], Corum really improved his ability to effectively run between the tackles and runs much harder than defenders anticipate. Corum's game is also really well- rounded. He is a big contributor in the passing game and should have a very suc- cessful career in Ann Arbor if used correctly." • Rivals.com national recruiting analyst Mike Farrell: "The Michigan signee isn't very big, although he is thick and sneaky strong."