Michigan 2023 RB Recap: Corum has historic season to lead Michigan to National Championship

“He was not going to be denied. That’s what I told (the coaches), just give (No.) 2 the ball. If you give 2 the ball, we’ll be fine. He’s a dog. Give him the ball.”

The quote from running backs coach Mike Hart came after Michigan’s Rose Bowl victory over Alabama, but it could have come after every game this year. Simply put, Blake Corum was a dog for the Wolverines.

In a season that looked like it was going to be a shared experience between Corum and Donovan Edwards, it quickly turned into the Corum show.

Corum scored a touchdown in every single game in 2023. He ended with a school-record 27 rushing touchdowns in a single season. He would add one receiving in the Rose Bowl, but the most important one came when he rumbled 17 yards on the second play in overtime to help the Wolverines beat the Crimson Tide.

The touchdown in overtime helped him break Anthony Thomas’ all-time Michigan record of 55 rushing touchdowns, etching his name into the record books.

Corum had more yards in 2022 (1,463 to 1,245), but he was more impactful in 2023. He was nearly unstoppable inside the 10 and he made the Wolverines’ red zone offense great.

While Corum was a menace to opposing defenses, he did get some help. Edwards didn’t see as much time as he would have liked this year, but he really shined when the lights were at their brightest.

Edwards scored on his first two touches against Washington in the National Championship to help set the tone for the rest of the game. He went 41 yards on his first carry and 46 yards on his second carry to give fans flashes of what could be in 2024.

His two touchdown runs were also a reminder of what he did against Ohio State in 2022. With Corum injured and unable to play, he broke off the two biggest touchdown runs of the season for the Wolverines.

While Edwards didn’t show as much altogether in 2023, he came up huge when it mattered and helped win the Wolverines a national championship.

Meanwhile, RB3 Kalel Mullings was also pretty good in limited touches. Mullings rushed just 36 times this year, but he averaged 6.2 yards per carry and looked more like a running back than just a bruiser like he was a year prior.

Mullings also showed a lot of growth after his devastating fumble on the goal line against TCU in the College Football Playoff last year. Very rarely — if ever — did he make mistakes in 2023, which is a good sign for things to come since he will be a more featured part of the offense next fall.

Edwards will likely be the man next year after recently announcing this return, but it will be interesting to see who steps up behind him and Mullings in 2024. Will it be spring game legend Ben Hall? Or perhaps the speedster Cole Cabana, who didn’t play for most of his true freshman season? Or how about one of the incoming true freshman — Jordan Marshall or Micah Ka’apana?

Next season brings many questions marks, but let us not be so fast to forget the season Corum had and how he fulfilled his promise of bringing Michigan a national championship.