Michigan's 'Thunder And Lightning' RB Duo Is The 'Perfect Combination'

Thunder and lightning.

As Michiganders know from having experienced both this week, one typically comes with the other, and it's a dynamic duo that can wreak havoc.

Western Michigan's defense knows all too well about the decimation the tandem can create, having just gone up against a potent Michigan rushing attack — led by 'thunder' Hassan Haskins and 'lightning' Blake Corum — that gained a whopping 334 yards on the ground in a resounding 47-14 win.

"When you look at those two guys, they’re really the perfect combination of thunder and lightning, with Hassan Haskins and Blake Corum," offensive coordinator Josh Gattis said Wednesday. "You’ve got to find as many ways to get the ball in those guys’ hands, because they’re really the two best playmakers on offense."

Haskins, a redshirt sophomore, brings more power, and has been well established, having led the club in rushing last season with 375 yards in six games. He also checked in fifth in the Big Ten in yards-per-carry with an average of 6.1.

But it was Corum, the second-year freshman, who enjoyed his breakout game in the triumph over the Broncos, churning out 111 yards on 14 rushing attempts with one touchdown, while also adding a 14-yard reception for a score.

Corum told the media before the season that, in addition to the strenuous workouts he famously puts himself through, he was working on becoming a more patient ball-carrier. He's fast, but he needed to work on letting the play develop, then striking — as lightning does — at the most ideal moment.

So far, so good.

"For one, some people saw Blake Corum last year, but they didn’t really get the chance to see the real Blake Corum that we knew.," Gattis explained.

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"I think the challenge for Blake last year was, obviously he was a COVID freshman, meaning he came in here in July, didn’t have a training camp, didn’t have a ton of time to prepare for the season. We saw how special Blake was, but one of the challenges for a running back is having patience.

"And for Blake, you see how electric he is, you see how fast he is — he had to learn how to play with patience. He spent all offseason getting better in that aspect, and [first-year running backs] Coach [Mike] Hart has done a tremendous job with him as far as developing him there. Last year was a true freshman year, and he had a lot of impressive plays. He also had some plays I know he probably felt like he wishes he had back."

But now, Gattis said, Corum has "put it all together."

"He showed tremendous patience, vision and explosive ability," the coach added. "That was the Blake that we know. He impressed me, but he didn’t shock me because he’s shown us that ability."

One running back that did surprise Gattis was true freshman Donovan Edwards, who had six carries for 27 yards, including a long of nine yards, and caught one short pass for three yards.

The stats don't jump off the page, but the film jumped off the screen when comparing it to what the offensive boss saw from the West Bloomfield, Mich., native during training camp.

"Donovan Edwards is probably the one who impressed me the most, even though he didn’t have the big runs that Blake or Hassan had," Gattis said. "He showed us some different style of runs on Saturday.

"He made a ton of plays in training camp, bouncing the ball and being electric out in space, but what he showed us on Saturday was his willingness to lower his shoulder, run people over, that physicality. So he’s a great mix between both of those two guys.

"I probably left the game the most surprised by him, and I’d say I at least expected it from Blake and Hassan."

Edwards' learning curve likely isn't dissimilar to Corum's, and he's potentially even ahead of where Corum was at this time a year ago. Gattis has been encouraged with his growth to this point, and believes he'll break a long play soon enough.

"The great thing for him is he’s got two great role models ahead of him to look at. He’s done a tremendous job learning from those older guys — learning from Hassan and learning from Blake," Gattis said.

"Everything that we do comes with some type of downhill presence to it. We’re not an east-west, run the ball lateral [team]. We can do that. We sprinkle a little bit of that in there, but a lot of that is about getting downhill, trying to let our backs be backs. He’s embraced that. He’s done a tremendous job so far.

"He’s going to have those big plays. His big plays are right around the corner. He was close on a few. In fact, had there have been some better execution from some of the guys around him, he would’ve popped one or two of them in the game. We love where Donovan’s at. He’s got a bright future. What he showed is just a glimpse of his ability, and the rest of it is going to come."

When Gattis was hired in January 2019, he brought a motto: 'Speed in space.' Basing the offense around that principle was supposed to allow the Wolverines to play at a faster tempo, put up more points and, eventually, compete at a higher level and in line with the trends of college football.

Two years and some change into Gattis' tenure, head coach Jim Harbaugh has said there are no more catch phrases, they'll let their play do the talking. His offensive assistants did say the identity of the unit will be 'PSP,' meaning they want to be physical, smart and precise. There's also an added emphasis on running the ball more.

Ultimately, no mantra will steer the conversation surrounding what Michigan's offensive identity truly is. Once a good chunk of the 2021 season is in the rear view, and especially when the campaign has concluded, any keen observer will be able to know the identity.

The proof will be in the stat book, on tape and in the win-loss record.

"Our identity is who we’re formed to be," Gattis stated. "Every year, you look at your team and you look at what they do well. And you try to build your identity around what you do well. Using the term, ‘speed in space,’ is never about how it looks. It’s about a style of play, always.

"When teams say you want to be a physical team, it doesn’t always mean man ball, where you put all 11 guys in there and it’s the Battle of Gettysburg. We showed our ability to do a lot of different things on Saturday — we showed our ability to get into big formations and get into multiple-lineman formations and play big ball, but then you also saw our ability to spread people out and have a physical presence.

"That’s the physicality we talk about — not necessarily how it looks, but it’s about being physical, being downhill, creating physical one-on-ones because we want to be able to get our backs one-on-one with a safety or an extra defender. They’re winning those matchups, which they did on Saturday."

There are tougher challenges ahead, including this weekend against Washington, and Gattis knows it.

"That’s the whole key to us, is establishing that, building from there and continuing to grow," he said.

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