What's next for Michigan football’s running backs?

As of right now, 100% of Michigan's rushing yards are returning in 2023. Most importantly of course is at the top, unanimous All-American Blake Corum has elected to return to Michigan for his senior season, opting not to enter the NFL Draft. Corum, like many of his teammates returning in 2023, cited "unfinished business" as their reason to return. With Corum, there is a question of coming back from a meniscus injury that derailed his Heisman campaign and ended his 2022 season.

Corum will have his lightning and lightning partner in Donovan Edwards again, the two forming arguably the best running back duo in the country for the second straight season. Edwards brings a different skill set, and how they will be used this upcoming season is one of the few and biggest questions for the running back room.

The depth behind them includes a sophomore looking to take a big leap after a roller coaster freshman season, a converted linebacker carving out his own role, and a freshman speedster hoping he can be the third bolt with Corum and Edwards.

2022 was a dominant season for Blake Corum, but an injury near the end of the first half against Illinois means it will always be kind of a "what if". Corum finished 12th in the nation in yards and 5th in touchdowns. His only fumble of the season came on the play where he injured his knee. Where Corum thrived is simply in his ability to create.

Pro Football Focus rated Corum the #1 running back and #1 offensive player in the country for 2022. His ability to patiently wait for run lanes or bounce outside saw a ridiculous 40.9% of his runs grade as breakaways with 833 of his 1,461 yards coming after contact.

In terms of where Corum thrived, on the outside performed slightly better going left, and unsurprisingly did well in lanes where Olu Oluwatimi and Zak Zinter were involved.

The biggest questions around Blake Corum heading into 2023 will obviously be around bouncing back from his injury and usage. There are no expectations that the injury or rehab will linger and impact Corum's offseason, but the injury is significant. A knee injury for a running back whose game is built on planting and cutting the way Corum does is concerning. Will he have the same agility and strength in those cuts? The other concern around any knee injury is whether will it lead to more injuries. Each knee injury makes a future injury more likely. Corum will need to show that he can play without compensating and causing issues for his other knee and that he can avoid residual injuries like hamstring strains.

This leads right to the second question, will Michigan adjust Corum's usage? The Wolverines were able to take advantage of three blowout non-conference games, and treat them almost like preseason games, where starters saw limited usage. Corum saw 13, 9, and 12 carries respectively in the first three games. Then the Big Ten schedule started.

Corum went on an unbelievable pace through the Big Ten schedule. In Michigan's first seven Big Ten games, Corum had at least 20 carries in each game, topping 28 carries in five of those seven games. He was on pace for another similar game with 18 first-half carries against Illinois before suffering the knee injury right before halftime.

Corum maintaining that type of pace in 2023 can't be the expectation. A lot of that usage had to do with how successful Corum was, but it also had to do with the health of his lightning and lightning partner Donovan Edwards.

The Donovan Edwards hype train was at full steam during the 2022 off-season after a breakout game against Maryland in 2021. The pairing of Corum and Edwards was expected to be one of the best RB duos in the country. Edwards has dealt with some small injuries throughout his time in Ann Arbor, and in 2022 it delayed the full impact of the duo.

Edwards missed week 3 and 4 games against UConn and Maryland after suffering a leg injury against Hawaii. He was brought back slowly in road games against Iowa and Indiana, and then against Penn State, "Lightning and lightning" arrived.

With talk of Penn State's top 5 run defense slowing down the Michigan rush attack, the Wolverines duo had other ideas. Blake Corum had a Corum-type day with 28 carries for 166 yards and 2 touchdowns. Edwards is back to full health and added 16 carries for 173 yards and 2 touchdowns. Corum and Edwards saw success in the next two games against Rutgers and Michigan State as well. In those three games, the two running backs combined for 776 yards and 7 touchdowns.

With the duo finally working at full, Edwards would suffer a hand injury that took him out early against Nebraska and keep out of the Illinois game Corum was eventually hurt in. While Edwards' hand would be an issue for the remainder of the season, he was able to come back to take the reins with Corum out.

With the Big Ten Championship on the line, Edwards rushed 47 times for 401 yards and 3 touchdowns against Ohio State and Purdue. More impressive considering he had to do it using his offhand in those games.

Edwards has been viewed as a bigger receiving threat than a running threat. Understandable, Edwards could arguably be Michigan's best receiver in 2023, and we will get to that in a minute, but Edwards is drastically underrated as a runner.

In the five games where Edwards had at least 15 carries he rushed for 802 yards and 5 touchdowns. In the other six games, he had 189 yards and 2 touchdowns. Edwards' vision and patience as a runner improved throughout the season, with coach Mike Hart's fingerprints all over his development. He wasn't the type of elusive tackle-breaker Corum had been all year, but we saw flashes, especially at the end of the year.

Edwards is a home run hitter. If you can get him to 15 carries, he will break one.

7.1 yards per attempt is ridiculous, first among Power 5 running backs last season. That number is driven in a big way by his breakaway runs, which are runs over 15 yards. 53.1% of Edwards' yards came on those breakaway runs, meaning 14% of his carries accounted for more than half of his yards. For comparison, Corum had only 71 yards from breakaway runs but had 108 more total carries.

I would argue it is a fair assumption to assume Edwards will improve next season when it comes to shorter runs, but this is the data as of today. Michigan's success the last two seasons have been so dependent on getting those extra couple of yards on shorter runs. Whether it was Hassan Haskins in 2021 or Blake Corum in 2022, being able to count on 3-6 yards each carries sets up the offense for shorter to-go distances on 2nd and 3rd down, which really opens up the playbook. Edwards' ability to take the next step and become a complete runner next year will hinge on him finding those extra couple of yards.

If Michigan can get Edwards 15 plus carries a game. He can continue to have his breakaway success, and he improves his short-distance running, it is hard to fathom how elite he can be when you add in his ability as a receiving threat.

Again, last season we didn't get to see the full threat of Edwards as a receiver due to injuries, but let's be clear, the threat is real.

Edwards was targeted 24 times in 2022, he had 19 receptions and 207 yards and 2 touchdowns. That catch rate of 79.2% would have made him #1 among receivers with eligible targets. 8 of his 19 receptions went for first downs. JJ McCarthy's QB rating was third highest when targeting Edwards, behind only Cornelius Johnson and Roman Wilson. With Ronnie Bell heading to the NFL, the makings are there for Edwards to be WR3 next season.

Most of his pass snaps came as running back, with only 15.2% coming in the slot or outside. Edwards was only targeted 7 times on throws over 10 yards. On those targets, he had 5 receptions for 106 yards and 2 touchdowns. He had 0 drops or interceptions, a perfect contested catch rate, and JJ McCarthy had a perfect passer rating.

Hear me out. Use Edwards more as a receiver.

Michigan will once again be led by Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards. If maintaining health and potentially limiting some of the usages is a goal, Michigan needs to find reliable options behind the two lead-backs.

Last season, CJ Stokes entered the season as RB3 right out of camp. Stokes saw decent usage in Michigan's non-con schedule. He had 22 carries for 114 yards and a touchdown. It was an impressive start. What you can't do when you play for Mike Hart is fumble the football and after a negative run and fumble against Maryland, Stokes was sent to the bench.

Stokes wouldn't play for multiple weeks before getting mop-up duty against Penn State. He didn't see significant action until November, replacing an injured Donovan Edwards against Nebraska. He had 8 carries for 68 yards in that game and seemed to be back in the rotation. With Edwards out against Illinois, Stokes was expanded to see an expanded role. Then with Blake Corum also out, Michigan gave Stokes a chance to lead them to victory. He had 11 carries for 36 yards and at the end of the game it was Isaiah Gash making the game-winning plays.

With Corum pulling himself out of the game against Ohio State, Stokes would get two carries against the Buckeyes before being benched again. Stokes missed massive running lanes on his first two carries and the Michigan coaching staff decided to ride Edwards the rest of the way.

All that said, there is no reason to write off Stokes after a roller coaster freshman season. He has all the tools and a great mindset to be a successful running back. Stokes had a 5.0-yard per-carry average on 54 carries last season. 9 of his 54 carries were breakaways. He has the speed and physicality; his vision and elusiveness simply weren't there yet. If you want me to bet on Mike Hart developing Stokes into a more patient and aware runner, I am taking the bet every time.

Stokes will have competition for that RB3 role this season, most likely coming from freshman Cole Cabana. Cabana is a speedster, a track star, but people are wrong to label him undersized. I would not be shocked to see Cabana top 190lbs by the end of spring or heading into fall camp. He is enough of a weapon that Michigan should try to get him on the field early with special teams. I believe he is a far better runner than he gets credit for and if he can show the patience, vision, and ball security Mike Hart looks for, he could be fighting for carries early.

In the short yardage, Michigan largely went with Blake Corum. A big reason his carries were so high was he was the go-to on nearly every 3rd/4th and short. Tavierre Dunlap got some looks, but with Corum out late in the year Michigan turned to Kalel Mullings. Michigan had experimented with Mullings at RB during the offseason, but a Nikhai Hill-Green injury seemed to keep Mullings on the defensive side of the ball. With Hill-Green, Junior Colson, and Michael Barrett returning, the rise of Jimmy Rolder, and the addition of Ernest Hausmann, I would expect Mullings at running back to be a permanent change.

Mullings may even fill a truer fullback role in 2023. Currently 6'2" 232lbs, Mullings brings size and physicality to the offensive side of the ball. Michigan used the fullback during Harbaugh's first 5 seasons in Ann Arbor but went away from it under Josh Gattis. We saw the role return in the last two seasons, but Michigan has used tight ends in more of an H-Back style role as opposed to a true fullback as we saw with someone like Ben Mason.

Michigan will once again be led by Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards. Getting Corum back to pair with Edwards for another season is an incredible gift. Both players have Heisman and early-round NFL Draft potential. Michigan has two of the five best running backs in the country. Will there be a more even split, will Corum be the same back post-injury? Can Michigan get each player enough carries for their biggest impact to be felt? Edwards will make defenses pay if he gets 15 carries. Or do you simply spread Edwards' touches out at receiver because he is likely WR3 right now?

Michigan has depth, but still questions. Can CJ Stokes take a sophomore leap and become a consistent option for the Wolverines? Mullings will surely benefit from a full offseason at running back instead of splitting reps. Should Michigan use him in short yardage or even convert him to fullback? Cole Cabana is the next in line at the top of the 2023 recruiting class. Is he part of Michigan's plans in 2023, or will he compete his way onto the field?

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