When the Los Angeles Rams drafted Blake Corum in the middle of the third round, bypassing prospects at positions thought to be bigger “needs” than running back, the move was met with a mix of excitement and skepticism that general manager Les Snead was doing the right thing given that Kyren Williams is coming off of a breakout season. As Corum is many things that fans say they don’t want in the draft:

He’s a running back, the greatest draft sin of all

He’s the smallest notable running back in the draft

He’s not nearly the fastest running back in the draft

He also doesn’t break or force missed tackles like you would hope for an “early” running back pick

So what gives then? Why did Snead call Corum such a good prospect that the Rams opted to change their plans of trading down from pick 83 because they were surprised that the Michigan running back was still available?

It’s probably related to the fact that a small running back without breakaway speed or tackle-breaking abilities who also didn’t catch many passes in college still managed to be one of the most important players on an undefeated national champion, scoring 58 touchdowns in his career; that ranks in the top-15 all-time even though Corum basically only played three seasons in college and was returning from a serious knee injury before last season.

Blake Corum produces “despite”….

Will he produce in the NFL despite skepticism that the Rams didn’t “need” a running back? That can only be revealed in the future. Here’s what we know about his past.

Blake Corum pre-Michigan

Blake Corum was a four-star recruit in the 2020 class, ranked eighth among all running backs in the nation on a list that was headlined by new teammate Zach Evans. He committed to Michigan over a slew of power 5 offers, as you can imagine for the 105th overall recruit in the country, including Georgia, LSU, Penn State, USC, and Ohio State.

Of course, by following Jim Harbaugh in 2020, Corum was in a class with a handful of players who would help the Wolverines win the national championship, including 2024 draft picks like Kris Jenkins, Zak Zinter, and Roman Wilson.

YouTuber Top Billin’ called Corum his favorite running back in the 2020 recruiting class and compared him to Christian McCaffrey:

It was a rare opportunity to breakdown a high school player with an ESPNU broadcast feed, as Corum was one of the most exciting players in the country at the time and was at one of the most interesting programs. The Washington Post actually ran a story about how other schools refused to play St. Frances because they were too good:

Still, the second half belongs to St. Frances. The offensive line holds the Trojan defense while running back Blake Corum runs for an 87-yard touchdown. Clowney records a sack. Wide receiver Traeshon Holden catches a beautiful pass from quarterback John Griffith. Bangda runs for two more touchdowns. The Panthers pull away, and the Lee County stands start to empty.

As the clock runs out, the scoreboard reads 43-14. It’s the Panthers’ 23rd consecutive win, and they end the season with a record of 10-0. The team hoists a silver-and-gold trophy and mugs for the cameras. “A lot of adversity we overcame,” Clowney says as he walks off the field. “St. Frances, we don’t have much, but we did it.” Back in the locker room, Poggi prays with the team, giving thanks for the kids: “Let them really enjoy this win.” He promises them rings.

In fact, Corum was named as the Gatorade Player of the Year in the state of Maryland in 2020, rushing for 1,438 yards and 22 touchdowns:

Corum joins an elite group of past state football award-winners, including Emmitt Smith (1986-87, Escambia High School, Fla.), Matthew Stafford (2005-06 Highland Park High School, Texas) and Christian McCaffrey (2012-13, 2013-14, Valor Christian High School, Colo.)

247’s Brian Dohn wrote the following before Corum was out of high school:

Corum has burst, can change direction at a high speed, is patient in waiting for plays to develop and he knows how to set up his blocks down the field. He is elusive, and he he runs with power. He has the speed to get to the edge, and the balance to turn the corner. As he gets older, his size and strength will continue to develop. He also will develop more ability to cut back.

As a recruit going to Michigan, one of four players from his high school in the same Wolverines recruiting class, Corum told The Michigan Insider’s Brice Marsh the following:

“They plan to use me everywhere. They plan to run me up the middle, outside, catch balls and also maybe return punts. I like it a lot.”

MGoBlog saw Corum as an immediate weapon in Harbaugh’s backfield:

There’s a fairly clear path to the field for Corum. We know Michigan’s very likely to rotate their RBs, and I’m not seeing a similar APB on the current roster. Zach Charbonnet is a standard back plus, and Christian Turner and Hassan Haskins also fit the standard RB profile. Maybe Chris Evans comes back? Either way, Gattis is going to need guys who can run and catch, and Corum is one of those guys.

But Corum didn’t just want to play for Michigan, he wanted to be the best running back to EVER play for Michigan, as he told MLive in 2019:

“Before I committed, I looked at the running backs that were previously there and stuff, and they’ve had some guys, but not like a big-time guy,” Corum told MLive at the All-America media day. “I definitely want to try to leave my legacy and be the best running back to ever come to Michigan. Those are my goals.”

Although Corum is a bit undersized, St. Frances co-head coach Henry Russell said his blend of 4.4-second, 40-yard dash speed and strength makes him a threat every time he has the ball in his hands.

“He is a very special player, a special kid,” said Russell, who is one of the coaches for the All-America game. “He is just is a great kid to be around. On the field, he is just electric. Anytime he touches the ball he can score.

“He is not the biggest kid, but his heart has got to be the size of his entire body. It is just relentless. He puts everything into the game, and he refuses to be beat.”

The Michigan folks were just as excited for Corum to arrive on campus as he and his high school coaches, teammates were to see him start his college career, as director of recruiting Matt Dudek called him “elite” and that he “does everything right”.

“Blake is an elite running back,” Michigan director of recruiting Matt Dudek told Jon Jansen on the In the Trenches podcast. “You seen it playing this season. You saw it by the other (teams) trying to get him to flip and recruit him throughout. I can’t say we were in a battle, because he was so locked in with us. I give the credit to Blake. But his phone didn’t stop ringing. And every week, you seen him do everything right. He can’t wait.”

Running backs coach Jay Harbaugh said Corum was a “football junkie” and would compete immediately. Corum would enter a running back room at Michigan that was headlined by Zach Charbonnet, another big time recruit who got there one year earlier, as well as Hassan Haskins and Chris Evans. It wouldn’t seem like an ideal opportunity for Corum to prove he would be the best running back in the history of the school, but that would soon change after the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.

Blake Corum at Michigan

It was of course not ideal for anyone that the Big Ten’s season, and many other conferences, was shortened by the events of 2020. There were only six games at Michigan and Corum played in all of them as a true freshman, but was held to 26 carries for 77 yards and two touchdowns. Haskins led the team with 375 yards and six touchdowns, followed by Charbonnet with 124 yards, then quarterback Joe Milton with 109.

The team went just 2-4 and of course there were people saying, “Fire Jim Harbaugh” at the time.

Before the game kicked off I told myself, “Even if Michigan loses, you can’t go after Jim Harbaugh again. People are fed up, but you can only beat that dead horse so much.”

I was wrong.

(Athletic director) Warde Manuel has to pull the trigger now. Any trigger. Tell Jim to pack his bags, or tell him to tell someone to pack their bags. If Manuel isn’t already putting wheels in motion, he should be fired as well.

Or this one:

When you consider everything, it was merely horrible clock management from Harbaugh. This 27-24 loss to a rebuilding Spartans team with Rocky Lombardi at quarterback is the worst loss in Harbaugh’s coaching career. It’s time for the Michigan football team to say goodbye to Harbaugh and get a head start on their coaching search.

At the end of the 2020 season, Charbonnet transferred to UCLA to be closer to home and that opened the door for Corum to prove what sort of a running back he could be at the college level. If Charbonnet didn’t transfer, what place would Corum have as a RB3 unless he beat Charbonnet for the backup job to Haskins? None. The third running back that year was Donovan Edwards and he barely made a sound.

So that stroke of luck on Charbonnet’s transfer was everything for Corum’s chances to make a mark before he’d become just another junior or senior running back without a very good NFL resume. Running backs coach Mike Hart, a former Michigan running back, credited Corum with being a better version of himself:

“He works a lot harder,” Hart said. “Blake’s a lot faster than me, a lot quicker than me. If I was that fast, I’d probably still be playing in the NFL.

“He’s a great kid, but I think his mentality and the way he does things, the way he approaches the game is really similar to the way I did. He doesn’t like making mistakes. He wants to be perfect. And that’s something that reminds me of myself.”

The not-fired Jim Harbaugh then led Michigan to a 12-2 record in the 2021 season with Cade McNamara taking most of the snaps at quarterback but giving way at times to true freshman J.J. McCarthy. But the “new” player on offense showing out more than anyone else was Blake Corum:

In his first game of 2021, Corum rushed for 111 yards against Western Michigan.

In Week 2, Corum rushed for 171 yards and three touchdowns against Washington.

In Week 3, 125 yards and three touchdowns against Northern Illinois.

Here he is running through the Washington Huskies a few years before beating them in the national championship:

So through Corum’s first three games as a starter or backup at Michigan, he rushed for over 400 yards and seven touchdowns. At this point, Corum was on pace to break a school touchdown record that stood for over 100 years, but he wasn’t thinking about anything other than trying to get better.

“I’m still the same person I am — I haven’t done much,” Corum said. “Like I said, I’m just gonna keep my head down and keep pushing, keep grinding; work even harder now.”

By now, nobody was calling for Jim Harbaugh to be fired. If anything, they were quickly deleting their old stories and tweets from the Internet that were only months old saying that Harbaugh must be one of the worst and most overrated coaches in the nation. Being on pace for 28 touchdowns when you’ve only played three games, that’s NOT very meaningful, but certainly there was a tone change with how people talked about Michigan in 2021 and it was largely tied to their success on the ground.

Corum’s last nine games of 2021 didn’t go as well as his first three games, as he rushed for “only” 545 yards and four touchdowns in the last nine games of the season. In the Orange Bowl against Georgia with a chance to play Alabama in the national championship if they won, the Wolverines lost 34-11 and proved incapable to compete with the top-ranked defense in the country. Corum had just three carries for 13 yards.

He finished his sophomore season with 952 yards and 11 touchdowns, but didn’t contribute much as a receiver and never would at Michigan. That was just not part of his game at Michigan. But with Haskins going to the NFL as a fourth round pick in 2022, the door was open for Corum to become the lead back.

Corum’s Junior and Senior seasons

With McCarthy at quarterback and Haskins in the NFL, Blake Corum became the new lead running back for a team that intended to run the ball a lot in 2022. Despite this, he didn’t get off to as productive as a start that season, rushing for 76 and 88 yards in his first two games. Which is still a little misleading because Corum rushed for 9.8 yards per carry in a Week 2 win over Hawaii.

He had just 12 carries for 71 yards in Week 3 against UConn, but then he also rushed for five touchdowns in that game: For the second time in two years, Blake Corum had seven rushing touchdowns through three games.

But against his home state team of Maryland in Week 4, Blake Corum announced himself to the country:

30 carries, 243 yards, 2 touchdowns

With this game and his four-game start, Blake Corum was being talked about as a potential Heisman candidate. Harbaugh gave him the highest of compliments:

“There’s an old saying in football,” Jim Harbaugh said this week, ready for a question about Corum. “That a running back who can miss somebody by the narrowest of margins is an unbelievable talent. Blake can get so close to a defender/ would-be tackler — within inches — and make the slightest move where somebody that close doesn’t even touch him.”

“Some backs are making the cut a yard away, or two yards away. Blake Corum is getting to the point where he can smell their breath — and them make the slight six-inch cut miss by the narrowest of margins,” Harbaugh said. “It’s incredible. The vision, the low center of gravity — players talk about just having a hard time finding him.”

Teammate Zinter was also in awe of Corum’s abilities:

“Blake’s a super special back,” starting guard Zak Zinter said. “You can see it; we can see it. We know if we do our jobs up front, get down-linemen and get to the linebackers, Blake’s got the ability — and does, almost every time — to make that secondary player (miss).

“Then it’s off to the races.”

Corum was the lead running back on a team expected to compete for a national championship and without a quarterback in 2022 who was anything close to dominant. So it makes sense he’d be a Heisman candidate and he kept up that pace:

Blake Corum rushed for at least 100 yards in every game between Maryland in Week 4 and Illinois in the penultimate game of the season: That’s eight straight games.

However, with his NFL future hanging in the balance and a Heisman race that he would not win but would finish top-10, Corum was limited to two carries in the all-important game against Ohio State because of a knee injury. That would be his last game of 2022, as he had to watch his teammates go into the Fiesta Bowl against undefeated TCU and lose 51-45. Backup Donovan Edwards was good, but he wasn’t Blake Corum.

Shortly after the season, Corum made it clear that he would bypass the NFL Draft to go back for one more year with the Wolverines. He did this even though Harbaugh told Corum that he should get surgery for his knee and enter the NFL Draft rather than risk coming back to college for another season.

“My goals have always been about leaving an enduring legacy at the winningest program in the history of college football,” Corum wrote in announcing his return. ”Motivated by my profound love for Michigan and commitment to my education, I have decided to return for another season.”

The reported injury, which isn’t 100% confirmed, is that Corum had a full meniscus repair on his knee. That would have kept him from participating in any pre-draft activities and might have tanked him to a fifth or sixth round pick, but he probably also knew that Michigan would be in the hunt for a championship again.

Bad news for Edwards. Great news for Michigan, Harbaugh, and McCarthy.

Corum started all 15 games for Michigan, showing no ill effects in his knee, and scored at least one touchdown in all…15…games.

He rushed for multiple touchdowns in 10 of 15 games.

He didn’t rush for seven touchdowns in his first three games this time, he “only” rushed for six, but then he scored twice in Week 4 so he had eight in his first four games.

That’s 27 rushing touchdowns—28 total touchdowns—in 15 games. That record from 1902 I mentioned earlier? It was 28 rushing touchdowns. That’s only for Michigan, but his 27 rushing touchdowns is still tied for the 14th-most ever. Among the running backs who have rushed for more than 27 touchdowns in a single college season: Barry Sanders (37 scores) and Derrick Henry (28).

There are others, but do you really want to read about Montee Ball and Kapri Bibbs?

With 58 rushing touchdowns in his Michigan career, really only spread out over three seasons, Blake Corum is 15th all-time in college history. (Former Rams* SAFETY Eric Crouch scored 59, tied with Colin Kaepernick for 13th-most.)

*Never played in the NFL

Other than winning the national championship, probably nothing was more fulfilling for Corum in his return to school than a) rushing for two scores against Ohio State after he had failed to produce in his first two starts against the Buckeyes, b) rushing for 83 yards and scoring twice against Alabama when he had to miss the CFP a year before, c) rushing for 134 yards and two touchdowns in the national championship against Washington.

Corum’s rushing yard totals and yards per carry in 2023 were not ideal (he went from 6.6 YPC in 2021 to 5.9 YPC in 2022 and then 4.8 YPC in 2023), but he still got to enter the NFL Draft on a better note than if he had entered after his junior season:

Instead of being injured, Corum was healthy.

Instead ending his career on a bad note, he ended it on a great note.

And now he’s competing with Kyren Williams for opportunities to run the ball for Sean McVay, a coach who knows a thing or two about running backs who like to score a lot of touchdowns.

Blake Corum – NFL Draft

In Dane Brugler’s draft guide for The Athletic, he ranked Blake Corum as the number two back in the class behind Jonathan Brooks of Texas, who was fairly “consensus” as the number one back of a “weak” 2024 class. It speaks to the quality of Corum’s career that he would be ranked number two overall despite the fact that he’s got physical attributes not typically found near the top of the class:

Corum is under 5’8, making him shorter than any running back in Brugler’s top-20 running backs of the 2024 class.

Corum is 205 lbs, which makes him lighter than all but two running backs in Brugler’s top-15: Oregon’s Bucky Irving is 192 and Missouri’s Cody Schrader is 202.

Corum ran a 4.53 in the 40-yard dash and 1.59 in the 10-yard split. According to MockDraftable, that is a 76th percentile 40-yard dash and 67th percentile 10-yard split for running backs. Which stands out even more because Corum is 1th percentile (is 1th a word?) for height and 24th percentile for weight.

His wingspan, arm length, and hand size are all under 15th percentile.

By all accounts, Rams fans have to accept that if Blake Corum becomes a great NFL running back, he will be doing so as an exception to a rule. He may not be this year’s Deuce Vaughn, a 5’5, 176 lb back for the Cowboys, but he’s close. He’s closer to Vaughn than to Derrick Henry. One area that Corum excelled at was the bench press, doing an amazing 27 reps and showing off his upper body and core strength.

He’s also 23 and a half, which makes him older than every other running back in Brugler’s top-8 at the position.

And yet, Brugler says that Blake Corum is a better prospect at the position than everyone except Brooks, who is recovering from a torn ACL. What gives? Here’s what Brugler said:

Overall, Corum is smaller than ideal for his run style, but he makes quick, urgent decisions with the low center of gravity and burst to bounce runs or maneuver through congestion. His determination to maximize each carry will translate well to an NFL offense, although his effectiveness on third downs will determine his upside.

PFF didn’t have Corum ranked quite as high, but still one of the better options in the draft:

The smaller frame means he has shorter strides, which does affect his overall long speed and sideline ability. However, they also help yield his calling card as a back: his precise footwork and elite short-area explosiveness. As a pass catcher, he has very natural hands. In pass protection, he is willing, but his lack of size causes him to be overwhelmed, at times.

PFF noted in its draft guide that Corum has elite vision and spacial awareness, plus “natural hands as a receiver” despite his lack of targets in college (which again is a product of the offense Harbaugh wants to run), but gave him awful grades in pass protection and tackle breaking. He was also downgraded for lacking top-end, big play speed.

In the draft guide, PFF also noted a 100 grade in gap scheme runs, 95 in zone scheme, but below-average marks for missed tackles, yards after contact, and yards per route run.

Corum was 241st in the entire country in yards after contact per rushing attempt with just 2.42. He was 250th in missed tackles per rushing attempt with 0.116. And he also had three fumbles.

Chris Simms ranked Corum third behind Brooks and Florida State’s Trey Benson, calling him “dependable, reliable, and gets a lot of yards between the tackles”:

Most agree that Blake Corum was a top-three running back in a class that lacked a true number one, including of course Les Snead.

Blake Corum to the Rams

Snead spoke to Rich Eisen, who says Corum is his favorite player in the draft, about the decision to pick him in the third round. “We also know you’re going to need two running backs to get through an NFL season. He’s one of our favorite football players to watch…we knew we probably wouldn’t do a running back before the third round…we thought pick 83 might be a time to trade back, but when Blake was there, it was one of those things…just a unique individual who is going to help the Rams in many ways.”

The Rams drafted Corum 83rd overall, right around his consensus big board ranking, and should immediately put him in the rotation with Kyren Williams. Turning 24 in November and spending four years with Jim Harbaugh, there’s no reason to hold Corum back for development reasons.

Knowing that Williams is probable to miss some games next season just because of his history and the nature of the position, Corum probably will start at least once in 2024. With the Rams offensive line being upgraded in the past 12 months, it could be an excellent opportunity for Corum to show out as one of the top offensive rookies in the NFL if and when he gets that opportunity.

In fact, Corum and Williams have drawn comparisons, and it is fitting that college football’s most prolific scorer is now paired with one of 2023’s most prolific scorers in the NFL. Williams and Corum both have a nose for the end zone and will get plenty of opportunities to score in McVay’s offense.

And if Kyren Williams has another huge season in 2024, it could lead to his agent asking, “When’s the next contract coming?” when his extension is eligible in 2025. Should that happen, Snead now has a fallback/leverage player in his back pocket with Corum, someone who could take the reins from Williams in 2025 or 2026, if not sooner. Williams wasn’t expected to be a lead back after being a fifth round pick in 2022, so Corum never knows when his chance is going to come either and he’s a higher rated prospect than Williams was two years ago.

If you ask anyone who has coached him, whether that was at the top high school football program or the top college program under Jim Harbaugh, they would tell you that Blake Corum has this opportunity because he worked harder for it than anyone else did.

And that’s most likely why Les Snead drafted him when he did rather than listen to anyone who said that running back isn’t a need. It’s never a need…until it is. Corum has proven that when he is needed, he tends to produce what is needed.