ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Michigan football arguably has the best one-two punch when it comes to the offensive backfield.
Blake Corum was under strong Heisman Trophy consideration before his Week 12 knee injury, and after he went down, then the Donovan Edwards show began in earnest.
In 12 games, Corum had 1,463 yards rushing, while Edwards amassed 991 in 11 games. For Edwards, his big thing is being more consistent entering his junior year, and while he feels like he’s shown most of his talents, he notes that he just has to showcase them more regularly.
“You’ve kind of seen a glimpse of everything already,” Edwards said. “Like I could catch, run, pass block — there’s not really things that I can’t do. You haven’t ever seen me play defense but I’m sure I could do it. You’ve never seen the kick a field goal but I’m sure I could do that, too.
“So I mean, it’s not many things that you guys haven’t seen already that I can’t do. Maybe it’s like me being more consistent in that. Maybe continue to be healthy so you see it on a day-to-day basis but besides that, I’ve already shown what I can do already.”
That said, Edwards doesn’t necessarily feel like he’s a complete back — at least he wasn’t last year.
Though he highlighted all of his skills — even some that may be hypothetical — he’s been working on one in particular entering 2023. And it’s one we saw another player showcase in abundance.
“I really liked that Blake Corum shuffle!” Edwards said. “Getting in my bag like (gestures making a player missing a tackle) — Blake be making people miss in the open field. That’s really well I’m trying to add to my bag — making the safety miss. If I make the safety miss, it should be a touchdown every single time.”
Corum wasn’t known for his ability to make people miss quite at the level he did entering 2022, either. Former tailback Hassan Haskins was the player known to get extra yards when needed, then Corum found a way to become that back who the team could also count on. If Edwards also finds a way to turn one-yard gains into three-yard gains, or three-yard gains into five-yard gains, it will be that much more difficult to stop the already formidable Michigan rushing attack.
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