Michigan football has an embarrassment of riches at the running back position. It enters the 2023 college football season with arguably the best running backs room in the country.
Headlined by Blake Corum, Donovan Edwards also can make a case he belongs among the nation’s best. In fact, last summer, Fox Sports’ Joel Klatt insisted the No. 2 back for the Wolverines entered the 2022 season as a dark-horse Heisman contender.
College Sports Wire took on the task of ranking the best running backs in college football, and, naturally, Corum enters the season in the top spot.
Corum opted to return for a fourth season at Michigan over the NFL. He and Bijan Robinson were the top two running backs in the country and with Corum coming back, he is easily RB1 going into 2023. His backup Donovan Edwards picked up the slack and then some in Corum’s absence following his injury. Edwards is another back that is easily among the top five in the Big Ten after rushing for 991 yards and five touchdowns. They might be the best duo in the country.
Edwards also cracked the top 10, coming in at No. 9, behind Ohio State‘s Miyan Williams and Penn State‘s Nick Singleton, but ahead of OSU RB TreVeyon Henderson, who was seen as the best back in the conference by many entering 2022.
Edwards would likely start for any team outside of Michigan and Ohio State most likely, where there are quality starters. Edwards proved he could shoulder the load when Corum went down with injury. Still he proved to be among the 10 best running backs despite playing in a reserve role for most of the season.
Corum and Edwards are ranked similarly via PFF’s returning player rankings at the running back position.
The big question is: how will Michigan football deploy them given that each could take on the lion’s share of carries?
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