Where does Blake Corum rank among Michigan’s best running backs?

Michigan football is defined by violent, no-nonsense football — and the running back has always been critical to the success of the Maize and Blue offense. The Wolverines have had many brilliant rushers over the years, and Monday night could cement Blake Corum as one of the best in team history.

Corum finished the season with 1,228 yards from scrimmage and a mind-blowing 26 total touchdowns. Already on the cusp of being legendary, Corum cemented himself as the all-time school leader in touchdowns during his 2023 campaign, and if he can cap that off with a National Championship it might give him claim as the greatest running back in school history.

Is that fair? Is Corum really better than some of the legendary backs in Michigan’s past? Let’s dive into his resume and see where he lands in the conversation.

Despite being a prolific scorer, it’s here where the debate will rage. A season-ending knee injury in 2022 kept him out of high profile games that could have really lifted his numbers — and being used sparingly in his freshman and sophomore years hurt his total yards.

As it stands Corum is No. 7 in school history in rushing yards.

However, despite lagging behind in total production, he’s excelled in efficiency. Corum is tied for third place all time in yards-per-carry among running backs with over 500 career carries. Rob Lytle averaged 6.1 YPC from 1974-76, Tyrone Wheatley recorded 5.8 YPC from 1991-94, then comes Billy Taylor from 1969-71 and Corum at 5.5 YPC.

If you factor in the efficiency, paired with being the all-time leader in touchdowns it makes for a pretty compelling argument that Corum deserves to be regarded as the GOAT at Michigan.

2x Ameche-Dayne Running Back of the Year
2x First Team All-Big Ten
Unanimous All-American (2022)
First Team All-American (2023)

While Corum has some solid honors to his name, he’s lacked some top-tier national honors. Yes, we’re splitting hairs here between brilliance, but Mike Hart for example was a two-time Doak Walker Finalist as the nation’s top running back, meanwhile Chris Perry won the award and the Jim Brown Trophy — things which have eluded Corum.

That does have an effect on legacy as well.

This is the tilt, the x-factor if you will. In order to be cement yourself in history it helps to have a defining characteristic that makes you unforgettable. Blake Corum is brilliant, no doubt — but he doesn’t spark the imagination quite like Michigan running backs of the past.

Mike Hart stunned as a tiny bowling ball in a land of giants. Always the smallest man in the huddle, he played with enormous heart and made everyone fall in love.

Chris Perry was the opposite, a 6 foot, 224-pound monster that appeared like he was chiseled out of stone. His physical presence was so profound that he’d make your jaw drop, before he’d stiff arm you into the dirt.

Corum doesn’t have that same type of story behind him. It shouldn’t hurt how he’s perceived, yet somehow it does. It changes how we can regard a player, though history could easily build his legacy after his time at Michigan.

It’s really difficult to definitively say Corum is “the best.” In many ways he has the resume, and his 56 career touchdowns will be remembered forever — especially if Big Blue win the natty on Monday night.

Still, putting him above Mike Hart, Chris Perry, Tyrone Wheatley or Anthony Thomas is a big ask. All four of those backs were the heart of Michigan football during their respective eras, and often shined without much help around them.

When it comes to a school with Michigan’s history it’s okay to be “one of the best” without stretching to be “the best.” Now, a mammoth MVP performance on Monday night could change that, but for now we can just appreciate watching one of the greats do his thing for the Wolverines.