It’s not easy to replace a program legend.
Now-departed running back Blake Corum certainly fits that description. He holds the Michigan football team’s single-season and career rushing touchdown records, and helped lead the Wolverines to a national championship. He was one of the hardest workers in the room, and an example for all of his teammates to follow.
When it comes to replacing Corum, no one player will be able to replicate his production. But maybe, with a deep running back room, Michigan can recreate Corum in the aggregate.
“It’s a deep and versatile room, which I kind of like,” Michigan offensive coordinator Kirk Campbell said Friday. “You got guys that can do different things, that we can put in different positions. It’s constant evaluation to see what they can do to help us win come Saturdays.”
Within that deep room, senior running back Donovan Edwards stands out. The lightning to Corum’s lightning for the past two seasons, Edwards has served the Wolverines well as an explosive playmaker and a change-of-pace back. Edwards didn’t have the breakout season in 2023 that many expected, but he still delivered in the biggest moments, scoring two touchdowns in the National Championship Game.
This season, though, Edwards won’t just be a change-of-pace option or a third down back. He’ll be Michigan’s go-to guy, the focal point of the run game for a program that’s built its success on the ground. Wolverines coach Sherrone Moore won’t shy away from the run, and he’ll rely on Edwards to get Michigan going.
The expanded role will be a challenge for Edwards, but it’s one that Campbell thinks he’s more than ready for.
“Donovan has assumed a major leadership role, which was needed,” Campbell said. “I saw him walking through the hall yesterday with a cutoff on, he looks good. He looks like he’s in shape. He looks ready to play. He’s got a chip on his shoulder. He’s got a way about him.”
With Edwards taking the lead, Michigan has plenty of options as to who can follow. Sophomores Benjamin Hall and Cole Cabana both have a year of development under their belt, and could be ready for an expanded role. Graduate Kalel Mullings also comes to mind, particularly given the different skillset he possesses compared to Edwards.
“Kalel Mullings is due for a breakout as well,” Campbell said. “He’s trimmed down a little bit of weight so he can move a little bit better. You guys saw, the run he had against Nebraska might have been one of the best — the jump cut, then boom he exploded out of there.”
In his first two years at the position, the linebacker-turned-running back has shown flashes of potential. His run against the Cornhuskers, as well as his trick-play jump pass against Ohio State in 2021, are a few of the key moments where Mullings has made his mark on games. As the second option on the running back depth chart and a complement to Edwards, he could be due for plenty more.
And together, the running back room’s versatility gives plenty of options to a coach and a program that loves to establish the run. The Wolverines have plenty of turnover, but Moore has already made it clear that the identity that won them a national title won’t be going anywhere — they’ll just be putting a new twist on it.
For Campbell, that means adapting to the skills of the new backs he has, not trying to force them into a mold that worked in the past.
“Last year, we were able to run the ball downhill on people, we were really good on the offensive line,” Campbell said. “… Are we gonna be a downhill team? Are we gonna be more gap-scheme oriented or are we going to be a perimeter team, that still will be dictated. But we’re gonna play to our players’ skill sets. We’re not gonna pigeonhole a square peg into a round hole.”
WIth plenty of spring practice ahead, Campbell will begin to figure out Michigan’s rush scheme. He’ll learn more about how his backs have developed in the offseason, and what he needs to make the run game hum.
And when he identifies the holes that the Wolverines need to fill, he’s got plenty of different-shaped pegs to try out.