Pro Football Focus recently came out with preseason lists ranking college football players by position and previewing who may be under the radar now but won’t be for long.
Michigan football was well-represented in both regards.
PFF’s Anthony Treash ranked the top 25 running backs in the country and Michigan’s Blake Corum came in at No. 3 on the list, ahead of Ohio State’s Treveyon Henderson (No. 4) and Wisconsin’s Braelon Allen (No. 7).
Corum broke onto the scene as a sophomore in 2021, despite operating as the No. 2 running back behind Hassan Haskins.
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Corum finished the year with 144 carries for 952 yards, leading the team at 6.6 yards per carry, to go along with 11 rushing touchdowns.
The sophomore also caught 24 passes for 141 receiving yards (5.9 yards per catch) with another touchdown despite missing two games in November with an ankle injury.
The man pegged to be Corum’s running mate this year, Donovan Edwards, also came in on this list as the No. 14 RB in the nation — not bad for someone who was third string as a freshman in 2021.
He ran 35 times for 174 yards (4.9 yards per carry) and scored three touchdowns.
By season’s end, proved to be as much of a mismatch in the passing game as he was on the ground, which is why the West Bloomfield alum was also tabbed as one of 31 breakout candidates to watch.
Edwards caught 20 passes for 265 yards — 13.3 yards per catch — and scored one touchdown. The majority of that production came in a career game against Maryland, when he hauled in 10 receptions for 170 yards and a score.
“Edwards finished with 3.79 yards per route run and a 74.3 receiving grade on 70 routes for the season,” according to PFF.
He also added 65 total yards (49 receiving, 16 rushing) in the College Football Playoff semifinal game against Georgia.
