Previously: Last year's profiles. S Makari Paige, S RJ Moten, S Jordan Morant, CB Andre Seldon, CB Darion Green-Warren, CB Eamonn Dennis, VP William "Apache" Mohan, LB Nikhai Hill-Green, LB Kalel Mullings, LB Cornell Wheeler, LB Osman Savage, DE Aaron Lewis, DE Jaylen Harrell, DE Braiden McGregor, DT Kris Jenkins, OL Reece Atteberry, OL Zak Zinter, OL Jeffrey Persi, TE Matthew Hibner, WR Roman Wilson, WR AJ Henning.

Marshall, VA – 5'8", 193
		24/7	4*, #232 overall #19 RB, #9 MD
		Rivals	4*, #105 overall #8 RB, 7 MD
		ESPN	4*, #120 overall #13 RB, #5 MD
		Composite	4*, #129 overall #12 RB, #6 MD
		Other Suitors	OSU, LSU, USC, Wisc, VT, MSU
		YMRMFSPA	Mike Hart, but fast!
Previously On MGoBlog	Hello post from Adam. Future Blue Derivatives also from Adam.
Notes	Twitter. AA game.
Film
Senior Year:

Ten years ago, Michigan running backs coach Fred Jackson said recruit Fitzgerald Toussaint had "Michael Hart ability with speed," which was quickly memed into "Mike Hart, but fast!" and became Jackson's tombstone quote. A decade later, there is another:

[St Frances head coach Biff] Poggi frequently referred to Corum as the “complete player” and likened him to former Michigan back Mike Hart, the program’s all-time leading rusher from 2004-07.

Corum has an electronic 4.4 40 and a rep as one of the fastest functional speed guys in the country. Mike Hart + fast = "Mike Hart, but fast!" God help us.

Can anyone possibly live up to such expectations? No, but Corum's going to try:

“He will drive you a little crazy,” Poggi said, laughing. “If you’re gonna start workouts at like 6 a.m., that kid is there, I’m not exaggerating, he’s there at 10 to 5. You feel terrible about it when you get there at 5:30, because he’s stretching in the parking lot waiting to get into the building. He’s the kind of guy, he’s up every morning at 4:30 working out. He’s a lunatic.”

Dude is catching literal bricks on Instagram. If anyone can sate the furious appetites of the internet-brain wing of the Michigan fanbase, it's Blake Corum.

[After THE JUMP: tenuous justification for these takes]

This is because Biff Poggi is not wrong. Corum evaluations frequently contain assertions that sound like they're about Deveon Smith, not a 5'8" stopwatch wizard.

One of the very first mentions of Corum on Rivals describes him as a "bruising, between-the-tackles runner with good vision and a physical running style." Mike Farrell's impressions from the AA game practices include "thick and sneaky strong" and "moves the pile and has a strong lower body." Meanwhile 24/7's Brian Dohn took in the St Frances-St Joe's game this year and came back saying that Corum was a "physical runner between the tackles who "was patient and let plays develop."

Adam in FBD:

… shows good patience and vision, giving his blockers time to get set and adjusting his path on the fly … can juke or jump-cut his way out of a phonebooth, so he’s also able to make something out or nothing … keeps his legs churning on contact … even quicker near the line of scrimmage than he is when he has built a head of steam. His ability to stop on a dime and accelerate out of a cut looks effortless.

Rivals regional analyst Adam Friedman:

"…really strong, compact back with really good vision. He does a great job between the tackles, but he can really get to the edge and catch the ball too. He’s definitely a guy who can break big runs when he sees the blocks in front of him but he’s also just really dependable and steady. He’s used to having big guys in front of him who can open up running lanes, which makes him very comfortable at finding and hitting the hole. … strongly built kid so I don’t think it’ll be too big of a deal that he’s not very tall or even very heavy."

We'll get to the bits about the edge and big runs in a second, because they take a secondary role in these evaluations. I can't tell you how unusual that is for a microback with a 4.4 40.

If you've got a few minutes here's the every snap tape from Future Blue Derivatives. This is against IMG, annually the most loaded program in the country, and is as good a proxy for what Corum might do in college as is possible:

That really is a lot like Mike Hart—except for the part where he outruns IMG defensive backs to the endzone. Hart had a combination of short-area burst, patience, and vision that allowed him to dodge guys, find holes, and take indirect contact that meant his 5'8" frame got to burrow for extra yards. Grabbing the tree trunks that passed for his legs was an invitation to have your tackle stepped through. Unfortunately, the Wolverine Historian Hart tribute is heavy on wide-open chunk plays and light on Hart dodging a guy five yards in the backfield and making something happen, but from time to time you see something pop up that reminds you of Hart's down-to-down efficiency and looks similar to a lot of Corum activities above.

There is a genre of running back who's a paradoxically good inside runner because he's small—or at least short—and has a leverage advantage on almost all contact. Corum is that in high school and has a good shot at continuing that through college. Steve Lorenz reported over the summer that Corum was 204 pounds. Even if Corum only maintains that, he's going to be a pile-mover.

And then there's the other thing. The part where he outruns the IMG backs to the endzone. Corum put up a 4.44 40 at an Opening regional and that speed translates to the field. Dohn after taking in St Frances's demolition of Miami Central:

In a game that featured a lot of speed, Corum was on a different level … impressed with his vision, balance and burst … everything we want to see out of a 5-8 back with relative strength, contact balance and sudden change of direction ability.

Poggi:

“He has legitimate speed,” Poggi said. “He has very good top-end speed. He’s incredibly explosive. He’s very easy to block for. If you’re an offensive lineman, you don’t have to finish a lot of blocks with him because he’s going to turn shadow blocks into big gains.”

Dohn from very early in Corum's high school career:

Corum has burst, can change direction at a high speed, is patient in waiting for plays to develop and he knows how to set up his blocks down the field. He is elusive, and he he runs with power. He has the speed to get to the edge, and the balance to turn the corner.

A couple of camp reports noted he "left multiple linebackers grasping for air" and "was difficult for linebackers to touch" in open field drills. Mater Dei's head coach called Corum the "best back we've played against this season, and, actually, in recent memory" because of his "toughness, vision, and breakaway speed."

You may be noting that even in the section that's trying to be about Corum's ability to break off big runs that other things keep creeping in. It's hard to get to get a clean DANG THIS DUDE FAST rave paragraph because many evaluations take pains to note that Corum isn't just one thing:

… really improved his ability to effectively run between the tackles and runs much harder than defenders anticipate. Corum's game is also really well-rounded. He is a big contributor in the passing game.

A Mike Hart comparison is invalid unless that passing game contribution contains a particular thing:

… great blend of power and balance at the position along with the ability to catch the ball out of the backfield and make defenders miss in the open field. … runs extremely hard and tough to bring down on initial contact. … excellent pass protection

Poggi:

“He’s excellent in protection, which is very rare for a high school back. If you throw his junior film on, you look at him and you see this kid really has an understanding of protection and then be physically strong enough to make those blocks. He takes a lot of pride in it. He has excellent hands. He’s an excellent receiver out of the backfield.”

So here we are. Mike Hart, but fast. It can be no other. I apologize in advance.

In an effort to mitigate the massive jinx I've just placed on Corum, a couple things. One: TTB pointed out that Corum will be 20 during his freshman year and is thus closer to his ceiling that other freshman might be. Corum will probably see a big jump in football IQ after year one as he gets the playbook downloaded, but other than that what you see is what you're going to get.

Two: Corum drew his positive camp mentions in the "also participating" sections of those posts. He was not an ALPHA DOG or a competitor for that status. Corum is unusual in that he is a 5'8" running back who does not get to show his best assets in a camp setting, but it's also worth noting that takes from the All America game were pretty lukewarm. I still think Corum nuking a wide selection of the top high school teams in the country is more important but I'd lean towards Corum being fairly explosive, not Denard-esque.

Etc.: Harbaugh on Corum:

"Yeah, Blake is awesome,” Harbaugh told reporters last week. “You know, the main thing about him is he's just goes all out at everything that he does. And if there's one thing that's just generally true in life, as well as within our football program, the guys that just go all in and don't really, you know, they don't dip their toe and they don't think about, ‘Hey, you know, should I do this or not?’ He just goes hard at every single thing that he's presented with.'"

Why Mike Hart, but fast(!)? At heart Corum is a low-to-the ground interior runner with patience and the ability to burst into gaps as they open up. Plus pass protection seems likely. Corum may approach Hart's off-the-charts football IQ, as well. The fast part: he's fast.

Karan Higdon is a more recent comparable and is also a pretty good one. Higdon is a hair taller, listed at 5'10, but played around the same weight Corum is purported to be at currently. Higdon also had a knack for interior running that allowed him to glance off a lot of tackles and pick up lots of yards after contact.

Guru Reliability: Exacting. St Frances, healthy, no positional projection, lots of high profile national high school games and an all star game.

Variance: Very low. Running back close to playing weight. No red flags of any variety. Is going to be what he is pretty early in his career.

Ceiling: High-plus. Lack of camp accolades probably means he's not going to be a first- or second-day NFL prospect. Everything else looks great.

General Excitement Level: Very high. High IQ interior runner with 4.4 speed and plus pass pro described as "lunatic." Yes please. Corum won't have to be a workhorse at any point in his career but probably could do it if necessary. Combination of interior running skills and wheel threat is extremely desirable.

Projection: Season exists again. Michigan has a deep running back room between Charbonnet, Haskins, and Evans plus however many running back snaps go to Giles Jackson and the like. It'll be hard for Corum to get much time. He'll still play, because it's 2020 and he's a running back. Also this year is an eligibility freebie.

Next year Evans departs; Christian Turner may return after opting out of this season. (If he's still out.) Charbonnet and Haskins will both be back and in NFL contract years. Corum should emerge into a significant contributor as a sophomore since he'll fill the speedy wheel route guy role better than anyone else. Corum will then have a one or two year run as a major contributor and potential 1000-yard back unless the RB room remains as crowded as it is currently.