The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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OCTOBER 2021 THE WOLVERINE 65 O n the evening of Sept. 4, af- ter Michigan had opened its 2021 season with a 47-14 rout over Western Michigan, I surprisingly received a phone call from my grandfa- ther. It was surprising because he and my grandmother were out of town to cel- ebrate their anniversary. But he, a UCLA fan, called me because he was watching the Bruins beat LSU and had to ask me this question: "How did Michigan let this Zach Charbonnet kid get away?" I simply responded: "Michigan did not let him get away. He lost the start- ing job." My response stunned my grandfather. This was understandable given what a healthy Charbonnet has accomplished in his first three games as a Bruin. He has quickly excelled, with 242 rushing yards and six touchdowns on only 23 carries (10.5 yards per carry) by reeling off big play after big play. Charbonnet looks like the back many projected he would be when he was a five-star prospect. But notwithstanding Charbonnet's early success in Los Angeles, Michigan has not missed him. Rather, freshman Blake Corum and redshirt sophomore Hassan Haskins have quickly indicated that the Michigan staff's judgment was right — Corum and Haskins may be one of the nation's most impactful running back duos. They are impactful because of how frequently they have had and should have the ball in their hands. Through the first three contests, Corum and Haskins have been the focal point of Michigan's offense. Corum (54) and Haskins (51) have combined for 105 touches on the Wolverines' 196 snaps (53.6 percent). Most have been runs. Haskins is tied for 30th in the FBS with 16.3 runs per game, and Corum is tied for 32nd with 16.0 carries per game. The only other school with two running backs earning at least 15 rushes per game is Air Force. Head coach Jim Harbaugh and coordi- nator Josh Gattis have made a concerted effort to feed their top two backs. And Haskins and Corum have been hungry. Haskins has been the consistent bull- dozer that he was expected to be. He is averaging 5.7 yards per carry, and it feels like that is the number of yards that he gains every handoff. Thirty-nine of his 49 runs have traveled less than 10 yards, but none of them have dropped for a loss. His longest run this season lasted only 22 yards, and it went that far be- cause he shed a defender near the line of scrimmage before he sprinted into the end zone for a touchdown against WMU. Haskins picks up yards in small to moderate chunks one touch at a time. He is always moving the sticks forward, and he wears down all the defenders that try to place themselves in his path. Then after those defenders start to feel sore and slow down a gear, Corum lights them up. But by running around them rather than running through them. After an uneven debut season in 2020 (77 yards, 2.96 yards per carry), Corum has been the breakout star for Michigan's offense in 2021. He has exploded for 407 yards and seven rushing scores on 48 carries and also notched a receiving touchdown. His rushing average has skied to 8.5 yards per run because of his ability to jump cut into the open gaps and his elu- siveness. Corum has forced 21 missed tackles — not necessarily broken tackles but missed tackles — which ranks sixth in the country per Pro Football Focus. And when Corum finds that open space, he knows how to hit the turbo button to rack up even more yards. Haskins and Corum have comple- mented each other very well with their respective running styles, and both have been successful. In fact, both are flirting with an average of 100 rushing yards per contest. Corum is third in the na- tion with 135.7 per game, and Haskins is 32nd with 93.7 per game. As it stands, both would easily surpass 1,000 rush- ing yards this season if they can main- tain these averages, and if they do, they would be just the second pair of running backs to do it in the same year in school history; Gordon Bell and Rob Lytle in 1975 were the first. And if these numbers were not enough to show how imposing Corum and Haskins have been, their PFF grades should do the trick. Among running backs with at least 20 carries, Corum has the second-best offensive grade (91.5), and Haskins is eighth (85.0). If the carries threshold is increased to 30, they rank first and fifth, respectively. So the early return has been that Haskins and Corum headline one of the most fearsome running back tandems. They, along with Michigan's offensive line, have punished Western Michigan's, Washington's and Northern Illinois' de- fenses, and they hope to do the same to the rest remaining on their slate. And if they do, my grandfather will understand why Charbonnet is no lon- ger in Ann Arbor. ❏ INSIDE THE NUMBERS DREW HALLETT U-M Boasts A Fearsome Backfield Duo Staff writer Drew Hallett has covered Michigan athletics since 2013. Contact him at drew.c.hallett@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @DrewCHallett. After three games, freshman Blake Corum (above) had the best Pro Football Focus offensive grade (91.5) among running backs with at least 30 carries, while redshirt soph- omore Hassan Haskins was fifth (85.0). PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL