Blake Nolan Corum (born November 25, 2000) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

and

kickoff returner A return specialist or kick returner is a player on the special teams unit of a gridiron football team who specializes in returning punts and kickoffs. There are few players who are exclusively return specialists; most also play another position ...

for the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He was a two-time

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

playing

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Michigan Wolverines The Michigan Wolverines comprise 29 varsity sports teams at the University of Michigan. These teams compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I and in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except wo ...

, including

unanimous All-American The College Football All-America Team is an honorific college football all-star team compiled after each NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) season to recognize that season's most outstanding performers at their respective positions. ...

honors and the

Big Ten Most Valuable Player The ''Chicago Tribune'' Silver Football is awarded by the ''Chicago Tribune'' to the college football player determined to be the best player from the Big Ten Conference. The award has been presented annually since 1924, when Red Grange of Illi ...

in 2022. In

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

, Corum became the all-time leader for the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

in rushing touchdowns with 58, set the single-season record with 27 rushing touchdowns, won three consecutive Big Ten Conference titles, was a national champion and earned its offensive MVP award. He was selected by the Rams in the third round of the

2024 NFL draft The 2024 NFL draft was the 89th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players. The draft was held at Campus Martius Park and Hart Plaza in Detroit on April 25–27, 2024. The draft had an attendanc ...

Early life

Corum was born on November 25, 2000, in

Marshall, Virginia Marshall is a census-designated place (CDP) in northwestern Fauquier County, Virginia, in the United States. The population as of 2024, was 3,292. History Marshall was originally known as "Salem". It became Marshall after a short-lived incorp ...

, attending high school at Saint Frances Academy in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the List of United States ...

. He was selected as the 2019 Gatorade Player of the Year in Maryland and ''

The Baltimore Sun ''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local, regional, national, and international news. Founded in 1837, the newspaper was owned by Tribune Publi ...

s Offensive Player of the Year, rushing for 1,438 yards and 22 touchdowns as a senior, as he led his team to a #4 national ranking. He was a four star recruit and rated as the #12 high school running back.

College career

2020 season

Corum enrolled at the

in January 2020. In his first semester at Michigan, he drew praise for both running the

40-yard dash The 40-yard dash is a sprint covering . It is primarily run to evaluate the speed and acceleration of American football players by scouts, particularly for the NFL draft but also for collegiate recruiting. A player's recorded time can have a he ...

in 4.4 seconds and earning a 4.0 grade point average. On October 24, in the season opener versus Minnesota and his college debut, he earned his first career start. On October 31, Corum scored his first two collegiate touchdowns against rival Michigan State. As a true freshman he appeared in all six games, rushing for 77 yards (3.0 yards per carry), while also adding five receptions for 73 yards.

2021 season

Prior to the 2021 season, ''Sports Illustrated'' wrote that Corum was poised for a breakout year. Through the first two games of the 2021 season, Corum rushed for 282 yards on 35 carries. He averaged 141 rushing yards per game and also caught five passes for 33 yards. Against

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

, he tallied a career high 171 rushing yards and three touchdowns, including a 67-yard touchdown run. He also had 128 yards on kickoff returns and led the nation in all-purpose yards with an average of 221.5 yards per game. On September 18, Corum recorded his third straight 100-yard rushing game, becoming the first Michigan player to accomplish this feat since Denard Robinson in

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

, and the first player to record 100-plus yards rushing in three consecutive games to start the season since Mike Hart in

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

2022 season

On September 17, Corum tied Michigan's modern-era record with five rushing touchdowns in a game against

UConn The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university system with its main campus in Storrs, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1881 as the Storrs Agricultural School, named after two benefactors. In 1893, ...

. He became the first Michigan player to score four first-half touchdowns since Ed Shuttlesworth in

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...

. On September 24, Corum rushed for a career-high 243 yards and two touchdowns on 30 carries in a 34–27 win over

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

. His 243 rushing yards was the most for a Michigan player since Denard Robinson rushed for 258 yards in

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

. He continued with 133 yards against

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

on October 1, 124 yards against

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

on October 8, 166 yards against

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with ca ...

on October 15, and 177 yards against

Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the ...

on October 29. Corum was named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week for his performances against Maryland and Michigan State. On November 19, Corum suffered a torn meniscus and sprained MCL in the first half of Michigan's game against

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

and played sparingly the rest of that game. Corum tried to play through the injury in the

rivalry game Pairs of schools, colleges and universities, especially when they are close to each other either geographically or in their areas of specialization, often establish a university or college rivalry with each other over the years. This rivalry, whic ...

against

Ohio State The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one of the largest universities by enrollme ...

the next week. He recorded two carries for six yards on Michigan's first drive of the game but didn't play again until he took the field for a celebratory Michigan victory kneel-down on the final play of the game. At the time of his injury, Corum was a top contender for the

Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy ( ; also known simply as the Heisman) is awarded annually since 1935 to the top player in college football. It is considered the most prestigious award in the sport and is presented by the Heisman Trophy Trust followin ...

and had the third-best odds to win it. On December 1, 2022, it was announced that Corum would undergo knee surgery, ending his season before Michigan's appearances in the Big Ten Championship and the

College Football Playoff The College Football Playoff (CFP) is an annual single-elimination tournament, knockout invitational tournament to determine a national champion for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, D ...

semifinal

Fiesta Bowl The Fiesta Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played annually in the Phoenix metropolitan area since 1971. From its beginning until 2006, the game was hosted at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona. Since 2007, the game has be ...

. Over the 2022 season, Corum had 1,463 rushing yards, 18 rushing touchdowns, and one receiving touchdown. Corum finished seventh in voting for the

, was named a

and won the

, the second straight Michigan player to win MVP.

2023 season

On January 9, 2023, Corum announced that he would be returning to Michigan for his senior year. In an appearance on the Rich Eisen Show, Corum said, “I have unfinished business. I didn't like the way I went out in the Big House. I don't like people remembering me being hurt. And so I will be coming back for it all next year." During halftime of a Michigan basketball game in February, Corum spoke the crowd and guaranteed that Michigan would win the national championship in the upcoming football season. On October 14, 2023, Corum had 13 carries for 52 yards, and became the tenth player in Michigan history to reach 3,000 career rushing yards. With two rushing touchdowns in the game, he passed Mike Hart and Denard Robinson for the third-most career rushing touchdowns in program history (43). On November 4, 2023, Corum recorded three rushing touchdowns in the game, tying for second on the career rushing touchdowns list with

Tyrone Wheatley Tyrone Anthony Wheatley Sr. (born January 19, 1972) is an American college football coach and former professional player who is the head football coach for Wayne State University, a position he has held since 2023. Previously, he served as th ...

at 47. On November 18, 2023, Corum rushed for 94 yards and two touchdowns, moving to eighth on Michigan's all-time rushing list with 3,380 yards. With his two rushing touchdowns in the game, Corum tied

Hassan Haskins Hassan Askiali Haskins Jr. (born November 26, 1999) is an American professional American football, football running back for the Los Angeles Chargers of the National Football League (NFL). He was an College Football All-America Team, All-America ...

' single-season rushing touchdown record of 20 set in

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

. On November 25, 2023, in the victory versus Ohio State, Corum rushed for 88 yards and two touchdowns, setting a new single-season rushing touchdown record of 22. He was the only player in the FBS to score in each game in the 2023 season. On December 2, 2023, in the Big Ten Championship, Corum rushed for 52 yards, and two touchdowns, for his 55th career touchdown. With 52 rushing yards in the game, he passed 1,000-yards on the season, and became the first player with consecutive 1,000-yard rushing seasons since Denard Robinson. With two rushing touchdowns in the game, he tied Anthony Thomas for Michigan's career record for rushing touchdowns. On January 1, 2024, during the

2024 Rose Bowl The 2024 Rose Bowl (officially known as the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the 2024 Rose Bowl Game presented by Prudential for sponsorship reasons) was a college football bowl game played on January 1, 2024, at the Rose Bowl (stadium), Ro ...

against

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

, Corum rushed for 83 yards and scored two total touchdowns. He caught a receiving touchdown in the first quarter. On the second play of overtime, Corum made a jump cut and broke multiple tackles to score the game-winning touchdown to send Michigan to the national championship. In scoring his 56th career rushing touchdown, Corum broke Anthony Thomas's previously held record to become the all-time career rushing touchdown leader at Michigan. On January 8, Michigan played

in the

2024 College Football Playoff National Championship The 2024 College Football Playoff National Championship (officially known as the 2024 College Football Playoff National Championship presented by AT&T for sponsorship reasons) was a college football bowl game that was played on January 8, 2024, ...

with Corum starting at running back. On the last play of the first quarter, he broke away for a 59-yard gain, the longest play of the game. He finished the game with 21 carries for 134 yards and two touchdowns. He was named National Championship Offensive MVP, finishing his senior season with 27 rushing touchdowns. Corum (134 yards) and

Donovan Edwards Donovan Edwards (born February 25, 2003) is an American professional football running back for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Michigan Wolverines, winning three consecutive Big Ten Co ...

(104 yards) also became the first pair of teammates in

College Football Playoff National Championship The College Football Playoff National Championship is a post-season college football bowl game, used to determine a national champion of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), which began play in the 2014 college football season. ...

history to each rush for over 100 yards. Corum set Michigan's single-season record for rushing touchdowns (27), total touchdowns (28) and points scored (168), which is also a Big Ten record. He finished his college career as Michigan's all-time leader in rushing touchdowns (58), total touchdowns (61) and points scored (366). Corum was the only FBS player in the country to score a touchdown in every one of his team's games during the 2023 season.

College statistics

Professional career

Corum was selected 83rd overall by the

in the third round of the

. In his rookie season, he played in a backup role to

Kyren Williams Kyren Lawrence Williams (born August 26, 2000) is an American professional football running back for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and was selected by the ...

for most of the year. Corum earned his first NFL start in Week 18 against the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

, but suffered a season-ending fractured forearm in the game. He finished the 2024 season with 58 carries for 207 rushing yards to go with seven receptions for 58 receiving yards.

Personal life

On April 7, 2024, weeks before the

, Corum threw out the ceremonial first pitch at a

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

baseball game at

Comerica Park Comerica Park is a baseball stadium located in Downtown Detroit. It has been the ballpark of Major League Baseball's Detroit Tigers since 2000, when the team left Tiger Stadium (Detroit), Tiger Stadium. History Construction Founded in 1894, t ...

References

External links

Los Angeles Rams bio

Michigan Wolverines bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Corum, Blake 2000 births Living people American football running backs Michigan Wolverines football players All-American college football players Saint Frances Academy (Baltimore) alumni People from Marshall, Virginia Sportspeople from Fauquier County, Virginia Players of American football from Virginia Los Angeles Rams players