Michigan football intel on each position coming out of camp

Michigan has broken camp and is now into game week preparing for the season opener with ECU Saturday. The Wolverines are banged up but a heavy favorite, loaded at every position. Such is the luxury of having outstanding depth, even if the non-conference slate isn’t daunting. We’ll break down on our final intel on each position group between now and Friday on both sides of the ball. Today — the running backs.

Starting with Michigan senior Blake Corum, who said in the offseason he expected to come back better than ever off knee surgery — and he has. There have been no signs of anything holding him back — on the contrary, he’s at least as fast and bigger and more cut than he was a year ago — and he’s been outstanding in camp. While he and Donovan Edwards make up one of the best 1-2 punches in the country, it’s clear Corum is the better “pure” running back. As Edwards himself said, Corum is shiftier, and his vision is off the charts. He said he’s the best version of himself.

“It’s been what I expected — great,” Corum said of running and cutting. “It felt great being back on the field with the guys and camp has been going very well. I’m just excited to get back out there next Saturday, face someone else. I haven’t hit too much during camp, but I’m excited to hit and just be out there with the guys, with the fans, back in the Big House.”

He should be a Heisman candidate again this year. As for Edwards — the Michigan junior showed last year he could do it, too, breaking big runs in each of the last three games, including two big ones against Ohio State. He’s more of a hit or miss back and admitted he wanted to be more like Corum in that respect, but he’s going to get his carries. More than that, they are going to line him up when Corum is on the field and use both of them at the same time (fact). They want to get their best athletes on the field, and from what we’ve heard from folks who have seen it … well, you’re going to see it, too.

No. 3 — Kalel Mullings, but he had to make a late push to secure the job. We’d heard there was a bit of frustration halfway through camp about where he stood, but the 6-2, 239-pounder will have a role — probably short yardage again (yes, there’s been an emphasis on securing the ball) — and there are guys nipping at his heels.

Michigan sophomore CJ Stokes is a bit of a wildcard. He’s been banged up a bit this fall, too, but he showed flashes last year in a few games. It’s hard for kids to wait their turn, even behind a couple of potential All-Americans. The big question with him — how will he respond? Can he continue to put in the work to move up the depth chart? Even if he were No. 3 this year (still a possibility), we believe he’d feel better about his situation, especially wish freshmen nipping at his heels.

We expect Michigan veteran Tavi Dunlap to get a few carries here and there in the non-conference, but the freshmen are the future. We haven’t heard a ton about Cole Cabana — only that he’s extremely fast, and they’re excited to see what he can do down the road — but Benjamin Hall continues to get the love. Corum told us this spring in an exclusive he thought Hall would be a “special” back, and he continues to rip off the biggest runs in scrimmages when Corum and Edwards are on the bench.

“I like him a lot,” Corum said. “His attention to detail, his willingness to learn, wants to learn, always on time. He’s watching the film — ‘How can I get better? What can I do?’ He’s going to be a great running back for Michigan. I’m excited to see where he goes down the line.”

The word on Hall — he’s still learning the game. This might be the year in which he absorbs, but the folks in the building think he has a bright future. He’s still working on vision and feel for the game, but he can play.

Bottom line — expect a huge year from Corum, and for Edwards to contribute in both the run and pass games. We’re most interested to see how much Edwards is used as a receiver, and who emerges as the No. 3 back.

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