There are two sides to Michigan Wolverines running back Blake Corum. On Monday night in the College Football National Championship Game, you’ll see the future NFL player wage war on the Washington Huskies in a relentless display of college football excellence.
Yet, behind his sporting prowess and athletic greatness, lays something far more significant to the senior star.
The Two Sides of Michigan Wolverines Running Back Blake Corum
“You talk about being the best version of yourself on and off the field,” Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh eulogized during a segment on ESPN’s flagship College Gameday show, “that’s him.”
Over the last four seasons, Corum has established himself as the beating heart of the Michigan offense. As savage as the wolverine that the program takes its nickname from, Corum has brutalized his way past almost every defense that has tried to contain him.
In the process, he’s torn up the record books in Ann Arbor, scrawling his name in program folklore forever more.
No player in Michigan history has scored more rushing touchdowns in a single season. No player in Michigan history has scored as many career rushing touchdowns. No player in college football has scored a rushing touchdown in every single game, except for Corum. His football impact is felt nationally, but it isn’t the stats he puts up that he wants to be remembered for.
“I just want to leave a legacy,” he said. “It doesn’t matter about the stats that I put up. I just want to be remembered. I want to be remembered as a guy that changed a lot — on the field and off the field. Obviously, stats are cool. I want to be up there with the greats. But when I talk about legacy, I’m not really talking about just football or football stats. Really just me the human being.”
For Corum, greatness in football is secondary to human greatness. Talking to mlive.com amid a historic season, the Michigan running back is focused on ensuring that everything he does, every record he breaks, brings Michigan to the title game.
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But that everything that he does away from football reflects who he is as a person, and helps everyone around him.
The relentless energy that you see on a Saturday — or a Monday night as is the case for the National Championship Game — is channeled equally into the community that surrounds him. That extends from Ann Arbor, out through Ypsilanti, eight hours down the road to Marshall, VA, where family, friends, and faith, helped form the greatest version of Corum that he could be.
“It made me a hard-working man, a man of character” Corum reflected on the environment of his youth during a segment with ESPN’s Marty Smith. “It made me a great man. Where I come from plays a big role.”
Those lessons learned in Marshall have played a substantial role in the man that Corum has become at Michigan. For every record that he holds, for every touchdown he scores, there is a tangible community impact that he’s made either with his time or through charitable donations that have left an indelible mark on the lives of enough people that you could fill the Big House over and over.
Recent endeavors by the Michigan running back include a toy drive for the Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries, where over 20,000 toys were made available for children who need them.
Corum has also been involved with supporting young children in their aspirations through sports nutrition, reading, and writing through his involvement with the Community, Leadership, and Revolution Academy.
Through “Giving Back 2 Give Thanks”, Corum has been involved in an annual event since 2021 that utilizes his Name, Image, and Likeness capability to provide turkeys and other Thanksgiving essentials to underserved communities in Ypsilanti, Michigan.
This year, hundreds of turkeys were distributed to families that otherwise couldn’t afford to enjoy the type of day some take for granted.
“I’m just someone that believes my purpose on Earth is bigger than football and I believe my purpose is giving back,” Corum told Fox News Digital in Sept. 2023. “I’ve been blessed throughout my whole life, but especially now through NIL to be able to give back to the community – especially the community that is less fortunate.
“Throughout the year, I do my big turkey drive which has gone up each and every year. We started with 100 turkeys. Last year was 300 turkeys. This year, I’m aiming for 600-700 turkeys to give away,” Corum continues.
“Backpack giveaways, back-to-school drives, free youth football camps in Virginia (Corum’s home state) and Michigan. Christmas giveaways. You name it. I’m trying to get in the community as much as I can.”
This isn’t something new for the Michigan running back, either.
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From being a small child, Corum has found a way to impact those around him. His faith plays a huge part in who he is, and why he strives to give back, and as a youngster in Virginia, he used to fill the church offering plate with his own money. In high school, he earned money to give to the poor on the streets of Baltimore.
The future NFL star referenced the part that faith plays in his charitable endeavors during his acceptance speech after being named the 2023 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team. Providing a perfect example of his greatness in all aspects of his character, Corum is the Michigan captain on the field and was voted by the public to be the honorary captain of the Good Works Team.
“I’m a firm believer in Christ,” Corum said upon receiving the honor. “Acts 20:35 says: ‘In all things I have shown you about working hard, in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ That’s why I’m here. I’m more than an athlete.”
“God has blessed me not only with athletic abilities but the ability to give,” the Michigan running back continued. “The ability to put smiles on people’s faces. The ability to make people laugh. That’s what it’s all about. Life is about the small things — the smiles, the laughs, the get-togethers. That’s what I believe.”
Athletic abilities have enabled Corum to become a record-setting running back at Michigan. The ability to give has led to the most prestigious recognition afforded to student-athletes for their contributions away from the sporting arena.
It is perhaps the words uttered by the Michigan running back on being named a finalist for the Wuerffel Trophy that does the best justice to who Corum is, the two sides of his greatness.
“Football is my passion, but giving back is my purpose.”
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