Penn State tasked with stopping Michigan RB Blake Corum

STATE COLLEGE — In 2016, before he even chose a high school, eighth-grade running back Blake Corum visited Penn State. He took a photo with the blue and white uniform on. He met James Franklin and Saquon Barkley. The Virginia native didn’t have an offer from the Nittany Lions, but they continued to stay in touch.

Corum was at Beaver Stadium on a visit for the 2016 Ohio State upset and attended a camp months later. But Corum was courted by schools across the country. As a ninth-grader, he had offers from USC, North Carolina, Michigan State and Pitt. And, entering his senior year, he committed to, you guessed it, Michigan.

“I remember all the way back to high school, he was a guy who’d get up every morning at 4 a.m. to lift and train,” Franklin said of the former four-star St. Frances Academy (Md.) standout. “Just a committed, committed young man.”

That approach has paid dividends for Corum. Now he’s one of the top playmakers in college football and someone Penn State needs to limit this weekend at Michigan.

Corum ranks second nationally in rushing touchdowns (11) and third in rushing yards (735). The 5-foot-8, 210-pound bowling ball has bounced and burst his way to three consecutive 100-yard games to kickstart Big Ten play, including a 243-yard performance against Maryland a few weeks ago.

Corum is Pro Football Focus’ top-graded tailback (90.1) among those with at least 70 snaps. He has accounted for the most runs resulting in a first down (46) and boasts the second-most rushes of 15 yards or more (14). And, while he’s a longshot, Corum has the best betting odds of any non-quarterback to win the Heisman.

All of this is to say No. 2 could be an issue for the Nittany Lions this weekend.

“He’s a super mature and super productive back. He knows how to run and get positive yards. Very few negative yardage plays with him. Even though he’s a smaller back, he always seems to fall forward. He’s strong and powerful,” Franklin said after Wednesday’s practice. “… He’s had a damn good college career so far.”

For Penn State, the key words are “so far.” It’s on Manny Diaz’s defense to halt Corum’s blazing start to the season.

Through five games, Penn State has done a nice job against the run, allowing 79.8 rushing yards per game, fifth-best in the FBS. Looking deeper, Penn State’s stuff rate — the percentage of runs stopped at or behind the line of scrimmage — ranks 10th-best nationally (26.7%), according to Football Outsiders. That’s encouraging.

And yet Corum and Michigan’s formidable offensive line will be a different test than Auburn and certainly the rest of Penn State’s schedule to date.

“He’s a back that requires you to do your job and be where you’re supposed to be, or he can take it to the house,” defensive tackle PJ Mustipher said. “We’ve seen that on film. He’ll see something where he can bounce it or he can run within the A through C gaps. He does a great job, and everyone has to do their jobs. It’s going to be a tremendous challenge for us.

“But we’re prepared. We’ve been preparing this week. We’ve been preparing each week throughout the season as well as camp. It’s what you live for. You’ve got to love it. They’re a talented team. So are we. We’re going to see at noon.”