Michigan football's run game continues to provide elite performances across the board

Free Press sports writer Michael Cohen breaks down Michigan football’s 63-10 win over Northern Illinois and looks at few players who helped or hurt their stock Saturday at Michigan Stadium:

[ Michigan, after dominating NIU, must prepare for ball-hawking Rutgers defense ]

Five up

RB Blake Corum: It’s time to start framing Corum’s tremendous start to the 2021 season from a national perspective. After three consecutive 100-yard performances to begin the year, Corum ranks third in the nation in rushing yards with 407, second in yards per carry (8.48) among players with at least 40 rushing attempts and tied atop the leaderboard for most rushing touchdowns with seven. Corum needed only 13 carries to top 100 yards against NIU and once again ripped off a long scoring run of more than 50 yards. He’s demonstrating a unique ability to consistently gain chunks of yards without much lag time between breakaway runs. There’s no question Corum is U-M’s most dangerous player on offense.

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WR A.J. Henning: After spending the last two weeks of practice developing more consistency as a punt returner, Henning replaced Caden Kolesar as the team’s top return man against Northern Illinois. He gained 25 yards on his first collegiate return and never looked back. Using a combination of speed and shiftiness that coach Jim Harbaugh described as among the best on the team, Henning repeatedly broke through the first wave of defenders to threaten long returns. He added a 32-yard scamper later in the game to finish with an average of 14 yards on five attempts, ranking sixth in the nation among players with at least five returns. Equally as important were Henning’s contributions on offense, where he chipped in 50 total yards in the form of a reverse and a fly sweep push pass from quarterback Cade McNamara. Henning made his presence felt in more ways than one.

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RT Andrew Stueber: This is more of a cumulative reward. Singled out by Harbaugh for his strong performances in Weeks 1 and 2, Stueber delivered another gem against the Huskies. The graduate student from Connecticut did not allow a single pressure in 37 snaps to post his second pressure-free game of the season, according to Pro Football Focus. The lone pressure he gave up came against Washington. For the season, Stueber is graded as U-M’s second-best run blocker behind center Andrew Vastardis and the team’s best pass blocker ahead of left guard Trevor Keegan. He has yet to commit a penalty in 154 snaps.

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CB Gemon Green: The senior corner notched the first interception of his career and the first interception of the season for the Wolverines when he corralled a pass that caromed off the hands of NIU tight end Tristen Tewes. And while he fell a few yards short of reaching the end zone, he positioned the offense at the Northern Illinois 3-yard line for an easy score. Green also finished Saturday’s game as the team’s highest-graded corner, according to PFF, edging out fellow starter Vincent Gray for the first time this season. The Huskies never threw a pass where Green was the primary defender.

RB Donovan Edwards: Running backs coach Mike Hart made good on his promise to find more playing for Edwards, the former five-star recruit who logged only one carry against Washington. Edwards played 17 snaps Saturday and carried the ball on eight of them as the U-M offensive line created plenty of alleyways. There is truth to Harbaugh’s assertion that Edwards feels dangerous on nearly every snap, and eventually the dam broke in the form of a 58-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter. The promising tailback finished with eight carries for 87 yards and two scores. Hart will have his hands full balancing the playing time for Corum, Edwards and Hassan Haskins in the games to come.

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One down

WR Mike Sainristil: Michigan is now three games into the season and Sainristil does not have a catch for positive yardage. He entered Saturday’s game with two receptions for minus-4 yards and was never targeted in 24 snaps against the Huskies. Instead, the Wolverines ran the ball on 79% of Sainristil’s snaps in a clear indication of what the coaching staff feels he can offer. None of the other core wide receivers — Cornelius Johnson, Daylen Baldwin and Henning — were asked to run block on more than 68% of their snaps Saturday. And while Sainristil is arguably the best perimeter blocker on U-M’s roster, the idea of a wide receiver averaging 22 snaps per game and offering little to nothing as a pass catcher seems strange. If the pattern holds in the coming weeks, opposing teams will use Sainristil as a pre-snap indication of whether the Wolverines are likely to run or pass. That fellow wide receivers Baldwin, Henning and Roman Wilson turned in strong performances Saturday may also hurt Sainristil’s stock.

Contact Michael Cohen at mcohen@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @Michael_Cohen13.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan football's running game continues to spur revival