Michigan’s football program inked elite running back Blake Corum in the 2020 recruiting class and then added top-50 back Donovan Edwards the following cycle.
With both possibly departing for the NFL after the 2023 season, the Wolverines will be looking to make a splash at the position in the 2024 class. One of their top targets is Longview (Texas) four-star Taylor Tatum.
RANKING: No. 39 overall prospect nationally and No. 6 in Texas. He also is ranked as the No. 3 running back in the country, according to the 247Sports Composite.
SIZE: 5-foot-10, 195 pounds
THE BATTLE: Plucking a top-tier running back out of Texas for a Big Ten program like Michigan will never be easy, but the Wolverines aren’t shying away from competition when it comes to Tatum. Bluebloods like Georgia, Oklahoma, Oregon and Ohio State are in the mix, along with in-state schools like Texas, Baylor, USC and Texas A&M. Overall, he holds a whopping 39 offers.
WHAT ARE MICHIGAN’S CHANCES? The Wolverines offered Tatum in December and got him on campus for an unofficial visit in January. He told The Wolverine that he only has two official visits planned for this spring, and one is back to Ann Arbor (along with USC). That should be a good sign for Michigan running backs coach Mike Hart and the Wolverines.
“It’s been great with Michigan,” Tatum told The Wolverine. “Coach Hart has been on me hard. Every day, he texts me saying what’s up. I’m busy with baseball and track, but he’s still on me hard. I’m planning to go back to Michigan sooner rather than later. I don’t have a date yet, but I know we’re going to go back up there.”
“Coach Hart just tells me I’m a big guy on his board. I’m the top guy. He says he can do the same thing with me that he’s doing with Blake (Corum) and Donovan (Edwards) right now.”
There should be a pathway for Tatum to see the field early for the Wolverines, just like Corum and Edwards did when they arrived in Ann Arbor. He also is interested in playing baseball at the college level and has been in contact with Wolverines first-year coach Tracy Smith.
“Coach Smith is new, but his record shows he brings back baseball programs,” Tatum said. “He was at Indiana and won a championship. He had success at ASU. Seeing that is kind of cool.”
Michigan will have ample time to continue to build a rapport with Tatum, who will not be enrolling early wherever he signs.
Although he said there is no rush on making a decision, the Wolverines do hold the only current 247Sports Crystal Ball prediction to land him.
“We’re not making any decisions soon,” Tatum told On3. “Me and my parents decided that I won’t be doing early enrollment so I have plenty of time to make my decision. It’s pretty open throughout this spring and summer.
“I want to commit to somewhere that feels like a second home and is place that I doesn’t want to leave. I need to feel comfortable there and it needs to be a place that makes me a better person.”
WHAT’S THIS GUY DO?: In 2022, Tatum rushed averaged 8.9 yards per carry and totaled 1,891 yards on the ground for a Longview team that finished 14-1. According to the scouting report from 247Sports national recruiting analyst Gabe Brooks, Tatum has, “requisite height and frame with perhaps relatively leaner stature, but good build with space to add mass. Broad-shouldered and assembled well. Instinctive lane-finder. Plays with patience. Presses blocks to allow for holes to materialize. Also knows how to buy a couple more strides of time on perimeter runs to help blockers re-route defenders.
“Quick-footed in the hole. Regularly makes something out of nothing when penetration disrupts play in the backfield. Uses an effective hesitation to set up evasive measures in space. Plenty functionally athletic to bounce runs, but plays with good discernment for a young back and keeps plays inside as needed. Flashes high-kneed, open-field speed to hit the big play. Run-finishing ability plays above listed size.”
THE MICHIGAN NEED: As mentioned above, there’s a good chance Michigan enters 2024 without Corum and Edwards, meaning the team’s backfield will be a major question mark.
Neither junior Tavierre Dunlap or sophomore C.J. Stokes were highly-ranked recruits and they didn’t play much last season. Plus, both were passed over in favor of converted linebacker Kalel Mullings late in the year.
The Wolverines did sign two running backs in the 2023 class, including the No. 171 recruit nationally in Dexter’s Cole Cabana. But heading into his freshman season, he doesn’t project as an every-down back, at least not yet. Tatum fits the mold of a Corum and or Edwards and would be a massive win for Hart and the program.
HIGHLIGHTS
(Highlights embedded with permission from Hudl)