The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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DECEMBER 2021 THE WOLVERINE 27 though, is his patience — knowing which hole to hit, and when. His speed, quick- ness and open-field vision do the rest. Corum is famous for his rigorous off- season workouts and training habits, hav- ing worked on agility and patience head- ing into the campaign. At the same time, while Hart has been hesitant to take some of the credit there, he deserves a portion of it. "I think he gets settled into the game a little bit more," Hart said. "Sometimes he's too fast, still, because he's a fast, quick kid, but I think he understands the need to let those plays develop, give those linemen a chance to get to their blocks, get to the second level. When those guys do their job up front, which they've been doing a great job of, and he's one on one with the safety, he's hard to tackle in the open field." Corum was leading the team with 778 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground before he suffered a high-ankle sprain a few plays into the team's win over Indiana Nov. 6. That held him out for the majority of three contests, before he returned for the regular-season finale against Ohio State. Against the Buckeyes, he ripped off a 55-yard run that set up a score on the next play, and totaled 87 rushing yards on six carries while clearly playing at less than 100 percent. Before going down with the ailment, Corum never missed practice time, per Hart, despite averaging 16.1 carries per contest through the first eight games and taking a number of hits. The youngster's work habits put him in position to recover quickly and stay on the field. "Blake's a guy that takes care of his body better than anybody. He doesn't eat junk food. Healthy stuff — I don't know why he does it," Hart joked. "No, obvi- ously he's a kid that knows what he's eat- ing every day, he knows how to hydrate every day. He's on top of his body. "For a 19-, 20-year-old kid, it's pretty impressive. He knows before the games, hydrate. During the week, his pregame routine, how he gets rolled out, how he stretches. He knows when … his calf might be tight, he does extra work on his calf. He's just really in tune to his body and what he needs to be ready to go." That all helped him be able to return so quickly from an injury that typically holds an athlete out a few more weeks. REDSHIRT FRESHMAN OLB DAVID OJABO Ojabo had been talked about as a prac- tice standout each of his first two seasons in Ann Arbor (he redshirted in 2019), but he didn't get much opportunity in games, playing only 26 snaps during the 2020 campaign. With defensive end Kwity Paye, a first-round NFL Draft pick, off to the Indianapolis Colts, it was Ojabo's turn to step up and be a force on the opposite end of the line to Hutchinson. The Nigeria-born, Scotland-raised Ojabo has had a fascinating rise. He didn't start playing football until 2017, his junior year of high school. An under-the-radar recruit, Ojabo began notching offers and chose Michigan, but the perception sur- rounding him was always about potential, not production in games. Coming into the year, the edge defender spot left behind by Paye was a big unknown, with Ojabo the top contender for the starting job. But he took the job and ran with it in the early going, recording his first career sack and a fumble recovery in the Sept. 11 win over Washington, before taking off mid- way through the year and turning himself Redshirt freshman outside linebacker David Ojabo was tabbed as the No. 10 overall 2022 NFL Draft prospect by ESPN expert Mel Kiper Jr. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL