The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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FEBRUARY 2023 THE WOLVERINE 23 given Michigan's talent. Yet he stressed the Wolverines would have plunged into some uncertain territory. "The great unknown, though, you can't escape," he said. "No matter how well someone did somewhere else, no matter how well somebody did inter- nally, if you have not been the Michigan head coach before, you just can't know. If you don't believe me, I've got the last decade to show you. "Rich Rodriguez had done very well at West Virginia, and Brady Hoke has done well before and after Michigan. You just don't know. And right now, in Harbaugh, you have a sure thing. And I've got to tell you, with Harbaugh back, with those players coming back, it's ei- ther Michigan or Ohio State picked for the Big Ten and [junior running back] Blake Corum as the Heisman favorite. If there's a better one-two punch in the backfield than Corum and [sopho- more running back] Donovan Edwards, I would love to see it." BLAKE CORUM'S RETURN INJECTS EXCITEMENT FOR 2023 Michigan wasn't going to be hurting in the offensive backfield for 2023, what with Edwards returning, along with classmate quarterback J.J. McCarthy's rushing capability. But when Corum announced Jan. 9 on "The Rich Eisen Show" that he will return for his senior season, Michigan's potential as a three-time Big Ten cham- pion skyrocketed. Of course, factoring heavily in a third-straight win over Ohio State and another conference cham- pionship doesn't complete Corum's comeback checklist. He certainly had time to ponder it all, watching nearly all of the win in Colum- bus from the sidelines, and on crutches for the Big Ten championship game and the CFP loss to TCU. When the climax of 2023 rolls around, he plans to do more than watch. "I'm a Michigan man through and Starting with All-American Blake Corum, the pieces are in place for Harbaugh to lead U-M to a third straight Big Ten title. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL