The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1503142
54 ■ THE WOLVERINE 2023 FOOTBALL PREVIEW But then Corum thought again — about the combine, specifically, and not being able to show the scouts what he could do (like the insane 30 reps of 225 on the bench press he put up this spring while his teammates cheered him on). Having always been doubted because of his size his entire life, he felt he had something to prove. "I'm thinking about all these things — are they going to judge me off my film?" Corum said. "Are they going to think I'm slow if I don't run the 40? Am I not going to be able to prove myself and get drafted and not go as high as possible? "After weighing my pros and cons, re- alizing the NFL is still going to be there, I came back. And I got to get my degree. I'll graduate." And he did. He'll enter his senior sea- son as a University of Michigan grad. "It was a lot of things. It really wasn't just one thing that made me decide to come back," Corum said. "It was a lot of things creating one big thing." That "big thing" is a chance to leave his mark as one of the greatest to have ever played at one of the most prestigious football schools in the country. Michigan has had three Heisman winners in its his- tory and only one Doak Walker Award winner as the nation's top back — Chris Perry in 2003 — but now has a leading candidate for both with Corum's return. If they stick to the script, Corum said, things will fall into place. He's due an in- jury-free year — in addition to last year's knee injury, he missed significant time in 2021 with a lower-leg issue — and karma appears to be on his side. "I look at all of it as team goals. My goals are going to come throughout the season, and it's just to be better than I was last year," Corum said. "Team-wise, I just want to lead this team. I want to be the best leader, cap- tain, whatever, to get us over that hump, go 12-0 during the regular season, and finish it off strong." He paused. "The goals are simple: win and fin- ish," he emphasized. "Those are my goals. Don't just get there … finish the job." One More Year By June, Corum was close to getting back to full health, having started run- ning and cutting a month earlier. He was in no rush, he said, though it wasn't a surprise to anyone that he was ahead of schedule. Harbaugh had been following his progress closely and getting reports from Herbert when he offered an update in early June. "He's getting his conditioning back," Harbaugh said. "It's much better than it was a month ago. He's still got two months until camp. These are the two most important months. I anticipate that he's going to be even stronger and faster and better than he was before." A helmet-to-knee collision against Illinois ended up bringing a premature end to his junior season, but Corum still ran for 1,463 yards and 18 touch- downs, received the Chicago Tribune Silver Football as the Big Ten's best player and was named the conference's Running Back of the Year. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL "The goals are simple: win and finish. Don't just get there … finish the job." CORUM