The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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APRIL 2024 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 19 12th among 21 running backs. He was second of his position group in the 3-cone drill (6.82 seconds), third in the 20-yard shuttle (4.12 seconds) and first in the bench press (27 reps). The drills were where Corum, who scored 58 rushing touchdowns as a Wol- verine, stood out the most, though. "You see the subtleties because the things that he does with the head movement and head fake and how he goes through drills, you can tell how well-coached he was and how he takes coaching, as well," NFL Network analyst Charles Davis said. Speaking with reporters in Indian- apolis, Corum explained that just be- cause he's close to achieving his dream of playing in the NFL, it doesn't mean the work is close to stopping. He's going to "go 10 times harder." "I just go hard every single play," Co- rum continued. "I just go into it with a mindset that I can't be stopped, I won't be stopped. And whatever the team needs me to do to win, I'll do it. I'll play defense if I need to. That's the mental- ity I'm bringing — a good leader, a great team player, someone that's going to be vibrant, smile all day long and try to do whatever I can." SIX O-LINEMEN SET A RECORD, WIDE RECEIVERS SHINE Michigan sending 18 players to the combine set a record, and so did having six offensive linemen from one school at the event: Karsen Barnhart, Trente Jones, Trevor Keegan, LaDarius Hen- derson, Drake Nugent and Zak Zinter. Five of the six (all but Zinter) played five seasons of college football, giving them an edge in experience, and Jer- emiah revealed that the acumen of the Wolverine linemen was at another level compared to their peers. "I was talking to an offensive line coach who's met with just about ev- eryone who's come through here this year," Jeremiah said. "And he said the Michigan guys are like two years ahead of everybody, in terms of their knowl- edge, understanding and maturity." Barnhart and Zinter pointed to their experience and competition play- ing against great defensive linemen in practice as reasons why they feel they're ready for the NFL. Zinter didn't work out due to his leg injury suffered Nov. 25, but he said he should be fully healthy within the next month and a half. He plans to bench- press and "move around" at the Wol- verines' pro day March 22. The other five worked out in front of NFL teams, and all but Zinter and Henderson ran the 40-yard dash and did other testing. Henderson just went through drills. Nugent's agility was one of the most impressive aspects of the offensive line workout. He ran a 7.33-second 3-cone drill (tied for fourth among 28 offensive linemen) and a 4.50-second 20-yard shuttle (seventh among 26 offensive linemen). Jeremiah said he has "the best feet of the Michigan linemen" and that he's heard Nugent is "the man that made the whole offensive line go." Michigan's wide receivers, John- son and Wilson, both ran the 40-yard dash. Wilson said coming into the event that he hoped to run in the 4.2s, but his time of 4.39 seconds still checked in sixth among 30 wideouts. Johnson, meanwhile, clocked in at 4.44 seconds, checking in 16th among the same group. Wilson said his best traits as a re- ceiver are "just being consistent, fast and a playmaker." He showed that in four seasons with Michigan, register- ing 107 catches for 1,707 yards and 20 touchdowns. He led the Wolverines in 2023 with 48 grabs for 789 yards and 12 scores. "Just a dawg, willing to do whatever it takes to win," Wilson said of what he wants teams to know about him. "Cre- ative in his routes, explosive, playmaker. Again — consistent, reliable; that's how I like to describe myself." Tight end AJ Barner was the other Wolverine player on offense to receive an invite to Indy. He went through on- field drills but didn't run the 40 or test. Prior to working out, he discussed what Trevor Keegan was one of six offensive linemen from Michigan invited to the NFL Combine, another record to go along with U-M's 18 total invitees. PHOTO BY KEVIN SABITUS/NFL