The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1524451
24 THE WOLVERINE ❱ AUGUST 2024 2023-24 YEAR IN REVIEW BY CHRIS BALAS M ost figured the time had come for running back Blake Corum to leave Michigan after a junior season in which he ran for 1,463 yards and 18 touchdowns. Even he as- sumed his third year would be his last — that he'd lead the Wolverines to an- other win over Ohio State and a second straight Big Ten title, and then ride off into the sunset. His knee injury suffered against Il- linois in the last home game of the 2022 season changed everything. It cost him his shot to make his mark against the Buckeyes, forcing him to leave after only a few carries in a 45-23 win in Co- lumbus, and he'd undergo surgery while his teammates prepared for a College Football Playoff semifinal with TCU. He could only watch helplessly while the Horned Frogs upset his teammates. And at that point he started to realize he couldn't leave Michigan with "un- finished business." The rest is history, of course. Co- rum returned, ran for 1,028 yards and 27 scores in leading the Wolverines to the national championship, declared, "business is finished!" on the postgame stage in Houston following U-M's 34- 13 win over Washington and left Ann Arbor a Michigan legend. "He might not be the most talented running back in Michigan history, but he might be the most important," U-M play-by-play announcer Doug Karsch said. "Coming back and winning a na- tional championship, the leadership he showed … what he turned down. "You love it when a kid sets a goal. It's not easy, but he came back for a very specific reason. He might be one of the great early stories for Michigan's NIL, too. It helped keep Blake Corum at Michigan, and they don't win a national championship without him." In fact, he came up biggest in the most important games. His late touch- down run against Penn State was the LEGENDARY LEADER Blake Corum Finished Business At Michigan MALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR BLAKE CORUM A first-team Associated Press All-American as a junior and a third-team selection as a senior, Corum set the Michigan school record for single-season and career rushing touchdowns (27 in 2023 and 58 overall). PHOTO BY CHRIS BALAS