The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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AUGUST 2024 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 25 2023-24 YEAR IN REVIEW dagger in a 24-15 win in which he was the workhorse. The Wolverines ran the ball 32 straight times in the second half, Corum finishing with 145 yards and two scores. The 27th of those runs was his 30-yarder for a touchdown with 4:15 remaining that made it 24-9 and all but assured they'd get through their tough- est game on the schedule to that point. Corum took big hit after big hit, but he had a huge smile on his face — and b l o o d r u n n i n g down it from a cut above his nose — when he prepared to face the media. "You've got that f a m o u s p i c t u r e with the blood be- fore he went out there," Karsch recalled. "He asked, 'Do I have to clean up, or can I go in looking like this?'" He went in as he was, an iconic photo that captured exactly who he was — a mainstay who never complained, loved his teammates, and provided so many incredible performances in huge games. "His run in the Rose Bowl is going to go down in history as one of the all- time best," Karsch added of a 17-yarder in overtime that would prove to be the winning score. Among his other highlights: a 55-yard run on a bad ankle against Ohio State in 2021 that set up a score, his 22-yarder against the Buckeyes this year that put Michigan up 24-17 in the third quarter, and two runs in the national title game with Washington, a 59-yarder in the first quarter, and two touchdowns in the fourth that iced the game. Though defenses schemed to take the Michigan running game away, focus- ing on Corum from Game 1, the senior still managed to get his yardage when it mattered. Off the field, he continued his phil- anthropic work by donating hundreds of Thanksgiving turkeys to needy fam- ilies and helping others with his NIL earnings. He's hopeful other Michigan men will follow his lead if their situations are similar. "I think people can definitely look at what I've done and say, 'I want to stay,' but it's also about what you want," Corum, a third-round draft pick of the NFL's Los Angeles Rams, said in April. "For me, I wanted to leave a legacy … to be remembered forever, and not just for scoring some touchdowns. "I wanted to leave a bigger legacy on and off the field. That was one of the main reasons for coming back." The injury, too, played a role. Had he made it through the 2022 season healthy, he — not running back and teammate Donovan Edwards — might have had the huge game against the B u c k e y e s . T h e Wolverines might we l l h ave b ea te n TCU with him in the backfield, too, to set up a national championship game tilt with Georgia. Watching from the sidelines left him with a feeling of helplessness. "It was tough, just because I've been playing football since the age of 6, and I never had an injury that sat me out like that one did," Corum said. "Especially dur- ing the season the guys were having — I wanted to be there for my guys. "That put me in a deep hole, a hole I've never been in just mentally. I had to find a way to get out. I'm a firm believer in God. He helped me in my journey. My family, sisters, mom, dad, girlfriend ... everyone helped. I was able to get out, and because of my injury it made me a better man. But it was tough. It was tough." But now, Corum said, he considers it a blessing, having proven to himself he could overcome another type of adver- sity. For years, he'd destroyed the nar- ratives of being "too small" at 5-foot-8 to be an every-down back. He put in the work, got back to full strength, and leaves as a champion and one of the best backs in Michigan's storied his- tory. "He wasn't the biggest or the fast- est guy, but he was certainly one of the strongest and most determined I've ever seen at Michigan," Karsch said. "On top of that, he's a great kid. … He always just seemed to stop and pay at- tention to the people around him. "I applaud his parents. They brought up what appears to me to be a first- class individual." One Michigan fans will never forget. ❏ ❱ Corum "I wanted to leave a bigger legacy on and off the field. That was one of the main reasons for coming back." Runners-Up Corum wasn't the only Michigan male athlete with a huge year — in fact, several on the football team alone came up just as big in a championship season. But there were others in different sports, too, who also enjoyed impressive seasons. Here's our "best of the rest" male athletes from 2023-24. 2. J.J. McCarthy, football — The junior was every bit as important to a Michigan national champion- ship as Corum. He was the Griese-Brees Big Ten Quarterback of the Year and finished No. 10 in the Heisman Trophy voting. He was a finalist for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award (2023) and Manning Quarterback Award (2023), a semifinalist for the Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award (2022), the Rose Bowl Offensive MVP after completing 17 of 27 passes for 221 yards in a win over Alabama, and the team's Bo Schembechler Most Valuable Player (2023) after throwing for 2,991 yards and 22 touchdowns. McCarthy finished his career with a 27-1 record as a starter, the best winning percentage (96.4) by any college quarterback since Toledo's Chuck Ealey (1971) and Oklahoma's Jimmy Harris (1956) ended their careers with 35-0 and 25-0 records, respectively. 3. Paul Juda, gymnastics — The graduate student earned his fourth career NCAA individual title with a win on floor exercise April 20, leading the Wolverines to a No. 2 national finish. The three-time All- American and two-time Big Ten Gymnast of the Year was the NCAA all-around and vault champion a year earlier, and he'll now represent the United States in the Olympic Games after finishing fourth in the all-around at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials. 4. Gavin Brindley, hockey — Brindley was the Big Ten Hockey Player of the Year, a first-team All- Big Ten selection, and a member of the NCAA Midwest All-Region team after he notched 53 points, including a team-best 25 goals and 28 assists. Brindley had 16 multiple-point games, led Michigan to the Frozen Four and then signed a deal with the Columbus Blue Jackets, forgoing his final two years of eligibility. 5. Frederick Richard, gymnastics — Richard followed up his incredible freshman year with an out- standing sophomore season. The three-time NCAA All-American earned Big Ten Gymnast of the Cham- pionships after winning the all-around in 2024 and was a first-team All-Big Ten selection. He finished second in the all-around at the 2024 National Championships, won the all-around and high bar at the U.S. Olympic Trials and will represent the United States in the Paris Olympic Games. — Chris Balas