The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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8 THE WOLVERINE ❱ AUGUST 2024 T he image stands indelible, forever marked in Michigan football history. Blake Corum, the young man who predicted a national championship, and re- turned to Michigan for the pur- pose of winning it, spinning through the hands of would-be Alabama tacklers not once but twice, on his way to a touchdown paving the path to No. 1. When it was all over — with Bama stonewalled, and Wash- ington's Huskies crushed — Co- rum stood to declare the end of his striving to make Michigan the best in the land. "This is everything I imagined," Corum said. "When we [decided] to come back, there were a lot of us, and we said we had unfinished business. I'll leave you all with this — business is finished!" Business is finished for wom- en's tennis star Kari Miller as well. While she didn't battle her way to All-America status in the glare of the national media spotlight like Co- rum, she took care of business on and off the court. Now, business is booming, in the venue of her choice. While Miller takes a year to decide between pro tennis and working in the heady realm of New York investment banking, Corum continues his football quest with the NFL's Los Angeles Rams. Both Corum and Miller are driven to succeed. Both came to Michigan highly motivated, and leave as champions, having battled their way into the elite of their respective sports. They represent The Wolverine magazine's Male and Fe- male Athletes of the Year, each a central figure on our Teams of the Year — foot- ball and women's tennis. These pages are largely dedicated to what the Wolverines accomplished over the course of a year on the play- ing fields, courts and arenas. Both Co- rum and Miller will tell you, there's far more than wins and losses, records and championships — although nei- ther takes those lightly. They'll both carry a lifelong closeness to those with whom they worked, bled, sweated and encouraged, in moments of sweetness and suffering. There's suffering even in 15-0 and a national championship. Just ask Co- rum. There's suffering in preparation, anguish in performing several games without your head coach on the field, and a burning anger when some want to detract from the accomplishment achieved "fair and square," in the words of NCAA President Charlie Baker. In the end, the rejoicing drowned out the noise. In the end, success shouted down all murmurs. "We came back as a team, we came back as brothers," Corum said. "This is what we came back for. We came back for the natty. We came back to win for Michigan, and we did it. I am just so blessed and so speechless. I am just try- ing to take everything in." Corum expressed love for his team- mates, and Miller felt the same way about hers. Not just from this year, but from all the way back to her fresh- man season. She keeps up with the vast majority of them. They shared championships as well, at least one in all four seasons. This past year, the Wolverines earned both the Big Ten regular- season and Big Ten Tournament titles. They did so largely because they were able to take a very indi- vidualized sport and make it about The Team, Miller insisted. "As a team, that was something we did really well this year and something that set us apart from a lot of other teams," she said. "You have to have the leadership, and you have to have the teammates that buy into idea that you are a team, and you're not just eight or nine individual players. Our se- niors did a good job this year of emphasizing it, and our players a good job of executing it. It's really about how you support the people around you on the court — cheer- ing enough, saying 'Go Blue!' Those are some of the basic things, but it's also the intensity with which you compete for your team. "You can tell how much you care for each other. We tried to do things together outside of our normal team practices and required activities. As an individual sport, you have to put in extra effort to make it more of a team sport. But if you can do that, it leads to a lot of success at the college level." It's the relationships that linger, and the degree from the Ross School of Busi- ness that will serve her well, she said. Other U-M teams stood tall as well. A Big Ten-leading seven conference titles included two by Miller's crew, one by Corum's, and those by men's gymnas- tics, men's lacrosse, softball and rowing. They all stayed, conquered and walked away transformed. ❑ WOLVERINE WATCH ❱ JOHN BORTON Celebrating U-M's Leaders & Best Adding to his extensive list of accolades, running back Blake Corum was named The Wolverine magazine's Male Athlete of the Year after helping the U-M football team win the national cham- pionship in January. GRAPHIC COURTESY MICHIGAN FOOTBALL Senior writer John Borton has been with The Wolverine since 1991. Contact him at jborton@thewolverine.com and follow him on X (Twitter) @JB_Wolverine.