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If there is one thing that Blake Corum knows a thing or two about from his four seasons with Michigan football, it is adversity. Corum dealt with it on an individual level at Michigan last year, when he suffered a late-season knee injury that cut his season short. He dealt with it on a program-wide basis this year, as coach Jim Harbaugh was twice suspended for petty NCAA violations.
But Corum channeled all that adversity into one final performance on Monday night in the college football championship against Washington, a 34-13 win that the Wolverines controlled most of the way. While Michigan football has a star coach in Harbaugh and a star quarterback in JJ McCarthy, fact is, Corum is the heartbeat of the team, certainly on the offensive side.
And he had a message of defiance after the Wolverines won their first championship in 27 years on Monday. There were plenty who caused Michigan’s adversity. But it did not matter.
“We just stood together as brothers,” Corum said in his ESPN postgame interview. “We have something special. We built such a strong culture at the University of Michigan, especially inside Schembechler Hall. It started in the locker room. When we faced adversity, we just looked to our right, looked to our left and knew we couldn’t let our brothers down. That’s what we did. We just locked arms and kept going forward. Now we’re national champs.”
Michigan Football Team ‘Came Back as Brothers’
It was another brilliant performance from Corum in the championship game, as he tallied 134 yards on 21 carries with two touchdowns, running his season total to 27. Corum, who had 88 yards in the Rose Bowl against Alabama to open the college football playoffs last week, racked up his first 100-yard day in a month, a span of five games.
Blake Corum had a chance to leave Michigan for the NFL last season, even with the knee injury, but declined so that he could return to Ann Arbor. He is only 5-foot-8, but he has shown he can run with power even at that size, and is s sure bet to be picked should he enter the draft. He has another year of eligibility because of relaxed Covid-19 rules. It would be a surprise if he returned to Michigan again next year.
After all, he accomplished what he came to do this year.
“Last year I wasn’t here. I said it last week and I’ll say it again. I wasn’t here but we came back as a team and we came back as brothers,” Corum said. “This is what we came back for—we came back to get a natty, we came back to win from Michigan. And we did it. I’m just so blessed, and kind of speechless. Just trying to take everything in.”
Blake Corum Owns Wolverines TD Record
Amazingly, Corum added two more touchdowns to his season total of 25 for Michigan football, which was already tops in the NCAA through 14 games. Not only was Corum leading college football in rushing TDs, but he was ahead of everyone by four scores. Now, with 27 touchdowns, he is ahead by six. He also has 58 career touchdowns, adding to his record-setting career total.
That’s impressive, especially considering everything Corum has gone through this year.
“It means so much because I felt so helpless last year,” he said. “But I do have 27 touchdowns, and I couldn’t have done it without my offensive line, my tight ends, my receivers. Just a team effort. I am so blessed to be part of Team 144, I love this team with all my heart, I am gonna miss it.”
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