Corum returned on his own despite Harbaugh advising moving on The League
According to an interview with 247, Blake Corum planned on turning pro with Illinois being his last home game.
The injury, graduation, NIL, and the opportunity to win a National Championship are the reasons for staying, despite Coach advising otherwise.
Corum’s character sets the tone for this team’s culture. His determination might lead this team to the ultimate prize.
Thank you, Blake Corum, and Go Blue!!
Great to know we have players like this, that we can support decisions like this with NIL money, and have a coach who is shooting them straight.
Thanks Blake! Now let’s go win a National Championship and make it worthwhile!
I'll settle for beating OSU 3 years in a row :)
^ This x 1,000,000 ^
Dude, AIM HIGH
Blake Corum isn't "a" character - that young man HAS character. It's a huge difference.
Harbaugh's candor and perspective are great to hear - and, Blake's commitment seems exceptionally rare in today's day and age. Hoping the team achieves every goal they have this season.
I understand that comparing basketball and football is like apples and oranges in the Michigan NIL world, but it really resonates with me that Corum is an endearing member of the community with high amounts of integrity. I think that has to make a huge difference in the amount of NIL you get from old school Michigan folks, as opposed to, you know, being extremely unlikeable and acting like a heel.
I love Michigan, I love being here. And so you know, it was a tough decision. But I will be coming back for my senior year. And I’m willing to do whatever it takes to win it all. So I hope Team 144 is ready, I’m gonna make sure they’re ready. Best believe I’ll be back in the community, bringing everyone together. -- 2024 Heisman winner, Blake Corum
I literally said this in the Hunter departure post and got negged... he's not marketable to older alumni with money.
I'm glad he's getting paid, but he didn't do enough to show his value, IMO.
The argument of "he's worth X bc Kansas paid X" is fundamentally untrue - is Mel Tucker worth $100M bc MSU paid $100M?
To be fair it sort of seems like being negged is not exactly unfamiliar territory for you... Nonetheless I feel like it's not so controversial to point this out. I have a feeling star Michigan athletes will do just fine with NIL as long as they are basically likeable people who try hard.
To me, Mel Tucker is probably worth a billion dollars - and, can only hope the Spartan administration gives him a huge raise...
Any person or commodity is worth whatever the market is willing to pay. MSU is willing to pay Tucker $95M, so yes, that's what he's worth.
You can say the same about anything, like famous paintings, collectibles, etc. There's a lot of stuff I wouldn't shell out much $$ for, but there are those who will and do, and therefore define the market. MSU has defined the market for Mel Tucker.
And then Mel Tucker redefined it.
gruden, if you pay someone 300k to build a house and they build it out of balsa wood on sand....they weren't worth it.
That's what happened to Michigan State with Tuck, and I'm pretty sure everyone in East Lansing understands that now.
Actually, they don't. If you read their message boards you'll see an incredible amount of denial as to the shape they're in. Yes, there's a lot of "fire Mel" talk, but you'd be surprised how many of them think they'll have a good recruiting class in the end and that Mel needs more time to "rebuild" the program -- the same one that he is in the process of tearing down.
Mel’s building an NFL team in EL… and, he’s starting it with a 55 man roster - just like the teams that play on Sundays…
If Mel’s building an NFL team, I’m guessing it’s the 2008 Lions.
I don’t begrudge the transfers and early NBA entries that much, but their choices affect their legacies. So if guys value their NIL/draft potential over their Michigan legacies, that’s fine, I might do the same in their shoes. If Kansas was willing to make me a millionaire or if the NBA was going to draft me despite not having done much as a freshman I’d at least pick up the phone. But it’s a trade off like everything else and none of these guys will have the legacy Blake already has
The 2023 motto: "Mow the lawn"
Eat it PJ Fleck
Do I need to download an app to read this article? I don't see an obvious link to continue to article...
<rendundant>
I see user "othernel" has this covered.
Us android users can't read it.
These are the guys that become legends. Blake is my kids' current favorite player.
Since OP posted a broken re-direct, actual article can be found here:
Thank you!!
Blake has a chance to become the first Michigan legend in awhile, hopefully it works out for him and the team.
Aidan Hutchinson would like a word with you.
I love Aidan, but don’t think having 1 crazy good season gets you legend status. You would almost have to make the case for O-JA-BO as well then.
Agree to disagree here, but I'd consider Aidan a Michigan legend even if he had only played the one game against the buckeyes that he did.
My take is that if Aidan goes pro (believe he was projected to go 1st or 2nd round) and doesn't return for his senior year, we don't beat Ohio State that year. I believe his leadership (with help from others) was a huge key toward getting that team over the hump. This will forever grant him legend status in my book. He was also solid as a freshman, very good as a sophomore then injured as a junior.
Aidan and Blake Corum are my favorite players since Charles Woodson.
With all due respect to the variety of opinions and perspectives shared on this site...
Your comment wins the internet today. Exactly - was Blake part of that fantastic 2021 season? Yes - he was. Was Blake influential in the locker room, weight room, practice field, and game day? Yes - he was.
I don't like to compare, but -to me - Blake and Aidan complemented each other. And, I do think Aidan was a catalyst for the change we saw in Ann Arbor during the 2021 season - and, what's happened since then.
Is Blake a huge part of maintaining that commitment, development, and culture - you bet.
Fans are blessed to appreciate both of them for their efforts on and off the field.
Go Blue!
The guy finished second in Heisman voting as a defensive lineman. Repeat:
Aidan Hutchinson finished #2 in Heisman voting and is a DEFENSIVE LINEMAN.
That should tell you that he had something more than just a "crazy good" season...
Maybe a committee as well wants a word.
.
Hasan Haskins rushing 5 tds against Ohio State would like to have a word
Moody
Coach being like - man, I got a lotta RBs I have to get game time...
He'll have 1000 yards both hauling footballs and hauling turkeys.
Wonderful player!
THAT'S MY RUNNINGBACK. trying not to set up unreasonable expectations but he could achieve legend status this year. the Don too.
Blake Corum is here to play college.
“Think about the bigger picture,” he explained. “I’m the first in my family to ever go to college. If I left, there’s no chance I would be walking this Saturday to get my degree. There’s no shot. I was not coming back. And I got so close to being done.
It says a lot of things that folks here are talking about the smart play wrt the NFL draft and this man probably half our ages is thinking about his place in the world and life after football.
Yes, the career of a running back is short, but it's not like they vanish off the face of the earth after their last roster cut.
With NIL,
I think it's the smarter move.
The shelf life of an NFL running back is not very long.
And if he wins us a National championship and a possible Heisman, he could be like Archie Griffin and his profession would be being Blake Corum in Ann Arbor.
For RB, NFL compensation is all about where you're drafted initially. It's so pronounced that even if you make it past four years and you're still able to play effectively, the franchise tag, without using it to help renegotiate a career deal, is the norm right now. That's not the case at any other position.
Still, it's the better financial move to go to the NFL if you're going to be drafted and it's likely you'll make an NFL 53-man roster. That's a $750k minimum salary, plus your initial bonus money.
For Corum, an additional question is would the knee injury and surgery have affected that draft position? If so, and he's potentially a first- or second-day player if he proves he's healthy again, that means millions, and you never make that up.
The downside is additional wear-and-tear over another college season. That's not nothing, and I hope we don't see as much of him running the ball as it might take to get him back into Heisman territory. Harbaugh surely understands that.
Talks were if all medical checked out Blake wouldn't have lasted past the second round and would have been 3rd back taken. Now he comes back and can make the push for a first round pick and prove he was the best RB in college the past year and this year.
Welcome back, Blake!
Corum at the very least is on Mt. Rushmore of Michigan Football for me. The dude is cut different compared to every recruit looking to get paid. If not for Desmond starting my UM fandom, he might be my favorite player.
Well, I hope it works out for him. But, since he's from near where I live, he's always welcome to join my family for a home cooked dinner any time, no matter where his career takes him.
Go blue!
As a father and coach for my son that plays football, I show him clips of BC’s civic service and say this is who you should follow. This is the mark of a high character student athlete.
can’t say enough good things about Blake.
His knee injury was pretty bad, so if he couldn't work out for teams then I'm pretty sure that was going to affect his draft status.
2 great people in BC and JH! JH telling Blake to go pro was not in JH best interest but in Blake's. Blake coming back to finish what he started and win Ship for Michigan proves he has great character and is a guy like Aidan and others before him. Blake is going to make his legacy even bigger then it would have been if he left.
The NIL makes it easier but this was not a decision motivated by money. While there is nothing wrong with money it is still refreshing to see that there are things other than money that are of value.
I wish Blake the best in 2023 and whatever his thereafter may hold for him.
High character guy, a true Wolverine through and through. Hope he balls out this year!