It was announced Thursday afternoon that Michigan’s star running Blake Corum would need season-ending knee surgery.
Corum injured his knee in the first half of their Week 12 win over Illinois, and he returned to only play one snap in the second half before sitting out the rest of the game.
Corum dressed and played a little against Ohio State, but he was hardly involved in the game, and Michigan didn’t need their best player to roll all over Ohio State.
Corum had 1,463 rushing yards and 18 rushing touchdowns this season, and he was on his way to being one of the Heisman Trophy Finalists in New York City next week.
Corum is expected to leave college this offseason and declare for the NFL Draft. We will see how this knee surgery affects his draft process and stock. There’s also a chance that Corum could return to school, but I will believe it when I see it.
Michigan’s offense runs through Corum, and he has been the best running back in college football all season long, so Michigan will need to solve its issues.
Next Man Up
Donovan Edwards can fill Corum’s role, and he did a great job a week ago against Ohio State. He had 216 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns, and they were both 70-plus yard runs in the 4th quarter to put the game away.
Edwards is an outstanding running back, but Corum’s shoes will be hard to fill. However, if Edwards can do 50% of what he did to Ohio State, they will be in great shape and be able to comepte for a title.
C.J. Stokes is another name to watch in Michigan’s running back room. He filled in for both Corum and Edwards, who were missing in the Illinois game, and also got some carries last week in Columbus.
Quarterback J.J. McCarthy also can use his legs and pick up the yardage the team needs. McCarthy is very athletic, and Michigan has been missing the position for some time.
Did Michigan Put Him In Harms Way?
I gave a lot of credit to Corum for suiting up and giving it a go in the Ohio State game. That showed a lot of guts, and that is someone you want on your football team but was this more of Michigan saying you’re playing even though he could hardly move?
If Michigan made him play in this game after he injured his knee a week before, that’s a horrible look.
What is Corum going to say? No, I won’t play in the biggest game of my career, even though he could hardly move.
Corum played a handful of snaps in the game, and then five days later, without any reports of him hurting it worse, he needs season-ending knee surgery.
I mean, come on, he should have never suited up in the game in the first place if his knee was so bad that he had to get surgery on the thing.
We saw this a few years ago when Alabama’s wide receiver Jaylen Waddle was coming off a broken ankle, and he played in the 2020 National Championship and could hardly walk.
These colleges must stop putting their players in harm’s way when they know they can’t go. How does Corum play a handful of snaps at the first part of the game, and he can’t play the rest of the way because he should have never been on the field in the first place?
It was good that he didn’t get injured any worse and possibly end any chance he had at the NFL.
Corum is one heck of a football player, and Michigan will miss him on the field and in the locker room, but they have some great running backs that should be able to step up and continue winning games.
