When it comes to the Michigan football team, there are a bevy of players that can be considered to be the most valuable player on the squad. While a player like quarterback JJ McCarthy can come to mind, he would argue that it is running back Blake Corum according to Bryan Fischer of Fox Sports.
“I feel like he, in my eyes, is the most valuable player of our team. There's so many of them that are right up at his caliber, but especially from an offensive perspective, I feel like he's one of the guys that makes our offense go,” McCarthy said in the lead-up to the national championship game. “Just everything he's been through, all the adversity that he's been through, just from his upbringing to this past year, just everything about who he is and just his character, how he attacks every single day, it just rubs off on all of us. It's just one of the most valuable players on our team — if not the most.”
Corum has been a very exciting player for the Wolverines at the running back position despite his small frame at 5 foot, 8 inches. In the Rose Bowl against the Alabama Crimson Tide, he rushed for 83 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries. In the season as a whole, he has rushed for 1,111 yards to go with a whopping 25 touchdowns.
McCarthy calls Corum a leader off the field for impact on community
However, looking besides his production on the field, Corum has been active in helping the community like recently doing a toy drive for Christmas. According to Fox Sports, he even used part of his NIL (name, image, and likeness) money to get turkeys for families on Thanksgiving. McCarthy sees those actions as being a true leader on and off the field.
“I just feel like that's just a smart part of who he is, just being able to be not just a leader on the field but leader off the field,” McCarthy said. “Everything he did with the toy drive and the turkeys just speaks to the character that he is and just having the ability to give back and do it in such a big and profound way when you can keep it all for yourself and worry about buying yourself all the chains and all the cars and all the materialistic things, now Blake is thinking about giving it back to the people in need, and that just speaks to who he is and the culture that's here at the University of Michigan.”
Corum talks about Michigan football's Rose Bowl win
On the Rose Bowl win, the Michigan football team was looking for someone to stand out and make a play as the Crimson Tide was leading by a touchdown in the fourth quarter. Corum scored the touchdown that sent the game into overtime which led to the Wolverines win.
Corum said to the media that football is a long game, but sometimes all it takes is one play to get the momentum at its peak.
“We kept saying on the sidelines, a playmaker's got to make a play,” Corum said. “Sometimes all it takes is one play to get the team going again. Sixty minutes is a long game, so sometimes you have some droughts.”
Now, the Wolverines prepare to win their first national championship since 1997 as they have a date with the Washington Huskies on Monday, January 8. Both teams are undefeated heading into the seminal game, but something has got to give.
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