Weekend Reactions: Blake Corum Shines, JJ McCarthy's Impressive Michigan Debut
After a relatively slow start to open the 2021 season, the Michigan Wolverines settled in on both sides of the ball and cruised to a comfortable 47-14 victory over Western Michigan on Saturday.
Though several Wolverines put together some impressive performances, two Wolverines in particular had social media buzzing for all the right reasons - sophomore running back Blake Corum and freshman quarterback JJ McCarthy.
It began when Corum got his first carry on Michigan's first drive of the afternoon. After taking the handoff, Corum burst through the line like lightning, splitting two would-be tacklers on his way to an 18 yard gain. He continued to gash the Broncos all afternoon, racking up a team high 212 all-purpose yards with two touchdowns.
Needless to say, Corum's performance was a hot topic on social media.
The other big performance of the day went to true freshman quarterback JJ McCarthy. Thanks to a comfortable second half lead, McCarthy was able to relieve starting quarterback Cade McNamara early in the third quarter. McCarthy would finish the afternoon completing 4 of 6 attempts for 80 yards and 1 incredible touchdown pass - a pass that would have all of social media buzzing.
With Corum and McCarthy leading the way, here are some other impressive performances from Saturday that are worth noting:
Offense
- Cade McNamara: 9-11, 136 yards, 2 TDs
- Hassan Haskins: 13 attempts, 70 yards, 1 TD
- Ronnie Bell: 107 all-purpose yards, 1 TD (left game in second quarter)
- AJ Henning: 1 attempt, 74 yards, 1 TD
- Roman Wilson: 1 attempt, 43 yards
Defense
- Aidan Hutchinson: 4 tackles, 4 solo, 1 sack, 1 TFL, 1 FF
- Josh Ross: 6 tackles, 4 solo, 0.5 TFL
- Daxton Hill: 6 tackles, 5 solo, 1 PBU
- RJ Moten: 5 tackles, 5 solo
- Nikhai Hill-Green: 4 tackles, 4 solo
The Wolverines now turn their attention to Week Two for a primetime matchup with No. 20 Washington - a team that lost it's season opener to Montana on Saturday night. While the loss for Washington to an FCS team was certainly unexpected, Michigan will definitely need to be on high alert to avoid the same fate on national television.
Michigan and Washington kick off on Saturday at 8:00 pm on ABC.
