Wolverines Return Eight Top-Ten Players In 2023
As spring ball kicks off today, the Michigan Wolverines have their full attention turned toward repeating as Big Ten Champions in 2023...but that's not all. At a recent basketball game in Ann Arbor, Michigan running back Blake Corum took to the court and made a bold proclamation regarding the upcoming season.
“Man it feels good to be back!” Corum told the crowd at the Crisler Center. “We’re gonna win the national championship and go down in history. That’s all I got. Go Blue!”
It wasn't all that long ago that a statement like that from a player at Michigan would have been met with laughter and ridicule. During the first six years of the Jim Harbaugh era, Michigan didn't come close to competing for a national championship. The first six seasons included zero wins over Ohio State, zero trips to Indianapolis to compete for a conference title, and zero trips to the college football playoff. In Harbaugh's sixth season, the Wolverines finished with an abysmal record of 2-4 during the shortened COVID season, and it looked like that might have been the final straw for Jim Harbaugh's time at Michigan.
As it turns out, the 2020 season instead ended up marking the final season of Ohio State's dominance in the Big Ten. The conference now firmly belongs to the Michigan Wolverines, who have convincingly beaten the Buckeyes in back-to-back seasons, captured two consecutive Big Ten Championships, and have made two straight appearances in the College Football Playoff.
Now, as Michigan looks to make it three-in-a-row in all of the categories mentioned above, the Wolverines certainly have enough returning talent to get the job done and bring a national championship back to Ann Arbor. In fact, several Wolverines were recently recognized as top-ten returning players in all of college football at their respective positions. In total, eight Wolverines made the PFF College Top-10 returning players lists.
Top-10 Quarterbacks:
No. 8: JJ McCarthy - Junior
Top-10 Running Backs
- No. 1: Blake Corum - Senior
- No. 9: Donovan Edwards - Junior
Top-10 Interior Offensive Linemen
- No. 3: Zak Zinter - Senior
- No. 5: Drake Nugent - Graduate Student
Top-10 Returning Defensive Tackles
- No. 4: Kris Jenkins - Senior
Top-10 Returning Cornerbacks
- No. 3: Will Johnson - Sophomore
Top-10 Returning Safeties
- No. 5: Rod Moore - Junior
Interestingly enough, Michigan didn't have any players crack PFF's Top-Ten when it came to Linebackers, Edge Rushers, Offensive Tackles, Tight Ends, or Wide Receivers. Some of those players include:
- Mike Sainristil, DB/WR*
- Junior Colson, LB
- Mike Barrett, LB
- Ernest Hausmann, LB
- Braiden McGregor, EDGE
- Derrick Moore, EDGE
- Jaylen Harrell, EDGE
- Trevor Keegan, OT
- Karsen Barnhart, OT
- Trente Jones, OT
- Colston Loveland, TE
- Roman Wilson, WR
- Cornelius Johnson, WR
- Darrius Clemons, WR
