Michigan running back Blake Corum, others bid farewell, heading to NFL Draft

Michigan running back Blake Corum, who set the direction for the 2023 team when he declared “Natty-or-bust” as the mantra early last year, has made it official that he will prepare for the NFL Draft.

Corum’s announcement Sunday in a video posted to social media does not come as any surprise, but it was his opportunity to say goodbye to the program and fans. He leaves Michigan on the heels of a national championship and as the all-time leader with 58 rushing touchdowns and 61 total scores. Corum’s 27 rushing touchdowns in 2023 set a single-season program record.

“Like I’ve always said, football is my passion, but giving back is my purpose,” Corum, voted the most valuable offensive player in the national championship game, said in the video. “Michigan, please don’t remember me for scoring 59 touchdowns and breaking long runs, but remember me as a great Michigan man who made a difference on and off the field.”

Before Thanksgiving in each of the last three years, Corum used money earned from name, image, likeness (NIL) to buy turkeys for underserved communities in Ypsilanti. Last November, he donated 600 turkeys and went door to door and car to car distributing turkeys along with several volunteers. Last December, he hosted a toy drive at Somerset Collection with all his teammates and collected an estimated 25,000 toys.

As he noted, football is his passion, and in 2022, the 5-foot-8, 213-pound Corum rushed for 1,463 yards and 18 touchdowns and had a receiving score before suffering a knee injury in the final home game. He tried to play the following week at Ohio State but shut it down after two carries and underwent surgery later that week. He had been in the Heisman Trophy conversation, was a consensus All-America selections and won the Big Ten’s prestigious Silver Football award.

He was two-time Big Ten Running Back of the Year (2022 and 2023) and finished his career with 3,737 rushing yards.

“I hope I left you with memories you’ll forever remember. Michigan will forever be home,” Corum said in his farewell video. “This time last year, we had unfinished business, and now I can say business is finished and I’m finished, as well. Thank you for everything. I love you all.”

More announcements

In other farewell messages on Sunday, linebacker Michael Barrett, who completed his sixth season with the Wolverines, thanked his coaches and expressed gratitude to all of the teammates he’s had at Michigan.

“We sought out to become legendary and leave a legacy of greatness as champions, and we did just that,” he wrote on social media. “Job finished.”

▶ Receiver Roman Wilson, one of the Wolverines' most potent weapons on offense, also posted his intentions.

"Thank you to the University of Michigan for giving me some of the most unforgettable memories that I will cherish for the rest of my life," Wilson wrote on social media. "With that being said ... I have decided to officially enter the 2024 NFL Draft."

▶ Offensive lineman Drake Nugent wrote: "Words cannot describe how grateful I am to have been welcomed with open arms by everyone this past year on the team and in the city of Ann Arbor. I know our time was shorter than most, but it was well worth it. Wearing the winged helmet will forever by one of the greatest honors of my life.

"With that being said, I am proud to say I am declaring for the 2024 NFL Draft. It's been one hell of a chapter but time to start a new one."

▶ Defensive back Josh Wallace, who transferred to Michigan from UMass before the 2023 season, also formally announced on Sunday he is declaring for the NFL Draft.

achengelis@detroitnews.com

@chengelis