Michigan football has one last goal to accomplish: Win a national championship

INDIANAPOLIS — Almost exactly one year ago to the day, a group of Michigan football players sat in the same seats, on the same field as they mapped out their goals for the upcoming season.

Beat Michigan State, beat Ohio State, win a Big Ten championship, win a national championship.

As the season unfolded, the Wolverines checked off each of the first three benchmarks with relative ease, all victories by more than three touchdowns. But Jim Harbaugh's group came up short of its final goal when it fell in crushing fashion to TCU, 51-45, in the CFP semifinal.

This year, as the Wolverines enter the season in search of not just their third consecutive outright Big Ten championship — which would be a first in program history — but their first national title since 1997, that final hurdle has become the team's main mission.

"Everything is still the same," said running back Blake Corum at mid-field of Lucas Oil Stadium. "It’s still beat Michigan State, it’s still beat Ohio State, it’s still win the Big Ten championship, it’s still go to the college football playoff and go to the natty. It’s still that, but we don’t have to talk about it as much.

"But we know what the end goal is, so we don’t have to talk about it all the time. All the guys, we know, we want it, we smell it."

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For Corum, it was near the top of the list of reasons to return to Ann Arbor. He was on pace to put up the best season for a running back in program history, but a torn meniscus late in the home finale against Illinois practically ended his season prematurely.

As he rehabbed to prepare for his knee surgery in January, Corum considered entering the NFL draft. But the more he thought, the more he felt he had "unfinished business" at U-M, from his undergraduate degree, to the "legacy" he wanted to leave on the field.

"It was honestly the bigger picture, "Corum said. "Bring something nice home to Ann Arbor."

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Corum, cleared by the doctor last week to resume full contact, was one of nine players who eschewed genuine NFL draft prospects to return for one more college season.

Former wide receiver turned defensive back Mike Sainristil was another, and Wednesday he said he found out Corum was returning like the rest of the world — when it became official on U-M alum Rich Eisen's show.

"It sends a message of a guy who cares about his teammates, a guy who is truly bought into a program and a guy who wants to give everything back to the program he can," said Sainristil. "He's a leader on this team, he has a voice on this team and guys try to model what Blake does.

"Having him back is great for us, we can't wait to use it to our advantage."

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The best news for Michigan — Corum is only one piece of what appears a very loaded puzzle.

Even when he was lost last season, the running game didn't miss a beat because Donovan Edwards picked up where his teammate left off. The then-sophomore ran 70 times for 521 yards (7.4 yards per carry) and three touchdowns in three games as a starter.

"Blake and Dono, Dono and Blake," Harbaugh said Wednesday. "Doesn't get better than that."

It didn't hurt they got to run behind an offensive line that was named the Joe Moore Award winner as the nation's top unit for a second consecutive season. While the group lost Rimington/Outland Trophy winner Olu Oluwatimi at center and All-Big Ten left tackle Ryan Hayes to the NFL, there's no expectation for any drop off at the position.

On the contrary, Harbaugh said there are 10 players in the group he could see starting, which includes returning starters Zak Zinter and Trevor Keegan as well as Karsen Barnhart, Trente Jones and Gio El-Hadi, who all started multiple games a season ago.

U-M also brought in a trio of Power Five transfers — Ladarius Henderson (Arizona State), Myles Hinton And Drake Nugent, the last of whom defensive tackle Kris Jenkins singled out as the offense's breakout player to watch this season.

"He's going to do something special," Jenkins said. "We're very happy to have him."

It's the combination of line and running back play that should continue to make life as easy as possible for quarterback J.J. McCarthy, who may be the key to Michigan taking the next step.

Frequently at preseason events of this sort, coaches will do what they can to temper expectations for a player who is expected to take a big step. Instead, Harbaugh leaned into the perception McCarthy's rise, as he lauded the signal caller and what he means to the program.

"He's a once-in-a-generational type of quarterback at Michigan," Harbaugh said. "He's at the top of his game right now, really in all aspects."

The defense was at the top of its game much of last season. It ranked No. 6 in total defense and No. 7 in scoring defense in 2022, as it finished No. 7 against the run (97.9 yards per game) and top-20 in passing yards allowed.

Its most talented player, Will Johnson, is a defensive back who would likely be a top-10 draft pick in the spring even though he's not yet eligible.

Its most disruptive player, Jenkins, is fondly known as "the mutant." At 6-foot-3, 307 pounds, Jenkins has nimble feet and good speed for his size. He made his lofty goals of getting double-digit sacks widely known.

Rod Moore is a proven safety, as is Makari Paige.

The linebacker room is deep with three legit starters — sixth-year graduate student Mike Barrett, All-Big Ten honoree Junior Colson and the highly regarded Nebraska transfer Ernest Hausmann.

"A lot of special players," Corum said. "I can name a lot of special players, but I think you guys know them."

U-M not only believes it has the necessary talent, but the chemistry, belief and camaraderie to win a national championship. It's why the players who attended media days politely answered questions, but said nothing more.

They don't plan on doing any talking this season. They're done with that.

"What I'm telling the guys now and what the coaches are telling us, is it's just about day to day now," Corum said. "We've had enough dreams, we've had enough talk about the national championship, now it's just day to day. ... For me, I have high standards, so yeah, it's win or bust and I think the guys know that.

"We don't have to say anything, we know what it is — talk is cheap."

Contact Tony Garcia at apgarcia@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter at @realtonygarcia.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan football has one last goal to accomplish: Win national title