Tag: michigan wolverines

NFL draft rumor: Chargers ‘will do what it takes’ to select Blake Corum

The Chargers could have their eyes set on the productive running back from Michigan.

There are a handful of Jim Harbaugh’s former Michigan players who could appeal to him when the Chargers are on the clock, but he could have his eyes set on one specific player.

According to ESPN’s Dan Graziano, it is believed that Harbaugh is expected to target running back Blake Corum.

“No running backs are expected to go in the first round, and there’s a great variety of opinion on which one will be the first back selected this year,” Graziano said.

[gambcom-standard rankid=”5375″ ]

“… I’ve spoken to scouts from multiple teams who think Michigan’s Blake Corum might be the best of the bunch and believe Jim Harbaugh’s Chargers will do what it takes to make sure he’s reunited with his college coach.”

Corum was productive for the Wolverines this past season, rushing for 1,245 yards and a program-record 27 touchdowns en route to the school’s national title. He finished his collegiate career with 58 rushing scores.

Corum isn’t the youngest player, set to be 24 this upcoming season and already has plenty of mileage used. But he has the patience, vision, and quickness to be an effective back in the NFL.

Los Angeles signed Gus Edwards and recently, JK Dobbins. But as they look to run the ball at a high level under offensive coordinator Greg Roman, the Chargers might feel that Corum is the final piece to the puzzle.

Check it out: Jim Harbaugh gets tattoo in honor of Michigan’s National Championship

Jim Harbaugh stuck to his word.

Last fall, Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh made a promise to get a tattoo if his former team, Michigan, went all the way. 

“If we go undefeated, I’m going to get a 15-0 tattoo,” Harbaugh said via the Inside Michigan Football radio show. 

The tattoo includes the school’s “M” logo with 15-0 beneath. 

[gambcom-standard rankid=”5375″ ]

Tattoo artist Stephen Bateman shared a post on Instagram featuring Harbaugh and his new ink with the caption: “Go Blue! 15-0. Thanks, Jim Harbaugh, for having me out!!” Bateman wrote.

The Wolverines won the national championship in January, defeating the Washington Huskies. 

The victory marked Michigan’s first undefeated season since the school won its previous title two and a half decades ago.

Harbaugh will have a lasting reminder of his perfect season at Michigan with his new ink. 

The question remains if Harbaugh will now vow to get a lightning bolt as his next tattoo if the Chargers get a ring. 

Unpacking Future Packers: No. 6, Michigan LB Junior Colson

Up next in the Unpacking Future Packers draft preview series is Michigan linebacker Junior Colson.

The Unpacking Future Packers Countdown is a countdown of 100 prospects that could be selected by the Green Bay Packers in the 2024 NFL draft.

The Green Bay Packers failed to add a veteran linebacker to pair with Quay Walker in free agency. With it being a weak linebacker class, Brian Gutekunst will have to strike early in hopes of landing a potential difference-maker to team with Walker. 

A linebacker that Gutekunst could target early in the draft is Junior Colson. The Michigan product checks in at No. 6 in the Unpacking Future Packers Countdown.

A four-star recruit out of Tennessee, Colson recorded 61 tackles during his first season in Ann Arbor. The following season, Colson recorded 101 tackles, six tackles for loss and two sacks. 

[affiliatewidget_smgtolocal]

This past season, Colson played a pivotal role in helping the Wolverines win the National Championship. He finished the season with 95 tackles and two tackles for loss.

Mister in the right place at the right time. That sums up Colson’s game. He’s always where he needs to be and hunts the football. His instincts help him get a head start and he knifes through gaps with burst. He has the lateral quickness and agile feet to make plays sideline-to-sideline. 


Colson is a reliable open-field tackler, who missed 17 tackles during his three seasons at Michigan. He has good length to lasso ball carriers to the ground. He uses that length to get off blocks and keep himself clean. When he arrives he delivers a pop. 

“His play recognition and open field tackling standout,” Devin Jackson, the sports editor and NFL Draft writer for the Philadelphia Inquirer, said. “He’s in almost every play and has the requisite speed and athleticism to move sideline-to-sideline.  Colson is assignment-sound, always in the right place at the right time, stacking and shedding opposing interior offensive linemen in the run game.”

Colson trusts his eyes in coverage and gets proper depth in his drops. The Michigan linebacker has good reactionary quickness to arrive quickly on throws in front of him to limit YAC. 

“Colson has shown promise in coverage, getting to his depth on passing downs with the ability to get his hands on the football and recording two pass breakups in the Big Ten championship game against Iowa,” Jackson said. 

Fit with the Packers

The Packers not only need depth at the linebacker position they need to add an impact player to pair with Walker. Colson is ready-made. He could step in on day one and help shore up Green Bay’s run defense. 

“Still fairly young in his development, Colson is a modern three-down linebacker who understands his run fits, ability to stack and shed, with good eyes in coverage at his stage of development,” Jackson said. “On his current trajectory, Colson can become a starter by the end of his rookie season. His play recognition is second to none in this class and has the physical makeup to be a difference-maker at the second level.”

With his instincts, downhill toughness, movement skills and age (21), Colson checks a lot of boxes.

The Packers need to get their hands on one of the Top Three linebackers in the class. They’d accomplish that by taking Colson with one of the two second-round picks they own. 

Colson is a steady presence in the middle and a reliable tackler. He looks like a veteran out there and would give Jeff Hafley a leader in the middle of the defense. 

Former Ohio State guard Roddy Gayle plans to transfer to Michigan

This one stings a little. #GoBucks

Roddy Gayle Jr. has done the unthinkable. After a weekend visit to Ann Arbor, Gayle has committed to play for the Michigan Wolverines.

Gayle entered the transfer portal in early April after Meechie Johnson was added to the roster via the portal. Johnson spent the last two years in South Carolina after spending his first two years at Ohio State. It was reported that Gayle had recently taken a visit to Creighton, but he must have really liked what he saw up north as the commitment comes just a couple of days after his visit to Michigan.

Of course, Michigan just hired a new head coach by the name of Dusty May who was thought to be a in consideration for the OSU job vacated by the firing of Chris Holtmann. May of course led Florida Atlantic to a Final Four just a year ago, but Ohio State chose to stay in-house and remove the interim tag to name Jake Diebler the new man in charge of Buckeye basketball.

Always adding intrigue to the rivalry, May 9was hired by Michigan and has now plucked away a key piece from the OSU basketball team as he looks to rebuild from a mess left by former Wolverine head coach, Juwan Howard. While it sounds somewhat like a movie script, you just can’t make this stuff up.

Gayle would have given Ohio State a formative one-two punch coming back with guard Bruce Thornton. He averaged 13.5 points per game for the Buckeyes and that scoring production will be sorely missed.

When Gayle returns to Value City Arena now, he’ll for sure be greeted with a chorus of boos … and most likely some other choice words.

Contact/Follow @BuckeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes, and opinion. 

Huskers swept by Michigan in 11-3 defeat on Sunday

Nebraska falls to 25-19 on the season and 8-6 in Big Ten play.

Nebraska softball concluded its three-game series against Michigan. The Huskers fell to the Wolverines in the first two outings, and the trend continued following their 11-3 six-inning loss on Sunday.

This is the first Big Ten series of the season. Nebraska suffered a sweep, and it came in a struggling fashion. Michigan erupted in the third and fourth innings, scoring nine runs, before closing out with two runs in the sixth.

Kaylin Kinney suffered the loss in the pitching circle, allowing five runs in 3.0 innings. Caitlynn Neal pitched in the fourth inning and allowed four runs. Emmerson Cope pitched the final 1.1 innings and allowed two runs on only one hit.

Offensively, the Huskers finished with six hits and two RBIs in the game. Peyton Cody and Bella Bacon produced Nebraska’s lone RBIs, with Cody hitting one in the fourth inning and Bacon producing hers in the sixth.

Nebraska falls to 25-19 on the season and 8-6 in Big Ten play. The Huskers will return home Tuesday to face off against Iowa in a doubleheader. Game one is set for 4 p.m., and game two is set for 6:30 p.m., and both games can be viewed on Big Ten Network.

Contact/Follow us @CornhuskersWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Nebraska news, notes, and opinions.

Ohio State baseball drops first game of weekend series to Michigan

Back at it Saturday. #GoBucks

It wasn’t the best start of a weekend series for the Ohio State baseball team against rival Michigan, dropping the first game Friday by a score of 4-0 up in Ann Arbor.

The Buckeyes couldn’t get the bats going in a timely fashion all day despite a strong start from starter Landon Beidelschies on the mound for the Scarlet and Gray. He pitched 5.2 innings, striking out four and giving up three runs on four hits. His record moves to 4-6 on the season.

Ohio State collected the same amount of hits as the Wolverines (seven) but stranded far too many runners on base and were unable to breakthrough with any pressure on the Michigan defense and pitching.

The loss drops the Buckeyes’ overall record to 18-16 and their conference record 5-5. The two will do battle again at 2:00 p.m ET on Saturday.

Unpacking Future Packers: No. 18, Michigan DL Kris Jenkins

Up next in the Unpacking Future Packers draft preview series is Michigan defensive lineman Kris Jenkins.

The Unpacking Future Packers Countdown is a countdown of 100 prospects that could be selected by the Green Bay Packers in the 2024 NFL draft.

The Green Bay Packers need to shore up their run defense. The Packers finished last season with the 29th-ranked run defense and gave up 4.4 yards per attempt.

A player who could help fix Green Bay’s run defense is Kris Jenkins. The Michigan defensive lineman and nephew of Cullen Jenkins checks in at No. 18 in the Unpacking Future Packers Countdown.

A three-star recruit out of Maryland, Jenkins enjoyed a breakout season of sorts in 2022. He finished the season with 54 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and two sacks. 

This past season Jenkins helped the Wolverines win the National Championship and finished the season with 4.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks and one interception.

Nicknamed The Mutant, Jenkins was No. 6 on Bruce Feldman’s Freaks list prior to the season. From Feldman:

“He’s the mutant of all mutants,” Harbaugh tells The Athletic. “He just keeps going and going. He’s No. 1 in our KPIs (Key Performance Indicators). He’s over 300. He’s the poster child for enthusiasm unknown to mankind. Watch him become a top-10 pick.”

Jenkins has good initial quickness to break into gaps. The former three-star recruit has the lateral quickness and the motor to make plays up and down the line of scrimmage. He’s stout and able to eat up blocks. He plays with outstanding leverage and controls his gap. Jenkins has strong hands. Once he gets his hands on a ball carrier they aren’t getting out of his grip. 

“You know what you’re going to get in Michigan defenders. Tough, high athletic profiles and the ability to stop the run,” Ryan Fowler, an NFL Draft analyst for Bleacher Report and The Draft Network, said. “Although a bit undersized, Jenkins’ twitch off the snap allows him to consistently get into the frame of opposing linemen, winning the leverage battle before he ever uses his hands. He has a strong anchor to take on double teams and will not miss tackles if ball carriers try to attack his gap.”

With his first-step quickness, power-packed frame and motor, Jenkins has a ton of upside as a pass rusher. With his strength, he’s able to drive offensive linemen backward into the lap of the quarterback.  Once Jenkins develops more of a pass-rush plan, he could develop into a dominant force on the interior.

“Motor and an improving pass-rush repertoire,” Fowler said. “Not the most flexible or refined 1 or 3-tech in the class, but showcases the ability to consistently win with his hands. Guards and centers with heavy feet, weak anchors, or slow-to-react hands, will often find themselves on the back foot and three yards back against Jenkins. He’s more of a finesse pass rusher than winning with pure power, but the flashes of both make him an intriguing prospect.”

Fit with the Packers

With Kenny Clark, TJ Slaton, Devonte Wyatt, Karl Brooks and Colby Wooden on the roster, the Packers don’t have a pressing need to add another defensive tackle.

Jenkins has the talent to challenge for reps and one could argue that he’d be the most talented member of that group not named Kenny Clark. He’s a stout run defender with the power and twitch to be a quality interior pass rusher. 

“Interior push is a need, not a want, in today’s game,” Fowler said. “While his NFL lineage has been a talking point for years, he’s created his own spotlight as a powerful yet fluid and technical interior presence that has the chance to evolve into a starter. Not only is Jenkins a heck of a ballplayer, he’ll be a leader in a locker room from Day 1 who should make an impact quickly on Sundays. While consistent pressure and sack numbers may come down the line, his ability to clog gaps on early downs while winning isolated matchups presents an intriguing high floor-high ceiling combination as he gets his feet wet at the pro level.”

The Packers own the 41st and 58th overall picks in the upcoming draft. That’s the range where Jenkins could go off the board. If they think he could help shore up their run defense, while offering some pass rush upside, Jenkins could be the pick at 41. 

 

2024 NFL draft: Chargers hosted LB Junior Colson on top 30 visit

Junior Colson reunited with some of his former coaches from Michigan.

According to The Athletic’s Dane Brugler, Michigan linebacker Junior Colson is meeting with “friendly faces” in Los Angeles for a top-30 visit with the Chargers.

Presumably, Colson would be reunited with former Michigan coaches Jim Harbaugh and Jesse Minter at the Chargers’ Costa Mesa facility. It would mark the team’s second official top-30 visit for a Wolverine player in this cycle. Blake Corum had a meeting with the Bolts about two weeks ago.

Colson is arguably the headliner of this linebacker class, along with names like Payton Wilson and Edgerrin Cooper. The Chargers also met with Cooper on April 4th. It looks like LA is at least doing its research on a linebacker class that is viewed as top-heavy by many.

The former Michigan national championship linebacker is considered to be one of the best in coverage in the class. Colson registered an 83.4 PFF grade in coverage in 2023 and run defense grades of 80+ in each of the last two seasons.

The Chargers need more true starting-caliber linebackers even after the signing of Denzel Perryman. Colson, and presumably Daiyan Henley, would go a long way in nullifying some of Perryman’s known coverage deficiencies at his age.

Given Colson’s relationship with Minter, one has to wonder if he’s a potential dark horse candidate to take up green-dot play-calling responsibilities if drafted by the team.

When first hired, Minter stressed the importance of not overwhelming star safety Derwin James with responsibilities. While James could theoretically take over the green dot role post-Brandon Staley, it would be interesting to see if the new Chargers’ defensive coordinator looks towards another name on the defensive side of the ball instead. Colson would undoubtedly be a contender for that responsibility if drafted by LA.

Michigan WR Roman Wilson would ‘love’ to play with C.J. Stroud and Texans

In an exclusive interview with Texans Wire, former Michigan receiver Roman Wilson reveals his thoughts on former rival C.J. Stroud.

Could the Houston Texans still draft a receiver?

The AFC South champions acquired Pro Bowler Stefon Diggs from the Buffalo Bills. His addition should create potentially the best receiving trio in football alongside 2023 breakout star Nico Collins and second-year standout Tank Dell.

Questions still have persisted if the Texans could opt to add a young, cost-controlled talent in a loaded receiver draft class.

One potential option is Michigan wide receiver Roman Wilson. The Swiss-army knife target thrived during his four seasons in Ann Arbor, but broke out in 2023 with 12 touchdowns and 789 receiving yards en route to a national championship.

Most scouts consider him to be one of the top receivers in the class. and expect him to hear his name called somewhere on Day 2 of next week’s draft.

https://www.instagram.com/p/C5oxQjJu-6p/

At Michigan, Wilson faced then-Ohio State and now Texans’ quarterback C.J. Stroud twice. In both installments of “The Game,” Michigan walked away victorious.

Wilson, however, came away impressed with the rival passer. While enemies in college, Wilson would have no reservations about the idea of teaming up with the Buckeye legend.

“He’s a phenomenal quarterback, he’s a follower of God,” Wilson told Texans Wire of Stroud. “I remember in his commitment process, he was thinking about going to Michigan and and I kind of got to meet him for a little bit, talked to him. I mean, he’s a great guy and you know, I would love to play for him.”

Wilson would love to command the slot as Stroud’s next big target in Houston. The Texans’ quarterback piloted what many consider the best rookie quarterback season in NFL history while capturing NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year honors and helping the Texans to an AFC South title and a playoff victory.

To his credit, Houston may very well have shared interest in Wilson. The team was present at the 2024 Reeses’ Senior Bowl where he dominated and they’ve shown a history of drafting Senior Bowl players, with Dell, Jarrett Patterson, and Xavier Hutchinson last year. Additionally, Wilson confirmed he spoke with Houston last month in Indianapolis.

“We talked a little bit,” Wilson said before dropping an inescapable caveat. “That was before they got Diggs. So I mean whatever happens, happens and I would love to play for the Texans”

It may be unlikely for Houston to invest the level of draft capital they’d need to secure Wilson after the heavy investment to bring Diggs from Buffalo. Still, the national champion would be an undeniable asset to the organization and offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik.

Diggs, who completed his sixth 1,000-yard season between Buffalo and Minnesota, could be a one-and-done in The Loop. Houston voided the final three years of his contract, adding an extra $3.5 million to his current contract this upcoming season.

Maybe Wilson is on the shortlist of players whom Nick Caserio would pull the trigger to acquire. If so, two former Big Ten rivals could be fixtures in the AFC South for years to come.

Wilson recently partnered with Six Star Pro Nutrition, to help launch their new protein shake in Kellogg’s Froot Loops cereal flavor. The cereal flavored product, which launches this month, will be available exclusively at Sam’s Clubs locations. He took time to talk with the Texans Wire about his new partnership and his recruitment process as it relates to the Houston Texans.

Fans will have to wait and see if Houston is willing to throw further accelerant on their offense and add a dynamic talent like Wilson on Day 2. In the meantime, they may have to check out Sam’s Club if they want to see just how Wilson has prepared for the moment.