Michigan’s Corum, Edwards on Doak Walker Award watch list

Michigan’s string of players on preseason watch lists expanded Wednesday, when the list of early candidates for Doak Walker Award were unveiled. Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards were among the 75 players recognized for the Doak Walker Award, the second such preseason honor for Corum. He was a finalist for the Doak Walker Award last season, when he rushed for 1,463 yards and 18 touchdowns en route to Big Ten running back of the year honors, and figures to be one of the nation’s top backs again in 2023.

Corum, a senior, was one of 10 players to receive preseason honors from the Big Ten, and appeared on the Maxwell Award preseason watch list for college football’s most outstanding player. Meanwhile, this is a first for Edwards, who added 991 rushing yards and seven touchdowns last season as Corum’s backup. The Bloomfield Hills, Mich.

, native is primed for an expanded role in the Michigan offense this fall, his junior season. With two full-time returning starters along the offensive line and three transfers with a combined 69 starts under their belt, many expect the Wolverines to deploy another run-heavy offense. If it pans out that way, it could pay huge dividends for Corum and Edwards, who finished third and fifth, respectively, among Big Ten running backs last season despite injuries.

Michigan is coming off a 13-1 season in 2022, its best yet under head coach Jim Harbaugh, whose club has now won back-to-back Big Ten titles and made consecutive College Football Playoff appearances. His team is the preseason favorite to win the league again, while Corum has said it’s “national title or bust” for the program. The Doak Walker Award will trim the list of candidates to 10 in November, and again to three later that month, before announcing the winner in December.

.