Michigan Football’s J.J. McCarthy and Blake Corum are Maxwell award contenders

Michigan football starting quarterback J.J. McCarthy and also Blake Corum were named to the Maxwell Award watch list prior to the 2023 season. 

Throughout the offseason, two Michigan football players have been mentioned as potential Heisman Trophy candidates — J.J. McCarthy and Blake Corum.

The Heisman Trophy is voted on at the end of the season (yours truly has a vote) but doesn’t really have preseason watch lists or anything like that.

However, there is another award — the Maxwell Award — that goes to the best player in college football and on Monday, the two Michigan football stars — McCarthy and Corum — were named to the Maxwell Award watch list.

McCarthy and Corum are both legitimate contenders

Blake Corum just said last week at Big Ten Media Days that he’s 100 percent. He also said earlier this offseason that Michigan football fans can expect an even better Corum, “Blake plus some” is what he called it.

Last season, Corum rushed for nearly 1,500 yards and averaged 5.9 yards per attempt. He also scored 19 total touchdowns before hurting his knee against Illinois, which likely cost him the Heisman Trophy or at least a trip to New York.

This year, with Donovan Edwards also back after rushing for 991 yards, Michigan football will have to share the workload and most importantly, keep both backs healthy for the stretch run.

Michigan football wasn’t able to do that last year as both players were banged up. Edwards played against Ohio State but wasn’t anywhere close to 100 percent.

The shared workload could make it harder for Corum to win the Maxwell Award or the Heisman (not that he cares) but McCarthy could emerge as more of a contender.

Quarterbacks get more credit than they deserve anyway, but McCarthy has been underappreciated by many despite a stellar first season as a starter.

J.J. accounted for 27 total touchdowns and had just five interceptions. With a season of experience under his belt, he’s going to put up big numbers and might even win this award.

Either way, it’s good to see some Michigan football players get recognized for their talent and achievements leading into a much-anticipated 2023 campaign.