The Wolverine Digest Pod

Sophomore running back Blake Corum is back for appearance No. 2 on The Wolverine Digest Podcast as he breaks down his big game against Western Michigan. The young back finished with more than 200 all-purpose yards and was deservedly named Michigan's Offensive Player of the Week just a little before joining us. Corum broke down his scoring plays, talked about what his teammates did to make his day easy and gave some really good insight about pre-snap reads and seeing this develop before and during his runs.

We also discuss the very unfortunate injury to Ronnie Bell's knee that will keep him out for the rest of the season. We talk about how much that flat out sucks and also try to figure out who will step up in Bell's absence.

Finally, we take a quick look at Washington and answer some burning questions about the week one game as we move through game week.

As Michigan gets ready to take on Western Michigan later today, it's fun to predict what we might see. How many touchdown passes will Cade McNamara throw? Can Aidan Hutchinson get to the quarterback? How disruptive will Michigan's defense be? How much will see of the true freshmen? All of those questions will be answered in just a few short hours.

We also talk to former Michigan standout Jalen Mayfield as he gets ready to start his NFL career with the Atlanta Falcons. Mayfield talks about his time at Michigan, tells a funny and impactful story about Zak Zinter and makes game picks from this weekend's Big Ten slate. All that and more on this episode of The Wolverine Digest Podcast.

Michigan is a 17-point favorite against Western Michigan but the Broncos definitely have a few weapons to be aware of. Patrick Nothaft of the Kalamazoo Gazette and MLive stopped by to talk about WMU in detail and even gave his prediction for the game and how it might play out.

We also discuss Don Brown's defense, which has become a major talking point over the last few days after several different players spoke out against how broken things seemed to be, last year in particular. There's also plenty to talk about when it comes to who Cade McNamara is as a quarterback after comments from Jim Harbaugh and QB coach Matt Weiss contradicted each other.

Somehow Scott Frost makes another appearance on the podcast as does Oliver Martin, we talk about Cade McNamara as the starter and Kirk Herbstreit gives his opinion on the Michigan fanbase.

Plus, we each tackle Five Burning Questions as U-M prepares for Western Michigan. All that and more on this episode of The Wolverine Digest Podcast.

Michigan fans can't stand Paul Finebaum almost as much as Paul Finebaum can't stand Jim Harbaugh.

For whatever reason, Finebaum feels the need to speak about Michigan's head coach every couple of months or so. I'll admit, most of what Finebaum says is warranted, but yesterday's rant just came off as cheap, personal and agenda driven. We're a week away from Michigan's season starting so talking about firing Harbaugh now is just a shot. Period.

As for what's actually happening with Michigan football, the 2021 captains have been selected. Wide receiver Ronnie Bell, defensive end Aidan Hutchinson, linebacker Josh Ross and offensive lineman Andrew Vastardis were selected as captains by their teammates. If Vastardis wins the starting center job, all four seniors will be crucial players this season. We break down what each guy brings to the table on the field as players and also as leaders in a captain role.

All of that and more, including more NIL discussion, some compelling over/under situations and a preview of this weekend's week zero slate, on this episode of The Wolverine Digest Podcast.

Redshirt freshman defensive back Jordan Morant hasn't seen game action yet but he's still in the building, going through practice, working with the new coaches and getting a feel for the upcoming season. That makes him fun to talk to ahead of the season opener.

Another thing that makes him fun to talk to is his involvement with A2A Sports. Morant, along with Seth Sugar and Madeleine Calcagno, founded A2A Sports to help student-athletes benefit from the recent NCAA rule change, which allows student-athletes to be compensated for use of their name, image and likeness in connection with advertising and sponsorship opportunities.

A2A’s focus is connecting student-athletes with the top influencer marketing agencies in the United States to help student-athletes grow their personal brand and make them money from their social media accounts.

We got a chance to talk to Morant and Sugar about A2A Sports, and also picked Morant's brain about fall camp and upcoming the season.

We also discuss Mike Hart's plan for the running backs and what redshirt freshman linebacker Nikhai Hill-Green had to say about himself, Josh Ross and Michigan's running back room.

When you look at Michigan football as it prepares for the 2021 season, you can't help but be curious about A LOT of things.

If Cade McNamara truly is the starting quarterback, will he be the guy for all 12 regular season games? Will Michigan's defense be better in year one under Mike Macdonald than it was last year under Don Brown? Who was the best offseason hire? How many uniform combinations will Michigan wear this fall? Is Michigan good enough to compete for a Big Ten title? And finally, are you believing the preseason, fall camp talk?

All of those questions are legitimate and hard to answer — that's what makes them fun to discuss.

We also talk about Hunter Dickinson and his view on name, image and likeness, along with some people around college football who make you wonder, "What they hell are they doing?"

Former Michigan basketball player Stu Douglass has a lot of memories he can look back on from his days playing at U-M. He was part of the foundation that John Beilein created that has turned Michigan basketball into a national contender. It's interesting to hear Douglass talk about the Beilein days that have turned into the Juwan Howard days. 

Douglass also talks about NIL developments, sophomore center Hunter Dickinson's comments about NIL and what this season could look like for Dickinson and the rest of the Wolverines. And, of course, we couldn't let him go without getting his thoughts on Jim Harbaugh and the football season as we're now less than three weeks from kickoff.

Everyone is anxious to see Mike Macdonald's defense, but the players seem even more excited to play in it. Junior defensive tackle Christopher Hinton definitely is as he prepares for a major role in Macdonald's defense.

The 310-pounder talked about his role in year three, Mazi Smith's growth and development, the defense as a whole and the new culture surrounding Michigan's program. He also talked about how Abigail O'Connor, Michigan's dietician, and strength and conditioning coach Ben Herbert have the team as ready as ever. We also talk about Josh Gattis and Macdonald's press conference ahead of fall camp.

During a shortened 2020 season, Roman Wilson led all freshmen in receptions. He only had nine grabs but it still paced the group. Even though he didn't put up gaudy numbers, he showed flashes of what he's capable of. He might be the fastest player on Michigan's roster, and he's ready to breakout in 2021. The speedy Hawaiian spoke about his potential role this fall, his transition from the islands to Michigan and his relationship with fellow receiver and roommate AJ Henning. We also discuss Duncan Robinson's massive and record breaking new contract as well as conference expansion that is starting to feel massive and inevitable.

All of that and more on this episode of The Wolverine Digest Podcast.