Michigan football got close, once again, to the pinnacle of college football in 2022, having won the Big Ten Conference and advancing to the College Football Playoff semifinal. The Wolverines, though the favorite in the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl, lost, 51-45, to TCU, which got blown out at the hands of Georgia in the national championship game.
In order to rise so high, the maize and blue had a lot of top players in the country, at least according to PFF. PFF put together a list of the top 101 players in the 2022 season, and the Wolverines had three players who made the list.
The good news for the maize and blue? Two of the three are coming back in 2023. Here are the three players who made the cut.
RB Blake Corum
Photo: Isaiah Hole
Ranking: 2
Corum was the workhorse for Michigan football, having carried the team's offense until his injury in Week 12 against Illinois. While Donovan Edwards did a beyond admirable job taking over for him against Ohio State, Purdue, and TCU, he didn't show the same proclivity as Corum to move the chains, even on third-and-medium scenarios, instead being more of a home run hitter.
Corum is set to return for his senior year this upcoming year, and he, along with Edwards, will likely have the best backfield duo in all of college football.
PFF:
C Olusegun Oluwatimi
Photo: Isaiah Hole
Rank: 34
A transfer from Virginia, the previous Rimington Trophy finalist made good on his ability by winning both the Rimington Trophy and Outland Trophy - the latter being the first in Michigan history - in his transfer year in Ann Arbor. A stalwart mauler in the middle of the offense, Oluwatimi had quickly earned the respect of his teammates despite being a newcomer, and was perhaps the engine that made the offense go in 2022.
He has exhausted his eligibility and will not return in 2023.
PFF:
CB Will Johnson
Photo: Isaiah Hole
Rank: 56
A former five-star and true freshman this past season, Johnson was thrust into a starring role after Gemon Green's injuries sustained in the MSU tunnel incident. He responded by getting an interception in his first start against Rutgers and continued to get better as the weeks went by. Having cemented himself as a bona fide starter in the latter half of his first year, Johnson showcased just why he was so highly thought of as a recruit.
PFF:
Story originally appeared on Wolverines Wire
