Michigan DT Mazi Smith named to Bednarik Award watch list

It’s preseason watch list season, and Michigan Wolverines football has no shortage of players who appear on them heading into the 2022 campaign. Here’s a full breakdown of U-M players to be named candidates for major awards.

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Mazi Smith named to Bednarik Award watch list

Michigan had arguably the top defensive player in the country last season in EDGE Aidan Hutchinson, but he didn’t win the Bednarik Award for the nation’s top defender (Georgia defensive tackle Jordan Davis took home the hardward). This season, another Wolverine will have a chance — senior tackle Mazi Smith.

At 6-3, 326 pounds, Smith mans the middle of the Michigan defensive line as the nose guard. He was an honorable mention All-Big Ten standout in 2021, but now that he’s the lone returning starter up front, he’ll be asked to do much more this fall. Last year, he made 37 tackles with 2.5 for loss and notched four quarterback hurries and four pass breakups at the line of scrimmage.

Michigan has had one Bednarik Award winner — defensive back Charles Woodson in 1997.

Michigan RB Blake Corum named to watch lists for Maxwell, Doak Walker, Paul Hornung and Wuerffel awards

Sophomore running back Blake Corum has seen his name appear on four lists, for the Maxwell Award (best player), the Doak Walker Award (top running back), the Paul Hornung Award (most versatile player) and the Wuerffel Trophy (top community servant). He was also one of five players from the Big Ten East to earn conference preseason honors.

Corum is coming off a breakout season in which he accumulated 952 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns, playing a complementary role to Hassan Haskins, who amassed 1,327 yards and a single-season school-record 20 rushing touchdowns.

Corum played in just 12 games, having missed two full outings with a high ankle sprain, and likely would’ve been a 1,000-yard rusher had he been healthy all season. The 5-8, 200-pounder also added 24 receptions for 141 yards and one score. He returned 12 kickoffs for 304 yards, also starring on special teams. Corum was named third-team All-Big Ten by the coaches in 2021 and given an honorable mention by the media. He was tabbed as Michigan’s Co-Offensive Skill Player of the Year.

The projected feature back for Michigan this fall, Corum has already been named a preseason All-American by Sporting News and the Walter Camp Football Foundation. He’s expected to split time with sophomore Donovan Edwards, a candidate to be a breakout star this season after carrying 35 times for 174 yards and three touchdowns and catching 20 passes for 265 yards and one score as a freshman in 2021.

Corum is at his best in space, and is known for making big plays. Twenty two of his 143 rushing attempts went for 10 or more yards last season, and a whopping 47 percent of his yards came on runs of 15-plus yards, per PFF, showing that Corum doesn’t just get past the first and second levels of the defense — he can run by anybody.

Due to 2020 being a free year of eligibility, Corum could technically play three more seasons of college football, including the 2022 campaign. However, he’s now being pegged as a 2023 NFL Draft prospect, and a top one at the running back position. In Pro Football Focus’ early 2023 NFL Draft big board released in April, Corum checked in as the No. 47 overall player and sixth-best running back.

The Doak Walker Award began being handed out in 1990, and Michigan has had just one winner — Chris Perry in 2003. That season, Perry rushed for 1,674 yards and 18 touchdowns. Two Michigan players have won the Maxwell Award — Tom Harmon in 1940 and Desmond Howard in 1991. Both of those players also won the Heisman Memorial Trophy, the most prestigious individual honor in the sport. Michigan has also had one Paul Hornung Award winner, Jabrill Peppers, who starred on offense, defense and special teams, in 2016.

Michigan OL Olusegun Oluwatimi lands on Rimington Award, Outland Trophy watch lists; Zak Zinter joins him on the latter

It’s no surprise Michigan graduate offensive lineman Olusegun Oluwatimi is on the preseason watch list for the Rimington Trophy, handed out to the nation’s top center. The Virginia transfer was one of three finalists for the honor last season, finishing third in voting. He’s one of 40 on this year’s watch list.

He also landed on the Outland Trophy watch list along with Michigan junior right guard Zak Zinter. The award is given to the nation’s best interior offensive lineman.

Oluwatimi, a newcomer from Virginia who joined the team in January and went through spring practices, was one of the top transfer additions in the Big Ten this offseason. He graded out as the third-best run blocker at his position in 2021, per Pro Football Focus (PFF), and was named a season-team All-American by the Football Writers Association of America.

Oluwatimi’s situation is a good one with Michigan in 2022. He slides into an offensive line that returns both guards — senior Trevor Keegan and Zinter — and has a starting left tackle, graduate Ryan Hayes, in place. Position coach and co-offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore led a group in the trenches that yielded just 34 tackles for loss — which led the nation and was 10 less than any other team — and 14 sacks (fifth in America).

The 6-3, 310-pounder has been named a preseason second-team All-American by several publications, including Walter Camp and Sporting News.

Zinter, on the other hand, provides continuity as a Michigan returning starter on the right side of the line. He played banged up last season, including with a club on his right hand, but is fully healthy now and looking to play at an even higher level. He was a second-team All-Big Ten selection by the media and honorable mention from the coaches in 2021.

The Rimington Award began in 2000, and Michigan has had two winners over the last 22 years — David Baas, who tied for the honor in 2004, and David Molk in 2011. Michigan has never had an Outland Trophy winner.

Jake Moody on watch list for Lou Groza Award

Michigan graduate kicker Jake Moody is on the watch list for the award he won last season, which is presented to the best kicker in college football.

The three-time All-Big Ten honoree was a 2021 consensus All-American and Michigan’s first ever Lou Groza Award winner. He led the team with 125 points, the second-highest single-season total in program history and most-ever by a kicker, nailing 23 of his 25 field goal attempts with a program-record 56 extra points. He also sailed 98 kickoffs with a 62.8-yard average and 65 touchbacks.

No player has ever won the Lou Groza twice in their career, which is what Moody has set out to accomplish by returning for a fifth year.

Brad Robbins slotted to Ray Guy Award watch list

Graduate punter Brad Robbins is back and expected to be one of the top punters in America once again, this time as a sixth-year player. He was tabbed as a member of the Ray Guy Award watch list, with the honor going to the country’s best punter.

Robbins is a two-time All-Big Ten honoree and totaled 45 punts for 2,085 yards (46.3 average), the second-best single-season average in program history, a year ago.

Michigan TEs Erick All, Luke Schoonmaker named John Mackey Award watch list members

Five schools — Cincinnati, Georgia, Michigan, Penn State and South Carolina — saw more than one of their respective tight ends earn John Mackey Award watch list status. Georgia leads the way with three honorees, while the other four programs have two on the list, including Michigan senior Erick All and graduate Luke Schoonmaker. The Mackey Award goes to the country’s best tight end.

All was one of Michigan’s top pass-catchers and blockers last season. He recorded 38 catches for 437 yards and two touchdowns. Schoonmaker was also a big part of the offense, especially in the red zone. He caught 17 passes for 165 yards and three touchdowns.

All was named the No. 6 returning tight end in college football by PFF.com.

“After an underwhelming first two years on campus, All is starting to finally develop into the player Michigan was expecting,” the site’s Anthony Treash wrote. The 2019 four-star recruit earned a 75.4 receiving grade this past season, more than 30 grading points higher than his 2020 mark. The best word to describe All’s game is grit. The 6-foot-4, 245-pound tight end looks to impose his will in the running game. All recorded five big-time run-blocks en route to a 76.4 run-block grade this season. The latter ranked eighth among Power Five tight ends with at least 200 such snaps.”

Michigan has had one Mackey Award winner, Jake Butt in 2016.