Michigan at the NFL Combine, Saturday live blog: J.J. McCarthy, Blake Corum, Roman Wilson, Cornelius Johnson
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — Michigan Wolverines football has taken over the NFL Combine with a record 18 participants in the event ahead of the 2024 NFL Draft. Four Wolverines will participate in Saturday workouts, headlined by quarterback J.J. McCarthy, running back Blake Corum and wide receivers Roman Wilson and Cornelius Johnson.
Saturday is the day many have been looking forward to in the evaluation process with McCarthy taking the stage to throw. When it came to his decision to leave Michigan, it was a fairly easy one after a conversation with former head coach Jim Harbaugh.
“It was quite easy, honestly,” McCarthy said. “He was like, ‘Hey, I’m out here thinking of you if you were my son.’ And he told me ‘I want you to go because of your draft stock. It could get higher, but not that much higher. And it’s just an opportunity you don’t want to pass up.’ Just hearing that from him just gave me so much more confidence because that was kind of where my head was leaning towards. So just hearing that was amazing.”
More Michigan players will go through drills the rest of the week. Here’s the full schedule:
• Saturday, March 2 (1 p.m. to 8 p.m. ET): QB (J.J. McCarthy), WR (Cornelius Johnson, Roman Wilson), RB (Blake Corum)
• Sunday, March 3 (1 p.m. to 7 p.m. ET): OL (Karsen Barnhart, LaDarius Henderson, Trente Jones, Trevor Keegan, Drake Nugent, Zak Zinter)
This live blog will have the latest on how they all do in their on-field drills, what’s being said about them by analysts and more. Follow along below for real-time updates on Michigan players at the combine.
Live updates: Michigan at NFL Scouting Combine
7:18 p.m. – Workouts are complete in Indianapolis. The offensive linemen will go on Sunday afternoon.
6:50 p.m. – Wilson’s official time was revealed to be 4.39 in the 40-yard dash after time adjustments, tied for sixth in the event.
6:33 p.m. – Wilson had a rough rep on the first attempt on the gauntlet drill, dropping a few passes on some tough adjustments.
6:18 p.m. – Wilson’s second attempt was slightly better at 4.40 seconds
6:05 p.m. – Roman Wilson’s first 40-yard dash is in with a first attempt of 4.41 seconds
5:24 p.m. – Former Michigan tight end and Big Ten Network analyst Jake Butt weighs in on McCarthy’s performance at the combine:
5:09 p.m. – NFL Network’s Schrager weighed in on McCarthy’s day at the combine:
“He went out there, competed, and threw the ball very, very well. I got a text from an NFL evaluator, a very respected one saying, ‘Of all these guys, McCarthy translates to the NFL the most.’ He had an outstanding day out here.”
4:59 p.m. – After performing well in the hitch and corner-route throws, McCarthy and the first group of quarterbacks and wide receivers are done.
4:44 p.m. – As workouts move to the go-route, McCarthy dials one in on his third attempt after a few overthrows.
4:19 p.m. — McCarthy has had a couple passes dropped by receivers. He also underthrew (but completed) a couple, but put others on the money. Daniel Jeremiah has been impressed so far.
“He’s a pure thrower,” Jeremiah said. “He’s very loose. Very smooth, very fluid.”
4:05 p.m. — McCarthy is now throwing to receivers running routes on air.
“You will see that the ball jumps out of his hand,” Daniel Jeremiah said. “It’s just real easy. He needs to, at times, back off a little, because he’s got a live arm.”
“And it’s good that he’s out here, too, for the public at large,” Charles Davis said. “For the scouting community, nobody was really worried about the things they’ve heard outside of it. They just wanted to be able to see him in person. This kid is someone else.”
3:58 p.m. — Johnson goes through ‘The Gauntlet.’ McCarthy is throwing during the wide receiver drill.
3:40 p.m. – Johnson did not run a second 40-yard dash.
3:25 p.m. – Cornelius Johnson’s first 40-yard dash attempt at the combine: 4.45
3:11 p.m. – Jeremiah weighs in on McCarthy: “All the ability is there. Look at the win-loss record. Look at the skillset. The only knock has been the volume. He didn’t get to throw as much as these other guys. Velocity and accuracy on those drive throws. You see it when he’s working in the seam and when he’s powering the ball outside the numbers as well. The athleticism, he can really move and create plays. Designed quarterback runs showed up in the big way in that semifinal game against TCU. It’s volume, Rich. Just didn’t get the same amount of volume.”
3:01 p.m. – McCarthy and the quarterbacks/wide receivers are up next. Schrager says:
“I like that J.J.’s competing, there’s still going to be a battle for who’’s that fourth quarterback. J.J. says forget fourth quarterback, I’m the third or second quarterback off the board. A lot of guys aren’t throwing that we thought would be. J.J. McCarthy says give me the rock and let me prove it. He measured in…he’s heavier than we thought, he’s taller than what people expected. J.J. McCarthy is having an amazing week. Let’s see him finish the job.”
2:57 p.m. – NFL Network’s Peter Schrager spoke on Corum’s combine performance: “He looked really good in the drills. I love that he’s competing and doing it all. Obviously, it’s the college production and the name brand stats, but I got a text here that said Corum runs so smooth, and that’s what you want to see.
Charles Davis replied: “You see the subtleties because the things that he does with the head movement and head fake and how he goes through drills, you can tell how well-coached he was and how he takes coaching as well.”
2:45 p.m. – Running back drills conclude.
2:39 p.m. – Pat McAfee was on the NFL Network broadcast and during a discussion about NIL and running backs, he praised Corum for his stardom while in Ann Arbor:
“This guy could have made every dollar Michigan had, he was the face of the team there for a while…. Did you see that belt buckle he showed up to the national championship with? He’s a dawg!”
2:29 p.m. – Corum’s performance is drawing rave reviews:
2:03 p.m. – McCarthy is warming up on the field at the Combine:
1:55 p.m. – Jeremiah raved about both Corum and defensive back Mike Sainristil as running back drills started in Indianapolis:
“When you talk to teams this week about some of their favorite individual interviews, [Mike Sainristil’s] name comes up * a lot* on the defensive side of the ball. Corum’s name has come up quite a bit, as well.”
1:36 p.m. – Wide receiver Roman Wilson’s measurables are in:
| Player | Height | Weight | Arm Length | Hand Size |
| Roman Wilson | 5-11 | 185 | 30 3/8 | 9 3/8 |
1:32 p.m. – Corum’s second attempt was a 4.58, so he’ll stick with his original time. He also vertical jumped 35.5 inches while at the combine.
1:14 p.m. – Corum’s first 40-yard dash time clocked in at an unofficial 4.53. NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah said: “My comp for him is Devonta Freeman. Almost identical in size, he ran a 4.58.”
1:01 p.m. – Wide receiver Cornelius Johnson’s measurements are in.
| Player | Height | Weight | Arm | Hand | Wingspan |
| Cornelius Johnson | 6-3 | 212 | 31 7/8 | 8 5/8 |
11:22 a.m. – Running back Blake Corum weighed in shortly after, coming in at 5-7.75 and 205 pounds.
| Player | Height | Weight | Arm | Hand | Wingspan |
| Blake Corum | 5-7 3/4 | 205 | 28 7/8 | 9 | 70 1/8 |
10:38 a.m. – Measurements are in for Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy. Interestingly enough, McCarthy weighed 17 pounds heavier than his playing weight at U-M.
| Player | Height | Weight | Arm | Hand | Wingspan |
| J.J. McCarthy | 6-2 1/2 | 219 | 31 5/8 | 9 | 75 5/8 |
