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Michigan star running back Blake Corum will miss spring practice, which began this week, but is on track to return at full strength in June, coach Jim Harbaugh said Thursday.

Corum was a Heisman Trophy contender before injuring his left knee Nov. 19 against Illinois. He played briefly the following week against Ohio State before electing to undergo surgery. After rushing for 1,463 yards and 18 touchdowns last fall, Corum decided to return for his fourth season at Michigan, which is coming off of consecutive Big Ten titles and College Football Playoff appearances.

“He’ll get a full summer cycle,” Harbaugh said of Corum.

Offensive linemen Myles Hinton and Drake Nugent, both transfers from Stanford, will be limited this spring after offseason surgeries.

Since losing to TCU in the CFP semifinal round, Michigan has endured some turbulence, including the firing of co-offensive coordinator Matt Weiss amid a university investigation, and an ongoing NCAA probe of Harbaugh for alleged violations during the COVID-19 recruiting dead period.

Michigan fired Weiss for cause Jan. 20 after saying it obtained evidence that he had inappropriately accessed computers at Schembechler Hall, the school’s on-campus football facility. Harbaugh promoted co-offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore to offensive coordinator and elevated analyst Kirk Campbell to fill Weiss’ other role as quarterbacks coach.

The NCAA investigation continues and includes an allegation of a Level I violation by Harbaugh for allegedly not complying with or misleading the organization’s investigators. Harbaugh could face a multigame suspension.

“Compare us to perfect and we’re going to come up short,” Harbaugh said of the atmosphere within the program. “Compare us to any program, it doesn’t get any better.”

Harbaugh said several Michigan coaches and staff, including himself, received interest from NFL teams but elected to remain with the program. Harbaugh, who went 44-19-1 as San Francisco 49ers coach before coming to Michigan, had a Zoom interview with the Denver Broncos about their coaching vacancy in January but announced soon after that he would stay at Michigan.

He also had interviewed with the Minnesota Vikings for their vacancy in February 2022. Michigan defensive coordinator Jesse Minter, who spent 2017 to 2020 on the Baltimore Ravens staff under Harbaugh’s brother, John, is reportedly a candidate for the Philadelphia Eagles coordinator job.

“It’s an ongoing thing, something we treat as a really positive thing that NFL teams have an interest in all our personnel,” Harbaugh said.

Harbaugh also addressed his relationship with athletic director Warde Manuel, calling it “great” and dismissing the narrative that things have soured amid the investigations and his NFL discussions. Manuel took over as AD in 2016 and inherited Harbaugh as coach, but also was a teammate of his at Michigan in 1986.

On the field, defensive back Amorion Walker, a converted wide receiver, has impressed Harbaugh through the first two practices of the spring session. Walker was an ESPN four-star recruit in 2022.

“I consider him a starter right now,” Harbaugh said.

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QB Castellanos exits after losing BC starting job

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QB Castellanos exits after losing BC starting job

Boston College quarterback Thomas Castellanos, who lost his starting job earlier this week, will not be returning to the team, he announced Thursday night.

Castellanos, who started 12 games last season and retained the top job under new coach Bill O’Brien, wrote on X that “unfortunately, all good things come to an end, even though it’s sooner than I would like.” He did not mention the transfer portal in his departing message and has not officially entered it. The junior from Waycross, Georgia, started his career at UCF and appeared in five games in 2022.

O’Brien said Tuesday that Grayson James, who replaced Castellanos in last week’s win against Syracuse, will start Saturday when Boston College visits No. 14 SMU. Castellanos “wasn’t real thrilled” with the decision, O’Brien said, adding that the quarterback decided to step away from the team for several days.

Castellanos had 2,248 passing yards and 1,113 rushing yards last season under coach Jeff Hafley, passing for 15 touchdowns and adding 13 on the ground. He had 18 touchdown passes and only five interceptions this season, but his accuracy dipped in recent weeks, and he completed only 2 of 7 passes against Syracuse before being replaced.

In his statement, Castellanos thanked both coaching staffs he played for at Boston College and wrote that he had “some of the best experiences of my life in the Eagles Nest and I will truly cherish these memories forever.”

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Gators’ Lagway ‘ready to play,’ will start vs. LSU

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Gators' Lagway 'ready to play,' will start vs. LSU

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida quarterback DJ Lagway is “ready to play,” coach Billy Napier said Thursday on his weekly radio show.

Napier removed Lagway from the team’s injury report and penciled him in to start against No. 21 LSU in the Swamp on Saturday.

Lagway practiced every day this week while progressing from a strained left hamstring. The highly touted freshman was carted off the field against Georgia on Nov. 2. Tests revealed a “less significant” injury than initially feared, and now he’s back in time to face the Tigers.

The Gators (4-5, 2-4 Southeastern Conference) need him. They have to win two of their final three regular-season games to become bowl eligible.

LSU (6-3, 3-2) has struggled mightily against dual-threat QBs, including Alabama’s Jalen Milroe, who ran for 185 yards and four touchdowns last week.

Lagway returns after walk-on and Yale transfer Aidan Warner started in his place against Texas. Warner threw two interceptions and was 12-of-25 passing for 132 yards in a 49-17 loss.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Georgia leading rusher Etienne ruled out vs. Vols

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Georgia leading rusher Etienne ruled out vs. Vols

No. 12 Georgia will be without leading rusher Trevor Etienne for Saturday’s showdown against No. 7 Tennessee.

Etienne was downgraded from questionable to out on Thursday night’s SEC availability report.

Etienne left Georgia’s win over Florida with an upper-body injury on Nov. 2 and did not return. He played limited snaps in last week’s 28-10 loss at Ole Miss, carrying the ball six times for 24 yards.

Etienne leads the Bulldogs with 477 rushing yards and seven touchdowns this season.

The loss is another blow to Georgia’s banged-up backfield. Cash Jones is also listed as questionable while Branson Robinson remains out after missing the past three games with a knee injury.

That leaves true freshman Nate Frazier as the only healthy Bulldogs running back who has played meaningful snaps this year. Frazier is second on the team with 333 rushing yards and three touchdowns.

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