When Barry Sanders burst onto the NFL scene in 1989, he had every reason to be cocky. Drafted third overall by the league’s perennially pathetic Detroit Lions, Sanders had come from Oklahoma State University, where he’d won the Heisman Trophy after setting two jaw-dropping NCAA single-season records — records that still stand today: 2,628 yards and 39 touchdowns.

At 5’ 8" and 200 pounds, Sanders’s legs were like tree trunks, and his running style was electric — so much so that he once head-faked a future Hall of Fame defensive back, Rod Woodson, into a season-ending non-contact knee injury. Sports Illustrated once described Sanders as like a Tasmanian Devil inside a pinball machine, and, well, take a look.

Yet despite his one-of-a-kind brilliance, perhaps Sanders’s most remarkable and memorable attribute was the way he simply, gently, and humbly handed the ball to the nearest ref upon scoring a touchdown. For years, lesser players had been one-upping each other with outrageous endzone dances and off-putting displays of look-at-me-ism, but that sort of showiness simply wasn’t in Sanders’s makeup. As The Federalist’s Shawn Fleetwood writes: “For Sanders, the game was never about him. It was about the team and finding ways he could help bring them to victory. Everything else — fame, awards, media coverage — was irrelevant, so his decision to announce his retirement from the NFL via fax isn’t all that surprising.” (Those who want to see Barry Sanders at his best should check out Amazon Prime’s “Bye Bye Barry,” a 92-minute documentary about how he quietly hung up his cleats while still in the prime of his NFL career.)

Sanders set a high bar not only for on-the-field performance but also for humility and selflessness. And perhaps a star running back from the University of Michigan has taken note. Blake Corum, fresh off a national championship performance in this year’s College Football Playoff, is unapologetic about his belief in Jesus Christ and about his purpose beyond football.

“I’m a firm believer in Christ,” he says. “Serving is what I believe God put me on this earth to do. I will continue to serve and bring communities together as long as I’m on this earth.”

Those aren’t just words. During his four years at Michigan, he’s backed them up with deeds. Less than 24 hours after the Wolverines’ tough road win at Maryland in mid-November, Corum was back on campus in Ann Arbor, and then off to the neighboring community of Ypsilanti, where he’s made a Thanksgiving tradition of handing off turkeys to needy families there. As Mlive reports, “For a third straight year, Corum partnered with local organizations and donated turkeys and milk using money earned from name, image, likeness opportunities.”

Michigan RB Blake Corum using his NIL money to buy 600 turkeys he’s delivering in Ypsilanti today. Third year he has done this for Thanksgiving. pic.twitter.com/IAhI3MjpM6

— angelique (@chengelis) November 19, 2023

“This is my purpose, man,” Corum said. “Just getting my mind sometimes away from football, away from stress and anxiety. Football, it does a lot. Being able to step away and just be a part of the community and see people smile and be out here, it’s a blessing.”

Having made his mark and completed his mission at Michigan, Corum is now off to the NFL, where he’ll no doubt continue to use his gifts and his energy and his infectious smile to reach and help those less fortunate.

“I believe God put me on this earth for something way bigger than football,” says Corum. “I think I’m just given the ability to use my football platform to help others.”

On April 25, at this year’s NFL draft, one team will select humble, God-fearing Blake Corum, perhaps late in the first round but more likely in the second round. And we suspect that team, and that community, will be rewarded for it.