Statues at the Big House: What would it take for a player to be honored? (2024)

For some reason, there is something taboo about statues at the collegiate level. Only the elite of the elite have the opportunity to be a part of stadiums that have cultivated so much history. It’s a bit simpler for coaches who get their names added to facilities as they are built, like Schembechler Hall or the Yost Ice Arena in Ann Arbor. At some point, I wouldn’t be surprised if Jim Harbaugh’s name was added somewhere on campus.

But when it comes to statues, Michigan has been somewhat stingy, and reasonably so. The Big House is one of the foundations of the sport of football and is the pinnacle of regular season play. There is so much history that has been well-kept and honored in so many different ways, but when I walked around the stadium for the first time after the season opener in 2023, I was surprised there were no statues of players or coaches at the facility.

It’s surely different than professional sports, where players can be with an organization for years and solidify their impact on a franchise and city. But every once in a while, a special college player completely embodies a program on and off the field.

So, I asked our internal chat here at Maize n Brew what it would take for a Michigan player to have the distinct honor of owning the first statue at the Big House. I followed that up by asking the team to consider who else might deserve a statue and what qualifications would be needed.

The answers were rather consensus. First, they needed to bring a national championship to Ann Arbor. With a saying like, “Those who stay will be champions,” this was an obvious first criterion.

No. 2 was being a Heisman candidate or winner. Michigan has had a plethora of talented players play at the Big House, but the most elite were, at one point, Heisman candidates. There are only three outright winners: Tom Herman in 1940, Desmond Howard in 1991, and Charles Woodson in 1997. But even top-10 finishes have only happened 29 times in the history of the program. When we’re talking about the elite of the elite at Michigan, the Heisman Trophy race is a great place to start.

Next to be considered has to be community impact. Four or five years is a short amount of time to make a difference at the college level. As time goes on, this should be significantly easier because of NIL and possible revenue sharing coming for college athletes. At the end of the day, when you can obviously see the difference someone makes on campus or in the community, they have to be considered.

Fourth and certainly not least is leadership and being a Michigan man. These two things tie hand-in-hand — the leaders and best are who represent the Michigan Wolverines, and that can either be on or off the field. Whether it’s comments to the media, galvanizing speeches to the team, or making game-changing plays on the field, these players embody the pillars of the program and everything that Michigan football has been built upon.

So who deserves the honor? To us, there are two easy choices — Charles Woodson and Blake Corum.

Woodson should be the first player to get a statue at the Big House. He is still the only defensive player in the history of college football to win the Heisman and he made countless memorable plays in his career, especially in the National Championship 1997 season. Off the field, Woodson donated $2 million to Mott Children’s Hospital in 2009, where as a player, he routinely visited kids in need of care. Each year, Woodson also helps lead the Event on Main, which has raised nearly $7 million over the last 14 years for the hospital. Woodson was and has always been a Michigan man through and through.

Corum’s should come down the line, too. While he never won the Heisman, he was one of the favorites before going down with a knee injury in 2022. Instead of heading to the NFL, he stayed in Ann Arbor and “finished business,” leading the Wolverines to a national title in 2023. In both seasons, Corum finished in the top-10 for Heisman voting. Off the field, Corum gave out turkeys around Thanksgiving to families in need.

Would you like to see statues at the Big House? And if so, who do you think deserves them? Sound off in the comments below.