Michigan running back transfer John Volker puts Olympic bobsled career on hold

If not for the maize and blue of Michigan football, running back transfer John Volker might have been destined to wear the red, white and blue. Volker, who graduated from Princeton, reportedly would’ve considered pursuing the United States Bobsled team if he didn’t find the right landing spot for his fifth year.

Volker’s brother, Charlie, is currently on the United States Bobsled team and also played running back at Princeton (2015-18).

John Volker chooses to play football at Michigan over going to the Olympics

The 6-foot-0, 210-pounder led the Tigers with 89 carries, 514 rushing yards and six touchdowns last season. He also pulled in 10 catches for 75 yards. Coming out of Rumson-Fair Haven High (NJ), Volker had 14 offers, mostly from Ivy League schools.

Rumson-Fair Haven High strength coach Rob Orrok told On3 that Volker was going to try to follow his brother’s footsteps if he hung his cleats up.

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“He wants to get his Masters, but this coming winter olympics is also less than eight months away, so his contingency was basically gonna be if football is not a priority for him, he was gonna go to the bobsled combine,” Orrok said.

“It would’ve been pretty wild. It still could happen in the future; it just wouldn’t be this Olympic Games. But him and his older brother would be in the same bobsled [team] in the upcoming winter Olympics. His brother competed in the last winter Olympics…”

Volker ended 2024 with a season-high of 130 rushing yards on 15 carries against Penn. It marked the second-most rushing yards in a single game for his career, behind a 149-yard performance against Bryant in 2023.

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The presence of another hard-running upperclassmen could shake things up in the Michigan running back room.

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