Early returns on Michigan's taller WR room have been positive

The Michigan Wolverines‘ wide receiver situation is still in search of answers, but it checked a few boxes this offseason with the additions of a few taller wide receivers. The group sorely lacked size at the position last season, but the staff attacked that this year with the addition of a few that fit the criteria.

One of them is freshman Jamar Browder, an early enrollee who made the first “wow” play of spring ball and has only been getting better from there.

“He’s learning the playbook and trying to take it slow and make sure we bring him up the right way,” Bellamy said on Monday. “But he’s basically a big receiver. The ball’s in the air, he’s gonna fetch it. He’s a fetcher. He’s a high-point-the-ball guy, and they’re super competitive young men.

“Last year our two freshmen weren’t here for spring ball. The year before, Fred Moore and Semaj Morgan came in the spring, so you saw those guys play early in their careers. So I think it’s more or less those guys coming in during the spring, learning, and then during the summertime having an opportunity to catch their breath and refine things in the playbook. And then when camp starts, those guys are acclimated to the playbook.

“We have two of them in [Andrew] Marsh and Browder here. Jacob [Washington] just graduated high school. So far, so good. The guys are very hard on themselves because they’re perfectionists. But of the things we tell them is it’s a marathon, not a sprint. You’ll get it. And when you learn it, you’ll play fast and not make mistakes. And you’ll be confident in everything that you do.”

Michigan also added Indiana’s Donaven McCulley via the transfer portal, who has morphed into a leader in the room in the early stages. Bellamy is thrilled with what he has brought as a grad transfer.

“We had some attrition, and we tried to make up for it via the portal or through high school,” Bellamny said. “But we chose the portal, and McCulley’s been a great addition. He’s a young man who’s played a lot of football. Head down, working hard, leader in the room. And he’s a guy that we’re leaning on to help with the young guys in developing that, as far as off the field, how to conduct themselves, different things like that. But Donovan’s been a great addition.

“He’s the oldest guy in the room. Has the most experience. Played over a thousand snaps in his college career. So quite naturally, you think he would be the next guy in the room and on the wall. And that’s what he’s ascending to. I’ll tell you what—he’s on track to do that. He’s just got to keep attacking it and challenging himself every day.”

Michigan knows that having taller targets has a ripple effect on the rest of the offense, with a larger catch radius for the quarterbacks. Ideally, they have playmakers of all shapes and sizes, though.

“With the smaller guys, you like dynamic guys, right? Dynamic guys with the ball in their hands,” Bellamy said. “But what the bigger guys give you is the one-on-one matchups. You can throw the ball up to those guys. Most people call them 50/50 balls. But if the ball’s in the air—it’s ours. That’s the mentality we have.

“And when you’re starting to roll out 6-3, 6-4, 6-5 guys—most of those guys have basketball backgrounds. Ball’s in the air—it’s a rebound. They’re boxing people out, using their big body. So that’s something we did not have last year for the most part. We do now. We feel good about the additions that we made to address that. But to me, it takes stress off the play caller and the quarterbacks.”

Michigan likes its depth, but could still look tot he spring portal for answers, too. Regardless, numbers in the room can only help forge steady contributors.

“Numbers create competition,” Bellamy said. “This is probably one of the deeper rooms we’ve had since I’ve been at Michigan. We’ve got work to do. Guys still have to go prove themselves. But it’s not just young guys forced to play. Now Fred has experience. Semaj has experience. You look at the young guys—now you’ve got Channing Goodwin and I’Marion Stewart pushing the Fred Moores, the McCulleys. McCulley has the most experience, so now it’s like: I go chase him.

“Everyone’s chasing someone. To me, that creates competition. And if it’s healthy, it brings out the best version of the kids. I’m super excited about the competition we have in our room because we’re a deeper unit. We’ve still got to put the work in.”