Huge spring game performance is proof WR Peyton O'Leary can make an impact for Michigan

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Michigan Wolverines football lost Ronnie Bell to the NFL Draft, so a big storyline of this offseason surrounds who’s going to help fill the void in the wide receiver room.

Senior Roman Wilson, graduate Cornelius Johnson and sophomores Tyler Morris and Darrius Clemons have been mentioned by teammates as top contenders. Junior Peyton O’Leary, though, might as well be mentioned in that mix at this point, after playing well during Saturday’s spring game at The Big House.

“I’ve been playing well recently,” O’Leary said. “I just stick to my coaching, and luckily the ball found me today.”

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The ball found him alright. He had more targets (7), receptions (6) and receiving yards (126) than any other player in the game. He had grabs of 34, 30, 20, 22 and 15 yards — making big chunk gains for the winning Maize team. By the end of the game, Big Ten Network broadcasters Jake Butt and Devin Gardner called him the afternoon’s MVP.

And he hasn’t just played well recently, either. Bell pointed to O’Leary as a training camp standout last August. Head coach Jim Harbaugh, too, said he had a “[Los Angeles Rams All-Pro wideout] Cooper Cupp-like fall camp.”

“He’s almost got that nickname around here right now,” Harbaugh said before the 2022 season. “That’s been tremendous.”

That’s quite the rise for someone who entered the program as a walk-on. In O’Leary’s case, too, he was planning on playing a different sport, once committed to UMass for lacrosse.

In the spring game, most of his receptions came from junior Davis Warren, his roommate. Both are former Michigan walk-ons who earned scholarships this offseason. It was a “dream come true” to be given that honor, O’Leary said.

“Davis and I have a great connection,” O’Leary said. “It was fun to put it on display.”

That was the combination that won the Maize team the game, with Warren hitting O’Leary — who boxed out sophomore cornerback Amorion Walker — for the game-winning two-point conversion in the 22-21 victory. The roommates ate steak with their squad Saturday evening.

Warren said the O’Leary the world saw Saturday is the one Michigan players and coaches have seen for some time now.

“Ever since he DM’d me on Instagram to be my roommate two and a half years ago, me and him have been best buddies,” Warren said. “Both coming in as walk-ons, kind of having a chip on our shoulder, feeling like COVID and whatever other circumstances we went through in high school prevented us from having whatever offers, this or that. But didn’t really let it affect us.

“You can ask [former Michigan defensive backs] DJ Turner, Dax Hill, all those guys [when we were on] scout team freshman year — we were tough to defend. We were spinning it around out there, and then last year working with the twos, me and Peyton did a lot of work, and even coming into spring ball.

“That’s the guy he’s been. He’s my best buddy, and we have a ton of fun out there and a ton of trust in each other that we’re going to make plays, put the ball where it needs to be put, and it’s exciting.”

Sometimes for a promising college football player, it takes some time to get an opportunity in games and put it all together once they’re out there. O’Leary could continue his rise this fall and make an impact on Michigan’s offense.

“I feel like I’ve always played well in practice, and I’m just waiting for my chance,” O’Leary said. “Be patient, wait for my time to be coming — that’s really it.”

Michigan has big goals in 2023, aiming to win a third straight Big Ten title and capture its first national championship since 1997. It looks like he could be part of that effort in a bigger role.

“The culture is really good,” O’Leary said of the Michigan team and its motivation. “I’m best friends with everyone on the team. They’re all my brothers. [Head strength and conditioning] Coach [Ben] Herb[ert] always says, we can only go up from here, so it’s either 14-1 or 15-0 — that’s the ultimate goal.”