Why Michigan is excited about Kendrick Bell and transfer WRs Amorion Walker, C.J. Charleston, how QB battle 'makes everyone better'

Michigan Wolverines football offensive coordinator Kirk Campbell was blunt when speaking with the media after the April 20 spring game in saying the team was looking to add more wide receivers. It did just that by bringing in two transfers: Ole Miss’ Amorion Walker — who spent one semester in Oxford after two at U-M, playing cornerback in 2023 — and Youngstown State’s C.J. Charleston.

The Wolverines lost Roman Wilson (third round) and Cornelius Johnson (seventh) to the NFL, meaning there are lots of snaps and targets up for grabs heading into 2024. Position coach Ron Bellamy pointed to junior Tyler Morris and sophomore Semaj Morgan as the two leaders, and sophomore Fredrick Moore and senior Peyton O’Leary as others ready to prove themselves.

But depth is important, which is why Michigan reeled in the two aforementioned transfers. Bellamy is excited about what each brings — Walker back to the wide receiver position, where he played in 2022, and Charleston up to the FBS level.

“Amorion Walker came back to the family, and he’s here,” said Bellamy, who was Walker’s primary recruiter out of high school, on the ‘In The Trenches’ podcast with host Jon Jansen. “Obviously, I had him freshman year as a receiver. He moved to corner, and now he’s coming back as a receiver. He gives us the length and speed that, when we recruited him out of Ponchatoula, Louisiana, that’s what we were looking for — a 6-4 guy that can stretch the field. He’s another that can jump out of the gym. An extraordinary talent, and we’re excited about him.

“C.J. Charleston — an older guy. I thought we needed an older guy in our room, another guy that can be a leader, with experience. He played at Youngstown State, but he’s also played Big Ten. He’s been in the Shoe, he’s played against Ohio State, he’s been in East Lansing, he’s played against the Spartans. So he’s played Big Ten competition, had success. You watch the game film, seeing him go in there. He’s a perfect fit for us. We’re super excited about him.”

Walker played in six games as a freshman in 2022, making 1 catch for 4 yards against UConn, but was mainly a reserve before playing cornerback over the last year. Charleston, meanwhile, hauled in 61 catches for 867 yards and 4 touchdowns in 31 games at Youngstown State, which competes at the FCS level.

Michigan also has some other receivers who could add solid depth, beginning with sophomore Kendrick Bell, whose spring game performance served as an eye-opener to Michigan fans. He made 2 catches for 53 yards, including scoring on a 42-yard deep ball thrown by senior quarterback Davis Warren.

“All the guys are exceptional at what they do,” Bellamy said. “Semaj has proven that, Tyler’s proven and and you guys saw glimpses of Fred Moore and Peyton O’Leary last year. Obviously, Kendrick Bell … if you know anything about Kendrick, he’s the younger brother of [former Michigan wideout] Ronnie [Bell], but that’s the one thing that we talk about — ’we’re going to change your name. People know you as Ronnie’s little brother; you need to be known as Kendrick Bell.’ 

“Kendrick was a quarterback in high school that, as we evaluated him, we thought he was a phenomenal athlete. He was an all-state basketball player, he was a state champ in the high jump and state champ in the long jump in Kansas City, in Missouri. Obviously, he’s a Kansas City kid.

“But we knew he had some of those traits that we look for in receivers. Can they jump? Can they run? Can they change direction? How explosive are they? And he checked all those boxes. Last year, he played receiver in a reserve role, a scout team guy, and this spring he had an opportunity with our numbers that he had the chance to go against the [junior cornerback] Will Johnsons of the world and [sophomore cornerback] Jyaire Hills of the world, [graduate cornerback] Keshaun Harris, some of the older guys — and he held his own, did some good things. And then in the spring game he showed some flashes of what he’s capable of doing. We’re super excited about him.”

Bellamy has been pleased with the way his entire group has worked this offseason, and he said he and the staff are working to make sure Michigan plays to each guy’s strengths.

“We’re technicians, man,” Bellamy noted. “I’m fired up about this group, because they’re hungry, man. They’re always willing to learn, asking questions, wanting to watch film. 

“When you have that mindset, to me it sets you up for future success. Those guys aren’t just phenomenal athletes, they’re going to be phenomenal football players.”

Michigan has two incoming freshman wide receivers, both of whom arrived on campus this summer as opposed to enrolling early in January: Channing Goodwin and I’Marion Stewart.

“Our two incoming freshmen — Channing Goodwin, a legacy kid and the son of Jonathan Goodwin, an exceptional player coming from North Carolina, and I’Marion Stewart coming out of Chicago,” Bellamy said. “We’re excited about those guys. We recruited those guys for a couple years, and to get them, we’re fired up about them, too. They didn’t do spring ball, but we’re excited that they’re on campus now and to watch those guys go and develop.”

Michigan QB battle from a WR perspective

Michigan’s quarterback competition is unsettled heading into the summer, with graduate Jack Tuttle, Warren and junior Alex Orji appearing to be the three primary contenders. Developing chemistry is key this time of year, and the Wolverines are doing that even if they don’t know who the main man behind center will be.

“I think the guys do a good job of getting together and playing catch together,” Bellamy explained. “For me, mixing the receivers around [in practice]. Sometimes, you’ll be in the first group; sometimes, you’re in the second group. Whoever the quarterback may be that particular day, whoever’s going into that rack, you make sure the receivers get a chance to go with whatever quarterback. Routes on air, one-on-one, seven-on-seven — and you’re building your chemistry through repetition, just reps.

“The guys, to us, we have a lot of great options at quarterback, and our job is to make the quarterbacks look good by getting open and making a play when the opportunity presents itself.

“I think the biggest thing is getting the opportunity to play pitch and catch with the quarterbacks on a daily basis, and the boys do a good job of that.”

Bellamy has seen some high-level quarterback battles going back to his time as a Michigan player in the late 1990s-early 2000s.

“It’s fun. It’s a fun competition, because since I’ve been a part of Michigan, I’ve been a part of the Tom Brady–Drew Henson competition — I was there for that. Also, my first year [as a coach] here with Cade [McNamara] and J.J. [McCarthy], and then obviously I’ve been here for this competition.

“What it does is it makes everyone better. It makes the quarterbacks better, obviously, because they all are making suer that they’re precise, detailed in everything that they do. It makes the O-line understand that, whoa, back there, you can’t mess up, because you don’t want to screw this up for this quarterback. The running backs are the same way in pass pro. And then with the receivers and tight ends, just making sure you’re getting open, you’re detailed, you’re at the right spot, right time and you’re just going to make plays.

“So everyone is elevating their game. I feel like competition really exudes excellence amongst everyone, and our guys are wired in that way.”