Ron Bellamy on Michigan WRs looking to 'start off with a bang,' J.J. McCarthy progression, 'bigger than life' Donovan Edwards

Michigan Wolverines football wide receivers coach Ron Bellamy made the bold statement on the ‘In The Trenches’ podcast this summer that junior quarterback J.J. McCarthy is the best signal-caller in the country. While McCarthy is highly regarded, there’s a returning Heisman Trophy winner in USC’s Caleb Williams and others that are vying for that position. Regardless, Bellamy stands by his statement and has continued to be impressed with McCarthy, who’s heading into his second year as Michigan’s starter.

“J.J. is good,” Bellamy said of how he’s looked in the preseason. “He’s a year older, a year wiser. I said it when I had an interview with Jon Jansen that I thought J.J. was the best quarterback in college football. I’m saying it because I’ve watched him. I totally believe in him, and he gets the passing game rolling. Obviously, as coaches you want to put guys in the best situations, but there’s no doubt in my mind that J.J. is one of the best leaders I’ve been around. As far as being a playmaker, he’s showcased that day in and day out.”

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Michigan coaches have stated their desire to run and pass around 50 percent of the time each. Bellamy’s wide receivers have improved in order for that to be a reality, he believes, and the Wolverines will look to showcase that beginning with the season-opener against East Carolina Saturday.

“The receivers — we’ve stepped our game up. Saturday, I’m hopeful that, when we get an opportunity, everyone in the passing game, we start off with a bang,” Bellamy said.

Having a second-year starting quarterback is just as important as the improvement from the wide receivers. Timing was an issue at points last season, especially on deeper passes, but there have been countless hours in the offseason to work on that in preparation for Michigan’s 2023 campaign.

“It’s looked good,” Bellamy said of deep passes. “It’s looked good in practice. It’s just a matter of getting out there Saturday and executing. But everything has been good. J.J. has been awesome. He’s had a fantastic camp. The receivers have done a good job this camp, so it’s just a matter of putting it all together on Saturday.”

Michigan junior running back Donovan Edwards is another who will be heavily involved in the passing game. The 6-1, 210-pounder has caught 38 passes for 465 yards and 3 touchdowns and will line up in the backfield as well as slot receiver. Bellamy coached Edwards at West Bloomfield (Mich.) High and has known him since the latter was in middle school. Now healthy after recovering from knee and hand injuries, Bellamy can sense how ready Edwards is for Michigan’s 2023 season.

“It’s great. It’s like, please, can we play football again? Because he’s so eager and excited to get going,” Bellamy said with a smile. “It’s like, let’s line up and get this guy going. But Donovan has been Donovan. He’s been great, super enthusiastic. Donovan comes in, his smile is bigger than life. He brings a juice to our team. Donovan is ready to go. Had a fantastic camp. It’s time to go now.”

Edwards played through both a torn patella tendon (knee) and broken thumb on his right hand. His ability to gut it out and still perform on big stages — including with two long touchdown runs in Michigan’s 45-23 win over Ohio State — didn’t surprise Bellamy, who saw Edwards play through a dislocated thumb in high school, one bit.

“He may have had the same — very similar — [injury] in high school that he played through,” Bellamy said. “I’ve seen it. Obviously, we were together for his four years in high school. I’ve seen him battle through some things.

“There’s no denying that kid. You’re going to have to physically remove him to not have him play. A 70-75-percent Donovan Edwards is better than most guys at full strength.”

Edwards proved that last season. Now he’s looking to show even more, with Michigan’s season only three days away.