Michigan WR Roman Wilson having 'phenomenal' fall camp, others standing out as 'explosive'

Michigan Wolverines football lost one of its most consistent offensive players of the Jim Harbaugh era in wide receiver Ronnie Bell, who led the team in receiving in three out of the last four seasons. Graduate Cornelius Johnson and senior Roman Wilson have loads of experience, having played in a combined 77 games between the both of them, but others must step up this season.

Wilson, in particular, has flashed throughout the last two years, but injuries in the middle of both of them — a hand injury in 2021 and concussion in 2022 — held back his progress and role. He racked up 25 catches for 376 yards and scored 6 total touchdowns last season, highlighted by a huge game in the Fiesta Bowl, a 51-45 CFP semifinal loss to TCU in which he registered 122 yards and 2 scores.

Michigan offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore believes Wilson, a 6-0, 192-pounder from Hawai’i, will display even more this season.

“Roman has had a phenomenal camp,” Moore said Tuesday. “Just very excited for what he can do this year and how he’s going to impact the offense.

“Obviously, the injuries have hindered him, but he’s been healthy, he’s been ready to go. Just super excited for him and the progress he’s made.”

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Wilson is one of the fastest players on the Michigan team, and he has the versatility to play both in the slot and outside.

“You’re going to see what you saw throughout the year when he was playing,” Moore continued. “He’s going to be extremely consistent, he’s going to do what he’s asked to do. And he’s taken it to a new level because of his leadership role and the experience he’s had now. As you play more games, you get better, and I think he’s really done that.

“You can see the confidence and the twinkle in his eye when he’s in the game. He’s got a little bit of swagger, understands the game more, understands the offense more. He turns it up a little bit, so I’m excited to see him as a receiver this year.”

Wilson was Michigan’s third-leading receiver last season, behind Bell and Johnson. So naturally, at the least, a new No. 3 must step up. That’s where sophomore Tyler Morris, who was in the two-deep at the end of last season, comes in. Junior quarterback J.J. McCarthy said earlier this week that Morris will “make a big name for himself” this fall, and Moore listed him right along with Wilson and Johnson.

“With all of our receivers, we don’t really want a type,” Moore said, after being asked if someone can fill the mold of Bell. “We want them all to be fast, we want them all to be playmakers, be able to run after the catch, to all be explosive. We don’t want a guy that’s thought of as a possession guy. We want everybody to be explosive. The goal in the offense is if the ball touches your hand, you should be able to take it to the house.

“All those guys are doing a great job — Tyler Morris, obviously, is doing a phenomenal job. We’ve got CJ, we’ve got Roman, we’ve got Tyler. You’ve got these young guys, you’ve got [Michigan sophomore] Darrius Clemons. These young freshmen, they’re just making plays. Fred Moore, Karmello English, Semaj Morgan — those guys are extremely explosive, and they’re just making plays day by day. We’re just going to see what happens throughout the process and see who steps up, when it’s game time, who’s ready to go.”

The chemistry is being developed between McCarthy and the pass-catchers, too, not just the wide receivers. Moore said he wants multiple Michigan receivers to be potential ‘go-to’ targets, not just one.

“The big thing with the offense is we’re going to be conceptual and we’re going to fit people where we want them, week by week,” Moore explained. “It could be a receiver, it could be a tight end, it could be anybody.

“I think in all offenses, the quarterback has someone who he goes to when things break down. Last year, obviously, you saw it was Ronnie. This year, he has a lot of outlets, so we’re going to see who that person is. Do I know who it is yet? No. And really, you don’t want to have one person that the defense is honing on anyway. We want to be very multiple and allow all the guys to shine and feed everybody in different situations.”

Michigan making concerted effort to be more balanced

Last season, Michigan coaches and players were asked about the run-heavy nature of their offense, which ran the ball on 61.9 percent of snaps. They constantly said they’ll do whatever they can to win, and if that was pounding the rock, so be it. This fall camp, though, there appears to be a different attitude. Harbaugh has long said he likes balance on offense, but Michigan seems to be stressing it more.

“We want to be 50-50 [run-to-pass],” Moore said. “I think there are going to be games where that might not happen. You’re going to see defenses might try to take one thing away — we’ll do the other.

“But we want to be as balanced as possible with sets, with formations, with how we do things, making everything look the same. Very conscious of that when putting together the game plan, and that’s something we’re very focused on throughout training camp. 

“… It’s just a conscious effort of what you want to do, how you want to do it, and then you formulate the plan to be that balanced.”