8 days until Michigan football: U-M has the pieces to replace Ronnie Bell
There’s much anticipation heading into the Michigan Wolverines football season, and TheWolverine.com is counting down the days until the Sept. 2 opener against East Carolina. We’ll discuss current Michigan events, the upcoming season and/or take a look at a significant number that correlates with how many days remain until kickoff, whether it be a player’s jersey number, a year, a date, a score, etc.
Michigan will have its hands full this fall in replacing former program stalwart Ronnie Bell, a reliable and productive wide receiver in his five seasons with the Wolverines. One of the biggest storylines heading into this year is who steps into a larger role.
There are plenty of options, headlined by Cornelius Johnson and Roman Wilson. If we had to bet, Wilson is the guy with the most to gain as Michigan’s new go-to receiver. Wilson was arguably Michigan’s most explosive offensive weapon in the early part of last season, scoring three touchdowns on his first four touches of the year. Then, he disappeared for a bit. Wilson ended on a high note in the Fiesta Bowl (5 catches, 104 yards, TD) and has continued that momentum into the offseason.
Johnson is a known commodity and a solid No. 2. option, which has been proven over the last few years. There are times when he will lull the fanbase to sleep with performances where you hardly notice him on the field. But as we saw in last year’s Ohio State game, he often comes up with a few big plays when you least expect them.
Sophomore Tyler Morris will handle duties in the slot when the season rolls around and has built-in chemistry with quarterback J.J. McCarthy. He runs quality routes and will be a chain-mover for the Wolverine offense. At some point this year, classmate Darrius Clemons should have a chance to make an impact, though he fits more as an outside receiver and understudy to Johnson.
Add in the freshman wide receivers in Fredrick Moore, Semaj Morgan and Karmello English and this is a group the coaching staff is optimistic about. Harbaugh has said that they have been as good as any group of frosh wideouts since he arrived at Michigan.
The truth of the matter is if McCarthy is as good as we think he can be, his presence alone should create weapons. As long as these guys put in the work and get themselves open, they will have chances to shine.
Bell or not, this could be Michigan’s deepest group at wide receiver, and probably as selfless a wideout room as they have had. It took time to get there, but the ingredients are in place to make much more of an impact then the wide receivers have in the past.
Michigan football countdown to kickoff
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