The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/603303
Darboh, who likely would have been the No. 3 with Chesson the No. 4. Chesson caught 15 balls for 221 yards and a touchdown during his redshirt freshman campaign, and had 14 grabs for 154 yards playing the No. 3 role again in 2014. With the departure of Devin Funch- ess to the NFL, Darboh emerged as Michigan's de facto No. 1 target this fall, while Chesson was slated to move up to No. 2. For those that doubted the 6-3, 200-pounder 's capabilities, Chesson has responded with a 33-catch, 466- yard, seven-touchdown effort that projects over a 13-game season to 43 receptions, 606 yards and nine TDs. His numbers could spike exponen- tially too following his 10-catch, 207- yard, four-touchdown performance at Indiana Nov. 14. The redshirt junior's projected tally would rank eighth amongst No. 2 wide receivers since 1995, which co- incides with the start of the Lloyd Carr era. His production would eclipse the 13-year average for No. 2s under Carr (39.3 receptions) and the seven-year average since (37.1 catches from 2008-14). "He's got great speed, is long and tall, got has good hands and has made some really big catches for us in the course of the last two or three weeks," said receivers coach/passing game coordinator Jedd Fisch. "I hope he continues, and then in the next 17, 18 games we continue to see huge growth from him." Chesson doesn't know what the future holds, whether he will see an exponential surge in production in 2016 like many No. 2 wideouts have in their senior seasons, but he's rel- ishing the opportunity to make a dif-