The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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THE WOLVERINE 2017 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ■ 73 WIDE RECEIVERS FYI Michigan saw 92 catches, 1,362 receiving yards and nine touchdown catches from 2016 head out the door with the loss of fifth-year seniors Amara Darboh and Jehu Chesson. The Wolverines return six wideouts who made at least one catch in 2016, and they combined for 27 receptions for 328 yards and two touchdowns, although that includes Drake Harris (two catches for 11 yards), who has moved to defensive back. Junior Grant Perry leads the way among those on the active roster, as far as production last season, with his 13 catches for 183 yards and one score. Last year, Michigan ranked 76th nationally in average yards per completion (12.09) and 85th in passing offense (212.0 yards per game ). Sophomore Kekoa Crawford's given first name is Dylan, but he has taken to being called by his middle name, Kekoa, which means "warrior" in Hawaiian. Freshman Donovan Peoples-Jones compiled a 3.9 grade point average in high school while on his way to becoming the No. 1 wide receiver recruit nationally, and hopes to become a sports medicine physician. "It's going to take a real commitment to be a factor." Other veteran wideouts are committed to putting injuries behind them and show- ing themselves as productive members of the 2017 crew. For redshirt junior Maurice Ways, the spring injury (broken foot) that greatly dampened his 2016 hopes is in the rearview mirror, and he's looking for a way to the field. He knows what will get him there — strong blocking, consistency in effort and production, and knowing where he's to be and when. He's definitely ready to come out of the shadows, after making two receptions for 24 yards in 2016. "He's probably a bit of a forgotten man, but at the end of the day experience does matter," Karsch said. "Knowing what route to run, how to read a defense, the route trees and their relationship with the quarterback shouldn't be completely dismissed, even though there are some pretty talented young- sters pushing him. "If I were Mo Ways or Mo Ways was my son, I would not say there's no chance, even though he seems to be a bit of a forgotten man in this chase." Sophomore Nate Johnson got into three games as a true freshman in 2016, mak- ing a single reception for four yards. He drew considerable attention for his elusive- ness in spring football, from the players and coaches. Unfortunately for Johnson, the ball it- self proved elusive in the spring game. He dropped a punt that the oppos- ing team recovered, and the same thing happened after he'd made a catch and was struggling for extra yardage. "He put the ball on the turf a couple of times in the spring game," Karsch pointed out. "If you're ever going to do it, that's the time to do it. I would imagine that there's going to be a point of emphasis on that with him. You can't turn it over. "You can recover from two turnovers in a spring scrimmage. I wouldn't think that he's done just because of that. Now it's a matter of seeing how determined he is." This year's freshmen are plenty deter- mined, and two of them already turned heads in spring ball and the workouts leading up to it. Early enrollee Tarik Black proved the most productive receiver on the Blue team in the spring game, making four catches for 50 yards, including a touchdown grab. "You've got to love what you see," Karsch offered. "It became clear from watching YEAR-BY-YEAR RECEIVING LEADERS Year Player Catches Yards TD 2016 Amara Darboh 57 862 7 2015 Amara Darboh 58 727 5 2014 Devin Funchess 62 733 4 2013 Jeremy Gallon 89 1,373 9 2012 Jeremy Gallon 49 829 4 2011 Junior Hemingway 34 699 4 2010 Roy Roundtree 72 935 7 2009 Roy Roundtree 34 434 3 2008 Martavious Odoms 49 443 0 2007 Mario Manningham 72 1,174 12 Early enrollee freshman Tarik Black had a game-high four receptions for 50 yards and a touchdown in U-M's spring game April 15. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL