The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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wr Experience matters, and Darboh enters the fall having been through it, the coach pointed out. "Amara has game experience," Hecklinski said. "He's been in The Big House. He's lined up and he's played. He didn't have any catches, but he's been in front of 115,000. He's been on the road, been in those stadiums. You can see a difference. "It was amazing to see the difference between him and Jehu when we went into the stadium for the spring game. Amara was very calm — he's been here, he's done this, he's not worried about it. It was, 'Okay, I'm just going to play.' "Jehu, it was really the first time for him. It was kind of like, 'Oh, this is real now.' We knew that. That's why we gain experience." Darboh, Hecklinski explained, enjoyed spring workouts that were better than even Michigan's coaches had hoped. Now, it's about making all the little adjustments required of top receivers. "It's not about the play and the route,'" Hecklinski noted. "He's beyond that now. He can read coverages, he can see how DBs are playing him, he can see how the coverage is going to try to take it away, so he can counter-act it. There is a lot of punch/counterpunch when you're running routes, and he's now starting to counterpunch so he can get open, get the ball, and get into the spots that Devin needs him to be in. "He's strong as an ox with great hands. He's also a great kid, who has everything you want and everything you're looking for. Now, it's just continuing to build and build and build." While Chesson (6-3, 193) didn't see the field last year, he's not taking a back seat to Darboh or anyone else, Hecklinski offered. In fact, the redshirt freshman has no lack of eyes on him, including those of his teammates. "If you asked all of our guys who potentially has the biggest impact, I bet nine out of 10 of them would say him," Hecklinski insisted. "He's long, he's fast, he's got strong hands. He can run, he can jump, he can make plays. He can make you miss and accelerate out afterwards. "He possesses a lot of talent. We've just got to harness it. That's kind of what we felt coming out of last fall. If he hadn't gotten hurt, Jehu would have played. But he missed about eight or nine days." The back bruise from a hit in practice might have delayed Chesson's timetable to hit the field. It means, though, that a stronger, more preseason analysis: wide receivers Starter ✪✪✪✪ Their size doesn't garner many double takes, but fifth-year senior Jeremy Gallon (5-8) and senior Drew Dileo (5-10) are as tough as they come. With 6-3 senior Jeremy Jackson emerging to play various roles and a pair of second-year performers — 6-2 Amara Darboh and 6-3 Jehu Chesson — pushing for front-line action, Michigan is moving back up in the receiving world. Depth ✪✪✪✪✪ Receiver depth hasn't been a big problem the past few years, but there's more balance these days, with a number of taller outside wideouts available. Those previously mentioned, along with fifth-year senior Joe Reynolds and a trio of talented freshmen, should keep the competition level high. X-Factor This one's simple, and it doesn't directly involve a receiver. Redshirt junior quarterback Devin Gardner has to stay healthy, or the Wolverines will find themselves in scramble mode with respect to the passing game. Gardner demonstrated his aerial effectiveness down the stretch last season, but if he's out of the lineup, the Wolverines are down to talented true freshman Shane Morris and walk-ons. ✪✪✪✪ Overall The stage is set for a big year in the Michigan passing game — again, provided that Gardner stays healthy. Michigan's run threat should be greater, Gardner functions effectively in the play-action game, and the U-M receivers themselves have enough experience and talent to operate at a high level. This should be a breakthrough year in a return to the pro style, and that means a big season for the receiving corps. Note: Star rankings are made on a scale of 1-5 stars. Fifth-year senior Joe Reynolds played in 11 games in 2012 and had the best showing of his U-M career when he caught three passes for 22 yards versus Iowa. photo by lon horwedel seasoned version of the lanky wideout retains his full eligibility, giving the coach reason to smile. He also likes the competitive element developing between his two young pass catchers. "If I told Amara [about the projected impact poll], Amara would take that personally," Hecklinski said. "If I told Jehu they picked Amara, Jehu would take it personally. It's a real nice competition they have between the two of them, and they're really good friends. "Jehu is explosive.— he shows that every day in practice. He's fast, long, lean, but strong. He can get in and out of breaks. He can do everything. "When we recruited him, everybody looked at us and said, 'He's only this, he's only that.' We see things differently. "We're looking for different things. I don't care what other people say. What I care about is what I see on the game film. And what I saw on the game film, what I thought was coming in, potentially could be even better than that." Hecklinski also knows folks will look at the Darboh/Chesson combo in another context. "He and Amara do have a big set of expectations, because they were the first wide receivers we recruited here," he said. "Everybody is kind of interested to see, okay, does Coach Heck really know what he's talking about? The Wolverine 2013 Football Preview ■ 103