The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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[ W I D E R E C E I V E R S ] 64 ■ THE WOLVERINE 2022 FOOTBALL PREVIEW a year ago because everybody else stepped up," Karsch said. "Now they get him back. He was a go-get-it guy. Put it in the area and he was going to go up and get the ball. He also could make a one-hand catch, and was dangerous on special teams, although he probably won't do that anymore. He's great with the ball in his hands." MAKE WAY FOR THE ROOKIES None of those veterans will step aside meekly for a youth movement, nor should they. It will be up to the freshmen to create their own time on the field, but they've already shown enough to get a long look. Clemons stands a lanky 6-3, 205. He made 17 touchdown catches and topped 800 yards receiving for Portland's West- view High School in his senior season. That came after a family move to Utah his junior year after Oregon canceled football because of COVID. At Pleasant Grove High School, Clemons made 38 receptions for 817 yards and 10 touchdowns. Walker comes in at 6-4, 180, out of Ponchatoula, La. He made 8 touchdown catches in a 12-1 senior season that cul- minated in a state runner-up finish in class 5A. Morris — the compact model of the trio, at 6-0, 175 — comes from Boling- brook, Ill. He missed his senior season following an ACL injury the previous spring but showed what he's capable of in a huge sophomore season, teaming up with former and once-again teammate J.J. McCarthy. That year, Morris made 68 catches for 1,237 yards and 17 X-FACTOR X-FACTOR Freshman DARRIUS CLEMONS has as good a shot as any first-year player to make a Day 1 impact. His size (6-3, 205) and speed (a reported 4.37 in the 40-yard dash) make for a unique skill set on U-M's depth chart. Even in a deep wide receiver room, he could find a role early and climb the depth chart. He is one of the tallest wideouts on the roster (trailing only 6-foot-4 classmate Amorion Walker) and was listed as the nation's No. 114 overall prospect in the On3 Consensus. The immediate attention early entry freshman wideout Darrius Clemons received this spring might have shocked some. Not so the folks back in Port- land, who have witnessed his determined improve- ment for many years. Aaron Woods met Clemons when the young wide- out entered seventh grade. The athletic trainer had a huge hand in his physical development, and never ceased to be impressed by Clemons' inexhaustible motivation to keep getting better. "We spoke this into existence," Woods said. "I sat him down and asked him his goals. He said, 'I want to do this, I want to accomplish this.' And we did. We did say it, then didn't sit back and wait for it. "He put it out there, and he grinded for it every day." When Clemons' first college offer rolled in, the re- action from the talented prep told Woods everything he needed to know about his engine. "He was killing it at this camp, and he got an offer from Utah State or N e v a d a , " Woods recalled. "I was so excited for him, so happy. He was like, 'I've got to get to work. I've got to work more.' "I'm like, 'Dang, OK. I like that.'" That's how he'll continue to attack at the next level, promised Larry Clemons, Darrius' dad. The elder Clemons witnessed his son's development up close, every step of the way. He's gleaned several nuggets he believes bode well for his son at the next level. "The bigger the game, the bigger Darrius plays," Larry Clemons said. "He loves the big setting. He looks forward to that big atmosphere game. He just loves the game. When you have a kid who is willing to travel to a new school, two weeks before the school season to play, it's the passion for it. "He would go work out at 6:30 in the morning and then go to school at the middle school level. Between that ninth- and 10th-grade year, he came out to Michigan State and ran that low-4.4 [40-yard dash], and he went against [Michigan State safety] Darius Snow. At the time, Darrius was a rising senior. When I saw the routes he was running against these older kids, I said, 'OK, if he stays healthy, he's got a bright future ahead of him.'" It remains bright, given Clemons' makeup, both physically and attitudinally. "Darrius has a high GPA," his dad noted. "He had offers from Stanford and Northwestern, so he's very academically savvy. He's very person- able. He's a kid that cares for others. Off the field, he has no ego." The latter might be put to the test as his profile continues to ascend. If it again makes him determined to only work harder, look out. — John Borton Darrius Clemons' Early Impressiveness Doesn't Surprise Back Home