The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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30 THE WOLVERINE FEBRUARY 2023 30 THE WOLVERINE FEBRUARY 2023 2023 LOOK AHEAD WIDE RECEIVERS PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL BY CLAYTON SAYFIE RETURNING STARTERS Graduate Cornelius Johnson Johnson led the team with 6 touchdown catches, ranked second with 499 receiv- ing yards and slotted third with 32 recep- tions in 2022. He's hauled in 92 passes for 1,441 yards and 13 touchdowns in his career. Senior Roman Wilson W i l s o n re e l e d i n 2 5 catches for 376 yards and 4 touchdowns last season (plus 1 rushing TD), serving as the Wol- verines' primary slot receiver. He had season-highs of 5 catches and 104 yards receiving against TCU, plus a score. OTHER RETURNERS Senior A.J. Henning The slot receiver caught 9 passes for 60 yards, rushed 3 times for 9 yards and averaged 7.2 yards per punt return (second in the Big Ten) with 1 touchdown last year. He earned second-team All-Big Ten ac- colades as punt returner. Senior Eamonn Dennis Dennis moved from defensive back to receiver prior to the 2022 campaign but didn't play any offensive snaps, per Pro Football Focus. He had 2 tackles in 12 ap- pearances on special teams. Junior Cristian Dixon He has appeared in two career games, catching 1 pass for 7 yards in 2021. Sophomore Darrius Clemons Clemons caught 1 pass for 7 yards while appearing in 11 games and contributing on special teams as a freshman. Sophomore Tyler Morris Morris played in seven contests and caught 3 passes for 25 yards — including a key third-down pickup at Rutgers — dur- ing his freshman campaign. Sophomore Amorion Walker He played both wide receiver and cor- nerback his freshman year — 38 snaps on offense and six on defense in six games — finishing with 1 catch for 4 yards. NEWCOMERS Freshman Karmello English Michigan's second-highest rated 2023 signee ranked as a four-star and the No. 191 prospect nationally per the On3 Consensus. Freshman Fredrick Moore The three-star prospect and 6-foot-1, 175-pounder was rated the No. 542 overall player in the country per the On3 Con- sensus. Freshman Semaj Morgan The West Bloomfield (Mich.) High product is a quick slot receiver who was tabbed as a three-star recruit and the No. 505 overall player in his class per the On3 Consensus. 2023 ANALYSIS Michigan's wide receiver crew will have a new look to it in 2023, following the departures of Ronnie Bell (NFL Draft) and Andrel Anthony (transfer to Oklahoma). Bell led the Wolverines in receiving yards in three of the past four seasons in which he was healthy (2019, 2020, 2022), and he did so with 62 catches for 889 yards and 4 touchdowns this past season. He provided versatility, with 58 per- cent of his passing snaps coming out wide and 41 percent coming out of the slot. The Wolverines will need others to step up to replace his production in 2023. Cornelius Johnson (46) and Roman Wilson (37) made up 23.8 percent of Michi- gan's targets in 2022, adding continuity. But all eyes are on the trio of talented sophomores — Darrius Clemons, Tyler Morris and Amorion Walker — to emerge as prominent forces in the passing game. While the three combined to make just 5 catches in 2022, that's not necessar- ily an indication of how the future will go. In fact, history shows that many U-M wide receivers break out as sophomores even after quiet first seasons, including the program's all-time leader in receiving yards, Braylon Edwards. He caught just 3 balls his first year before increasing that number to 67 in his sophomore cam- paign. The Wolverines don't need any one receiver to become Edwards — that's a high bar to reach — but a big step forward would go a long way for junior quarterback J.J. McCarthy and Co. Michigan's passing offense was under- whelming at times last season, ranking 83rd nationally with 219.9 yards per game, and 57.4 percent of McCarthy's passes came within 10 yards of the line of scrimmage. How- ever, it was efficient, with 8.3 yards per at- tempt (tied for 24th in the country) and 24 touchdowns (tied for 44th). With a strong run game returning, the aerial attack won't have to shoulder much more of the load this coming fall, but there are still potentially dynamic pieces to be utilized. — Clayton Sayfie