The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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MARCH 2023 THE WOLVERINE 9 BY ANTHONY BROOME M ichigan's wide receiver unit has gotten plenty of attention as a group to watch ahead of the 2023 sea- son. But one more name has been added to the mix in terms of players to keep an eye on — junior wideout Peyton O'Leary. O'Leary (6-3, 195) revealed in Febru- ary that after spending two seasons as a walk-on at Michigan, head coach Jim Harbaugh and the staff have elected to put him on scholarship moving forward. "He called to tell me that they were putting me on a scholarship," said O'Leary, via The Daily News of New- buryport in Massachusetts. "I was pumped. It's been a dream come true to be able to play football here, and it's truly a blessing to earn a scholarship. "My family was really proud of me. It was great too, because in my class we had four preferred walk-ons, and three of us just got put on scholarship." O'Leary contributed in six games for Michigan during the 2022 season, pri- marily on special teams, and recorded 1 catch for 4 yards. The Byfield, Mass., native joined the program in 2021 after having his senior season in high school canceled due to the COVID-19 pan- demic. O'Leary made 38 catches for 750 yards and 8 touchdowns during his prep career, and also starred in basketball and lacrosse. He was originally committed to UMass Amherst to play lacrosse. But now, he appears to have turned enough heads in Ann Arbor to warrant further consideration at wide receiver. He was one of the breakout players last offseason, with Harbaugh comparing him to an NFL star. "Another guy who's surged is Peyton O'Leary," Harbaugh said last August. "Peyton O'Leary is backing up Corne- lius Johnson right now at the X-position. And he's had a Cooper Kupp-like train- ing camp. He's almost got that nickname around here right now. That's been tre- mendous." There is an opportunity moving for- ward for playing time at wide receiver with Ronnie Bell off to the NFL and An- drel Anthony transferring to Oklahoma. Graduate Cornelius Johnson, seniors Ro- man Wilson and AJ Henning, and the sophomore trio of Amorion Walker, Dar- rius Clemons and Tyler Morris will com- pete for spots at the top of the Michigan depth chart. Despite that, O'Leary plans on making a push to crack the lineup despite some more highly regarded young prospects ahead of him. "For next year my goal is to be in the top six receivers," said O'Leary. "I know that starting isn't realistic, but I'm going to work really hard to get into that top six. "Now that I'm on scholarship, I have more of an even chance to get there. Once you're here, the best person plays — they don't care what your name is." O'Leary was a scout team star in 2021 and continued to grind in 2022. Michigan has won a pair of Big Ten championships and made the College Football Playoff twice since he has been on campus. "It's been an awesome journey so far," said O'Leary. "We've made back-to- back trips to the College Football Playoff in my two years here, and we're going to have a lot of really good returners back next year. It's a job for sure. During the season, we're in the building five hours a day grinding. But all of the hard work has been worth it." ❑ Inside Michigan ATHLETICS Peyton O'Leary Becomes Latest Football Walk-On-To-Scholarship Success Story U-M recently placed rising junior wide receiver Peyton O'Leary on scholarship, and he plans on coming for a top-six role this fall. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL