The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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APRIL 2023 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 11 ❱ INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS Cornelius Johnson Will Take Another Step In 2023 By Chris Balas Every year, it seems, fans keep wait- ing for the "next Braylon Edwards" or "new Mario Manningham" to emerge and pass up the veterans on the wide re- ceiver depth chart. Ronnie Bell was the guy the stargazers expected to get left behind the last several years; instead, he continued to be the quarterbacks' preferred target. This year, folks are sleeping on senior Roman Wilson and grad student Cor- nelius Johnson. Wilson is bigger and putting up crazy shuttle numbers in practice to go along with his speed, but Johnson — well, he just keeps producing. He put on a show in Colum- bus — the biggest game of the year, a 45-23 win at Ohio State — for the "he's not a deep threat" crowd, including two long touchdowns. Johnson hasn't been as consistent as the better Michigan receivers, but he's come up with some huge plays in his career and he's primed to take his game to the next level. Junior quar- terback J.J. McCarthy will spread the ball around to his receiv- ers, backs and tight ends, but Johnson will be "the guy" in 2023. Roman Wilson Will Make A Move By Clayton Sayfie Graduate Cornelius Johnson may be the safer bet to lead Michigan in receiv- ing, but senior Roman Wilson, should he stay healthy, will pass him up and be the guy. Johnson paced the team in re- ceiving yards in 2021, when Ronnie Bell missed almost the entire season with an injury. He's had the edge over Wil- son the last two seasons — 1,126 yards to 796. Wilson, however, missed three games and played at less than 100 per- cent during that span, which impacted his production and role. We project Wilson will receive more of an opportunity this fall — as both a slot and outside receiver — with Bell having de- parted and wideouts needing to step up. He played 90 percent of his passing plays in the slot last season but saw 70.6 percent of his passing snaps come out wide the previous years, showing he has the ability to do both. According to Pro Football Focus, Wilson averaged 2 yards per passing snap, compared to Johnson's 1.5. That expanded role is where he'll make up his ground and become Michigan's leading receiver. ❱ POINT ❙ COUNTERPOINT ❰ WHO WILL LEAD MICHIGAN IN RECEIVING IN 2023? Michigan has a deep receiver room again, so much so that the coaches moved sophomore Amorion Walker to cornerback to bolster that position. But who will lead the Wolverines in receiving in 2023? We tackle that in this month's point-counterpoint: CORNELIUS JOHNSON ROMAN WILSON Daily updates and analysis from EJ Holland and Zach Libby from their cross-country travels. Go behind the scenes with exclusive coverage from Chris Balas, Clayton Sayfie and Anthony Broome. The best Wolverines message board on the web. A cleaner database with more information than any predecessor. The Premier Michigan Site, Now On The Network! Sign up now at TheWolverine.com! JOIN THEWOLVERINE.COM JOIN THEWOLVERINE.COM ONLY $29.99 ONLY $29.99 FOR ACCESS UNTIL AUG. 31, 2023! FOR ACCESS UNTIL AUG. 31, 2023! RECRUITING SCOOP DAILY TEAM COVERAGE STRONG COMMUNITY NEXT-GENERATION PLAYER DATABASE NOTE: TheWolverine.com is the companion site to The Wolverine magazine. It is a separate subscription and is NOT included with the magazine.