The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1510053
20 THE WOLVERINE ❱ NOVEMBER 2023 "I saw J.J. throw the pass," Zinter re- called. "Then I saw him make that catch. I didn't even know if he caught it, at first. I saw him go up and grab it, and then go down. It was insane. I ran over and cel- ebrated with him. "I didn't really get a great look at it right away, but then I watched the re- play. I was like, 'Damn, that was pretty insane.'" Enough so that it spurred conversation regarding the last four decades-plus in Michigan football, and some of the great- est catches witnessed from a Wolverine. Wilson's definitely ranks in the top five, including when a now-ESPN commenta- tor laid out against Notre Dame in 1991. "I think back to Marquise Walker at Iowa," Michigan football radio play-by- play man Doug Karsch said, recalling the lanky Michigan wideout's fully extended, one-handed touchdown grab at Iowa in 2001. "Desmond Howard against Notre Dame. Anthony Carter had one that was ridiculous. Mercury Hayes had one against Ohio State, I think in '93, where he looked over his left shoulder and tracked the ball all the way behind him and then over his right shoulder in the end zone for a touchdown. " T h e re h ave b e e n so m e s p e c i a l catches, and that one was pretty spec- tacular. I felt bad for the [Isaac] Gifford kid from Nebraska. He looked com- pletely helpless." Wilson looks anything but helpless as a senior Wolverine. He's always been steady, while fighting off various inju- ries. He secured 25 catches in each of the past two Big Ten championship seasons, going for 420 yards and 3 touchdowns in 2021 and 376 yards with 4 TDs (close observers of the TCU playoff game would say 5) last year. He already has 25 for 396 yards and 9 TDs in 2023. He's never been off to this kind of a start. The play over Gifford underscored Wilson's potentially explosive side. "We played that dude last year," Wil- son recalled. "He switched to No. 2 this year, so I knew who he was. The guy is a very good player, but he's also humble and very quiet. He didn't say anything. I probably said a little bit." AN X-FACTOR IN MENTAL READINESS Wilson credits plenty of folks for his progress while in Ann Arbor, both coaches and teammates. There's one whom he singled out following The Catch — Michigan strength and condi- tioning coach Ben Herbert. "Shout out to Coach Herb," Wilson affirmed. "My grip strength — I just squeezed the ball as hard as I could. It didn't move at all." That's not the only strength Wilson soaked up from the steely-eyed Her- bert, whose stubble-free head brings forth all sorts of urgings regarding toughness and situational preparation for the Wolverines. "It's having that mindset," Wilson said. "Coach Herb's more than just the strength coach. He kind of gets in our brains. He got me in a good mindset. I don't really care where the ball is. I'm just going to make a play. "If it's a quote-unquote, 'bad ball,' it just gives me the opportunity to make a good play or a great play. "If it's a good ball, then great, I'm good for it. If it's bad, and I'm going to make it a good situation, then I'm OK with that, too. That's Coach Herb's mantra: 'It can get bad, but we're cool with that.' It's all good." "Roman had talked in the offseason about how he wanted to get better at contested catches," Karsch said. "A lot of that was weight room dedi- cation. Ben Herbert's work is well docu- mented. That's an example of a direct impact on the field. Michigan's receiv- ers the last couple of years, I thought, weren't winning enough contested catches. "I think about that touchdown catch … That's contested catch stuff, and you need some of that from your receiving corps." The catch proved the micro version of the mindset. Where Wilson and his teammates have come since the nadir of 2020 stands as the macro. Just as Wilson arrived in the program out of his native Maui in 2020, the Wol- verines hit rock bottom. His freshman season featured a late-starting, early ending, COVID-tainted, misery-laden 2-4 campaign. Nobody knew where Michigan football was headed, aside from those inside Schembechler Hall, who even in the icy winter of 2021 were determined to change things. They did, beating Ohio State the fol- lowing two seasons, winning the Big Ten championship, and making the College In Michigan's 7-0 start to the 2023 campaign, Wilson posted 9 touchdown catches, which tied for first in the nation. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL