The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1529264
DECEMBER 2024 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 11 ❱ INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS Tyler Morris Will Finish Strong, Eclipse That Mark By Chris Balas To say the Michigan receiver room has been disappointing this year would be an understatement, but it's not all on coach Ron Bellamy's group. Sketchy quarterback play in the first half of the season, which was hindered by poor pass blocking, kept these guys from making an impact worthy of their abil- ity. We're not saying this is the best re- ceiver room Michigan has had — on the contrary. We'd say it's one of the weaker ones, in fact. The No. 1 in this room — junior Tyler Morris, who en- tered the Nov. 9 Indiana game with 134 yards — would probably be No. 3 at best on any of the better corps of the last several decades. Still, it should be better than it is. And now that quarterback Davis Warren is starting to find his groove a bit, we expect players other than tight end Colston Loveland to start catching more balls. Teams are going to scheme to take the junior away, and it's up to Morris and others to respond by running good routes, getting open and making the tough catches. Morris will do just enough to get over the 300-yard mark for the year and spark the offense. Wide Receivers Haven't Proven Enough By Clayton Sayfie Through nine games, Michigan only had two wide receivers with 100-plus receiving yards — junior Tyler Morris (134) and sophomore Semaj Morgan (126). It's certainly possible for one to reach the 300-yard mark — it could only take a few big plays — but we'll say it doesn't happen. The lack of production from the position is one of the main reasons why the Wolverines have struggled offensively this season, and it's unlikely to improve at this point. Position coach Ron Bellamy has just one former four-star recruit to work with, Morris, and another in Morgan who has outperformed his three-star ranking. Michigan averaged 5.8 yards per pass in its first nine outings, tied for the third- worst mark in the FBS. Even when the Wolverines do have some success down the field, it's typically junior tight end Colston Loveland on the receiving end of it. He's been targeted on 69 of the team's 195 passes intended for a receiver. The wide receivers, meanwhile, have only been thrown to 79 times, or on 40.5 percent of passes with a target (that number was 55.6 percent in 2023). Michigan's offense just doesn't provide for enough opportunities for the Wol- verines to start putting up bigger numbers, at least not to the point that we'll predict a 300-yard receiver for the season. ❱ POINT ❙ COUNTERPOINT ❰ WILL MICHIGAN HAVE A WIDE RECEIVER WITH 300-PLUS YARDS IN REGULAR SEASON? SEMAJ MORGAN TYLER MORRIS 1969 MICHIGAN vs OHIO STATE GAME Michigan Stadium, Ann Arbor, Michigan ON DVD!! One of the greatest upsets in the history of college football – The defending National Champion and undefeated Ohio State Buckeyes vs the 7-2 Michigan Wolverines under a new head coach! This was one of OSU coach Woody Hayes' finest teams. Ohio State had won 22 games in a row and had not lost a game at Ann Arbor in ten years! Some sportswriters were calling the Buckeyes the greatest college team of all time and had installed Ohio State as 17-point favorites –— at Michigan Stadium! But, by the end of the day, a sky-high Michigan team led by first year head coach Bo Schembechler, had totally outplayed Ohio State in front of an all-time NCAA record crowd of 103,588, had tied for the Big Ten Title and was heading to the Rose Bowl! The original network tapes have been digitally restored by Rare Sportsfilms for outstanding color and picture sharpness and now this historic classic is available for the first time on DVD! Bill Flemming and Lee Grosscup call the action! This entire TV broadcast, plus the pre-game show, includes all the original commercials and also features pre-game and halftime performances by both the Ohio State and University of Michigan Marching Bands! Pre-game interviews feature Jack Tatum of Ohio State and Jim Mandich of Michigan, as well as Buckeye coach Woody Hayes! Players in action you will see throughout the game include quarterback Don Moorhead, Billy Taylor, Marty Huff, Thom Darden, Dan Dierdorf, Glenn Doughty, Garvie Craw and Barry Pierson of Michigan. For Ohio State you'll see quarterback Rex Kern, Jim Otis, Mike Sensibaugh, Leo Hayden, Jan White, Jim Stillwagon, Larry Zelina, Stan White and many others! This game marked the beginning of the famous "Woody vs Bo Ten-Year War", and is one of the most significant games in the history of Michigan-Ohio State football! Running Time: 3 Hours, 20 Minutes $29.95 FREE SHIPPING! "RARE SPORTSFILMS W" 1126 Tennyson Lane, Naperville, IL 60540 1-630-527-8890