The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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W I D E R E C E I V E R S 58 ■ THE WOLVERINE 2025 FOOTBALL PREVIEW camp in August. He's stronger and more explosive. I'm excited for him." Several Will Battle For Playing Time Also dynamic per Bellamy is UMass transfer Anthony Simpson. The former Arizona receiver, a candidate for the slot at 5-11, 180 pounds, enjoyed a break- out season for the Minutemen of- fense in 2023, notching 57 catches for 792 yards and 3 touchdowns for an offense coordinated by Michi- gan tight ends coach Steve Casula. He entered the transfer portal after playing in only three games a year ago. "He's explosive in the way he moves," Bellamy said. "He's an older guy, too. We want to get some guys who have experience playing foot- ball. We took two older guys in the portal this winter cycle." A m o n g t h e o t h e r re t u r n e e s, graduate student Peyton O'Leary will continue to battle for time af- ter starting six games last year and catching 10 passes for 102 yards and a touchdown. He had another good spring and made one of the plays of the year last season with a third- down, fingertip catch inches off the ground in the win at Ohio State. Junior Kendrick Bell, too, is another veteran to watch, somewhat the "forgot- ten man" in the room given an injury that sidelined him for the spring. Bell, brother of former Michigan receiver Ronnie Bell, started six of the 13 games in which he played a year ago, catching 7 passes for 70 yards. Chicagoland native I'Marion Stewart returns for Year 2 hoping to earn time after redshirting as a freshman, and Bel- lamy said he also had a "great spring." But Stewart's fellow sophomore, Channing Goodwin, might have been the most im- proved player in the receivers room this offseason. He played in four games last year but didn't catch a pass. "He got better," Jansen said after seeing Goodwin notch 3 receptions for 23 yards in the spring game. "I could see him emerging as a good third target." Moore said he wanted the room to get bigger in the offseason following a disappointing campaign for the receivers. McCulley helped there, as did the addition of freshman Jamar Browder (6-5, 209). He and fellow frosh Andrew Marsh (6-0, 175) were early enrollees who "made some big leaps this spring, as well," Bellamy said, excited about their length and playmaking ability. "We're starting to roll out 6-3, 6-4, 6-5 guys — most of who have basketball backgrounds," he said. "The ball's in the air and it's a re- bound. They're boxing people out, using their big bodies. "That's something we did not have last year for the most part. We do Most offensive coordinators have the same idea when it comes to maximizing output on fall Saturdays — balance between the run and pass, ball protection, and big plays. New Michigan OC Chip Lindsey, in his first year in Ann Arbor after two seasons at North Carolina, is no different, but he does add one thing that could give him and the U-M offense an advantage this year — experience. Twenty-five-plus years of it, in fact, during which he's seen and done it all in both the run and pass games. "You'll have more explosives," receivers coach Ron Bellamy insisted. "He's balanced. … Chip ran the ball with Omarion Hampton [at North Carolina the last two years] and had [quarterback] Drake Maye the year before. If you've followed Chip's career, he's a balance guy, but he's going to take some shots down the field, and we're super excited about that. "It's a little different brand of football, but we're Michigan. We're still going to run the football and we're going to throw the football. We're going to be balancing that, and we're going to play complementary ball." It would make it easier on the offense, however, if they could pick up more chunk plays through the air, something that was lacking last season. Some might even say "absent" given the Wolverines finished 127th out of 134 teams nationally in passing plays of 10-plus yards last year (65) and dead last in those of 20- and 30-plus yards (17 and 4). The Wolverines were the only team in FBS that didn't post at least one passing play of 40 or more yards last season. Lindsey believes the personnel has improved enough to make that a one-year anomaly. "I think we've added some pieces to the puzzle," he said. "Donaven [McCulley] is one, for sure. Anthony Simpson is another guy. We've got a couple freshmen in Andrew Marsh and Jamar Browder we can sprinkle in there, and we'll see how quickly they come along. "The guys that were here last year also need to take the next step. Fred Moore, Semaj Morgan, Channing Goodwin, Peyton O'Leary, all those guys. Two years ago, when [quarterback] J.J. [McCarthy] was still here, if you put the film on, there were a lot of explosive plays. Some of those wideouts are playing in the NFL now." It's no secret, though, that the Wolverines need better line and quar- terback play to make the receivers better. Lindsey wasn't here to see it in person, but he watched film and saw plenty of plays that could have been made. As the guy in charge of the passing game, he understands he's responsible for all of it, and he knows where it starts. "We had a year where we went through two or three quarterbacks," he said. "The quarterback is key. We've got to make sure whoever is playing that spot can give our guys opportunities down the field, and that's something we're working really hard on." — Chris Balas Chip Lindsey Wants More Big Plays In The Passing Game Junior Kendrick Bell is a veteran to watch in the receiving corps. Although he was sidelined with an injury this spring, he started six of 13 games a year ago, finishing with 7 receptions for 70 yards. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL