The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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26 THE WOLVERINE ❱ APRIL 2026 WIDE RECEIVERS BY ANTHONY BROOME RETURNING STARTER Sophomore Andrew Marsh By season's end, Marsh was one of the best wide receivers in the Big Ten in 2025. He finished with 45 catches for 651 yards and 4 touchdowns, with all but 1 reception for 30 yards coming after September. The pre- vious staff played him mostly on the outside (324 snaps), but he also had a decent amount of playing time in the slot (215 snaps) and should be a candidate to return kicks and punts. OTHER RETURNEES Senior Kendrick Bell The former high school quarterback switched to wide receiver pretty quickly into his time with the Wolverines and has accounted for 10 catches for 124 yards and a touchdown in his last two seasons. Even with the new additions to the room, he seems like he has the chance to carve out a role as an outside receiver. Sophomore Jamar Browder Browder was a late bloomer coming out of high school and is a massive re- ceiver at 6-5, 215 pounds. Most of his development last season came behind the scenes, but he is still a player who could be an X receiver and jump ball/red zone target for the U-M offense. Junior Channing Goodwin Coming out of last year's fall camp, Goodwin earned a starting role for his sure-handedness and reliability. After falling out of the lineup for a bit due to drop issues, he came back late in the year and finished with 12 catches for 148 yards. He could still push for a two-deep spot, even with some newer faces in the room. Junior I'Marion Stewart Stewart has not seen game action in his first two seasons in Ann Arbor, spending 2024 as a scout team member and dealing with an injury in 2025. The former four-star recruit was seen as an explosive playmaker coming out of high school with some return ability, and we could see him competing for a slot and special teams role when fall camp rolls around. Sophomore Jacob Washington Washington spent the bulk of his freshman season on the scout team working and learning behind the scenes. A big-bodied receiver at 6-3, he is more of a deep threat than the jump-ball- grabbing Browder was in his recruiting class. He was a four-star recruit coming out of high school NEWCOMERS Sophomore JJ Buchanan He started last year working with the tight ends at Utah, but spent most of the year in the wide receiver room. He flour- ished as a true freshman, recording 26 catches for 427 yards and 5 touchdowns. Standing at 6-3, 225 pounds, Buchanan has a tight end's body with a jump-ball receiver's skill set and is more of a pure pass catcher than anything else. He will play both inside and out in U-M's new offense. Sophomore Jamie Ffrench The former top-60 recruit in the 2025 class logged only 22 snaps at Texas last year, but arrived at U-M with a close bond with Marsh and quarterback Bryce Underwood. He could fit in as a con- tributor alongside them while he com- petes for a starting role. From a skill-set perspective, he does a lot of the same types of things as Marsh in terms of be- ing a versatile, sure-handed receiver. Ffrench's path to playing time should be much friendlier in Ann Arbor. Freshman Travis Johnson Johnson is one of two true freshmen in the class who could potentially push for playing time right away in Ann Ar- bor. He is an exciting prospect for several reasons, but the size at 6-2, 185 pounds is especially intriguing. Johnson is auto- matically one of the taller targets in the room, but he has the wiggle and explo- siveness to take the top off a defense and high point the football when he has to make a play. Freshman Salesi Moa Moa is a versatile athlete who could make an impact at a few positions during his Michigan career. The old staff nearly flipped the Rivals five-star recruit and No. 30 overall prospect before the De- cember signing period, but he enrolled at Utah with the promise he would get an early crack at wide receiver. With the former Utes staff now largely in Ann Arbor, he ended up in a winged helmet anyway. He brings game-changing speed with a verified 10.74-second 100-meter time in high school and could potentially play defensive back, too. Freshman Jaylen Pile Pile, a three-star recruit, showed on his high school film an ability to run routes at a high level and catch the ball naturally and smoothly. He is seen as more of a possession receiver than a burner, and several other Power Four schools were on his offer sheet, including Notre Dame, Oregon, Oklahoma, Wis- consin and others. ANALYSIS It is hard to get a feel for what the depth chart could look like here with an infusion of youth and new faces. Five of the top six wide receivers on the roster could realisti- cally be either freshmen or sophomores, which is exciting given that they are on the same timeline as Underwood in develop- ing a title-caliber passing attack. This group could be the most improved on the roster. There are guys in the sec- ond or third team who would have prob- ably seen the field quite easily if they had been in last year's room. Andrew Marsh blossomed into an all-purpose weapon as a freshman, making his mark as a receiver (45 catches, 651 yards and 4 TDs) and as a kickoff- and punt-return man. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL