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 THE WOLVERINE 2026 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ■ 63 while, Pile made 3 catches for 11 yards in the spring game, after finishing up his prep career at Parish Episcopal in Grape- vine, Texas, with 55 catches for 1,186 yards and 15 touchdowns as a senior. Looking For Balance Michigan rushed for 2,732 yards last season while throwing for 2,428. By con- trast, Beck's offense at Utah rushed for an eye-popping 3,659 yards and threw for 2,816. Beck talks about balance, like most offensive coordinators, but stresses he's looking to match the offense to the skills he sees among the various position groups. To that end, he's still keeping his op- tions open. "We want to install a base of what we're going to do, what we've had suc- cess with, what's been good for us," Beck assured. "But we're very much driven by the personnel — who gives us the best chance to score points, to win games. "A lot of it is driven by the quarter- back. What does the quarterback do well? We want to build the offense to his strengths and his talents. So that can look different based off who the quarter- back is and what they do well. "After that, we want to look at the O- line. There's no sense in doing stuff if the O-line can't block it up at a high level. Then after that, it's all the skill guys we're putting out there with them. "It's molding the offense to that. So, at first, it's put in the base stuff, evaluate, see who's emerging, see what guys are doing really well, and then start building the offense toward those strengths and those capabilities." Beck certainly expressed no lack of en- thusiasm for the players he's inheriting. "What's really stood out to me about these kids is they love football," he said. "They're high achievers. They're driven. They're focused. When we met with them, we were very impressed. You can tell they come from great families. "They come from great high schools and programs that have helped them de- velop really successful habits to be in the position they're at, to be at a great university, playing football at the highest level, and to be academically successful. You can tell they want to work and they want to achieve." ❑ STARTERS ★★★ ★★★ ½ This crew took a big step forward with the addition of Utah sophomore transfer JJ Buchanan, who enjoyed a very promising rookie year in Salt Lake City. The lanky wideout will combine with sophomore Andrew Marsh — the leader of this pack following a breakout freshman season of his own — as a potentially dynamic starting combo. They should be a major boost to sopho- more QB Bryce Underwood's anticipated step forward this fall. DEPTH ★★★ ★★★ The Wolverines feature a host of candidates here, who will sort themselves out in terms of production and targeting as the results roll in. Junior Channing Goodwin and senior Kendrick Bell are among the veterans vying for top targeting, while Texas sophomore transfer Jaime Ffrench and freshmen Salesi Moa — who followed the staff east after committing to Utah — Travis Johnson and Jaylen Pile all will be battling for time. OVERALL ★★★ ★★★ ½ Michigan's wideouts feature more potential top-end firepower than last year's, which is good news for both Underwood and the offense. Buchanan, Ffrench and Moa directly impact Michigan's upgrade, demonstrating the draw of The Big House, etc. Meanwhile, Marsh has established himself as a top target among a crew that should provide strong balance for an anticipated effective rushing attack. PRESEASON ANALYSIS The Search For No. 2 Among those on Michigan's present roster, sophomore Andrew Marsh (45 receptions, 651 yards, 4 TDs) looks like the clear candidate to be the Wolverines' leading receiver. He held that spot as a true freshman, with now-departed Donaven McCulley posting 39 catches for 588 yards and 3 touchdowns last season. Michigan's leading receiver generally tops 600 yards, with some notable exceptions. It stands to reason Marsh will raise his receiving yards from 2025, barring any setbacks. The bigger question involves, who takes the No. 2 spot, and what will his production be like? Michigan has a host of candidates, led right now by Utah-import sophomore JJ Buchanan — who himself could battle for the top spot, given the right circumstances. Here's a look back at the past 10 years (excluding the six-game COVID season in 2020) and what the Wolverines' top two wide receivers in receiving yards produced. — John Borton YEAR PLAYER CATCHES YARDS TDS 2025 Andrew Marsh 45 651 4 Donaven McCulley 39 588 3 2024 Tyler Morris 23 248 2 Semaj Morgan 27 139 1 2023 Roman Wilson 48 789 12 Cornelius Johnson 47 604 1 2022 Ronnie Bell 62 889 4 Cornelius Johnson 32 499 6 2021 Cornelius Johnson 39 620 3 Roman Wilson 25 420 3 2019 Ronnie Bell 48 758 1 Nico Collins 37 729 7 2018 Nico Collins 38 632 6 Donovan Peoples-Jones 47 612 8 2017 Grant Perry 25 307 1 Donovan Peoples-Jones 22 277 0 2016 Amara Darboh 57 862 7 Jehu Chesson 35 500 2 2015 Jehu Chesson 50 764 9 Amara Darboh 58 727 5