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 ■ 61 the progress the Wolverines' wide re- ceiver room in general has made over the past few months. He sees it as a major plus for sophomore quarterback Bryce Underwood. "He will have plenty of weapons to throw to," Jansen said. Marsh Won't Let U-M Get Bogged Down Marsh became a top priority to keep in Ann Arbor following his rookie sea- son. He set Michigan freshman receiv- ing records, piling up a team-leading 45 catches for 651 yards and 4 touchdowns. Marsh solidified himself as a top target for Underwood and caused thousands more drops among U-M fans' jaws than his own hands produced. One particular head-turning, one-handed grab became a top offensive highlight of the season. Underwood can spread the ball around more this year, but he'll be looking for No. 3, without question. (Marsh wore No. 4 last season before switching to No. 3 in the Citrus Bowl against Texas.) "The receivers have stepped up," Whit- tingham noted, naming the wideouts as one of the 2026 team's strengths. "An- drew Marsh is the leader in that room, him and JJ Buchanan. Those two guys, in particular, have had really good springs." Buchanan enjoys the luxury of already knowing much of the coaching staff. His head coach, offensive coordinator Jason Beck and receivers coach Micah Simon all made the sojourn from Salt Lake City to Ann Arbor, after getting a very pro- ductive freshman season out of the now- Michigan sophomore. At Utah last season, Buchanan started seven games among the 13 in which he played, securing 26 catches for 427 yards and 5 touchdowns. His season totals in- clude the 4 grabs for 76 yards he made against Nebraska in the Las Vegas Bowl. For Buchanan, the change of venue didn't mean an adjustment to the system. "He came [to Utah] in the summertime as a true freshman," Beck recalled. "So, we didn't have spring ball with him. "Early on in fall camp, he made some big, contested catches. We gave him more opportunities and more opportunities, and he just kept going." Ffrench didn't get that kind of run on the Longhorns' roster, but he showed enough to garner Michigan's interest. The Wolverines saw him in the Citrus Bowl with Texas, after a freshman season in which he caught a single pass for 6 yards. He came out of the Florida prep ranks regarded as the No. 9 wideout in the nation. He'll be one of many adjusting to new surroundings and new teammates in the ever-changing world of college football. "The team has got to come together," Whittingham observed. "In this day and age, you have half a new football team pretty much every year, so the bonding and coming together as a team is going to be critical this summer. We'll have a few team activities in line to help that take place. "The leaders have to lead and continue to set the pace. If you've got the top 10 percent of your team that are working their butt off and training hard, everyone else seems to follow suit. It will be critical for those top-10-percent guys to really set the bar and have everyone else live up to that." Moa has never set foot into an actual college game, but he caused a buzz in the Michigan spring practices with his speed and quickness. The freshman out of Og- QUICK FACTS Position Coach: Micah Simon (1st year at U-M) Returning Starters: Andrew Marsh (9 career starts) Departing Starters: Donaven McCulley (13 at U-M, 11 at Indiana) Projected New Starters: JJ Buchanan (7 starts at Utah), Salesi Moa Top Reserves: Kendrick Bell, Jaime Ffrench, Travis Johnson, Channing Goodwin Newcomers: Johnson, Moa, Jaylen Pile Moved In: Buchanan, Ffrench Moved Out: Fredrick Moore (Michigan State), Semaj Morgan (UCLA), Anthony Simpson (Toledo) Rookie Impact: Moa, Johnson Most Improved Player: Marsh Best Pro Prospect: Marsh [FYI] ❱ Sophomore Andrew Marsh caught 45 passes for 651 yards (14.5 average) and 4 touchdowns last season. The last time the Wolverines had a wideout coming back that had as many re- ceiving yards as Marsh did last season was 2020, when Ronnie Bell returned from a 758-yard campaign in 2019. However, the 2020 season was shortened to six games, so the Wolverines didn't fully see the fruits of that. In the 2021 opener, Bell suffered a season-ending knee in- jury. Prior to that instance, it was Jehu Chesson (764 yards in 2015) and Amara Darboh (727), both returning in 2016. ❱ Sophomore JJ Buchanan paced Utah with 9 contested catches last season, which would have led Michigan in that category. Marsh (6), senior Kendrick Bell (1) and junior Channing Goodwin (1) — the Wolverines' returning wide receivers who had at least 1 contested grab last season — combined for 8. ❱ With none in 2024 and only 2 in 2025, Michigan has had just 2 passing plays of 40-plus yards over the last two seasons combined, after recording 5 in 2023, 13 in 2022 and 14 in 2021. ❱ Michigan recorded just 14 completions on passes of 20-plus air yards last season, ranking 106th in the nation and 13th in the Big Ten, per Sports Info Solutions. Marsh was responsible for 8 of those receptions. WIDE RECEIVERS 0 Kendrick Bell (6-2, 205), Sr. 81 Jamar Browder (6-5, 215), So. 13 JJ Buchanan (6-3, 225), So. 82 C.J. Charleston (6-0, 190), Gr. 10 Jaime Ffrench (6-1, 185), So. 9 Channing Goodwin (6-1, 197), Jr. 86 Travis Johnson (6-2, 185), Fr. 3 Andrew Marsh (6-0, 190), So. 12 Salesi Moa (6-2, 175), Fr. 20 Jaylen Pile (6-0, 195), Fr. 84 Jacob Washington (6-3, 197), So. THEY SAID IT "We've been airing the ball out a lot. It's something I'm really looking forward to. I hope everybody is looking forward to it. I feel like we're going to be dan- gerous this year." — Sophomore wide receiver Andrew Marsh