The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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deep ball — with a long catch on a post route after beating Hargreaves and showed speed even the SEC de- fenders couldn't keep up with in pull- ing away from the Gators' defensive backs. "For Jehu, it just clicked," Ways said. "He played with so much confi- dence. He knew he was the go-to guy, him and Amara, and when the game was on the line — like Indiana and Minnesota — they made plays." Chesson caught the winning touch- down against the Gophers and the tying score with no time left in fourth quarter against the Hoosiers en route to a double-overtime win. He and Darboh combined for 108 catches (58 for Darboh), and both return to lead a receiving corps with much higher expectations in 2016. IN SEARCH OF DEPTH Maybe it was to keep Chesson's juices flowing or maybe he was be- ing honest — either way, head coach Jim Harbaugh got people's attention when he went on local radio before the spring game to say Darboh had surged past Chesson as the team's No. 1 receiver. "Amara has really elevated his game," Harbaugh said. "I would have said, and I'll say this to Jehu as well, I thought Jehu was a little better re- ceiver than Amara Darboh was last season. Close … really close. "But now, Amara has surged a bit ahead of Jehu, and he's done that by working this spring like he hasn't played a down of football at Michi- gan or hadn't had a one-handed catch [like he did versus BYU last year]. He's been a fantastic worker the entire spring." Who's No. 1 doesn't really matter, of course — having them both back is a blessing, passing game coordina- tor Jedd Fisch said — but the expec- tations will be much higher in 2016. Fisch wants to see them catch 140-150 passes in 2016, and he believes they are both capable. "We need more production," Fisch said. "We need Amara and Jehu to be in the range of 75 catches [each]. They need to get up there." Others need to emerge behind them, as well. Harris, a redshirt sophomore, was one of the most highly recruited receivers out of the state of Michigan in recent memory three years ago, but injuries have slowed his progress. He caught only six passes for 39 yards last season, none after Oct. 10. Perry picked up some of the slack with 14 catches for 128 yards and a touchdown, most of the damage com- ing with five catches for 51 yards and a score in the Citrus Bowl, but Ways — now a redshirt sophomore — only caught three passes for 40 yards. "That third receiver needs to bring his numbers up [too]," Fisch said. "Maybe our No. 3 was 20 catches last year [14], let's get to 40. "Let's get two more first downs per game … give us one more explo- sive play, keep us on the field for one more drive. And let us play with more guys." Twenty-three catches for 207 yards from the third guy (last year's com- bined numbers of Perry, Harris and Ways) won't cut it this year and they know it, but the group showed this