Michigan football WR’s ready to surprise this year, led by an ‘alpha’ and a ‘dawg’

There’s been a lot of discussion in Michigan football circles about the lost production on offense, and how or if the team will successfully replace it in the 2024 season.

The obvious top priority is figuring out who will step in for the program’s all-time winningest quarterback in J.J. McCarthy; a top-10 NFL draft pick who went 27-1 in two years as a starter and led the Wolverines to their first national championship in a quarter of a century.

There’s also the notable departure of Blake Corum, the former unanimous All-American running back who re-wrote the U-M record books, surpassing Anthony Thomas for the most rushing touchdowns both in a single season (27) and career (58).

And the Wolverines have to replace the entire starting offensive line plus the top rotational tackle, including captains Zak Zinter and Trevor Keegan, who were two-time Joe Moore Award winners and have left for the pros.

Michigan offensive pass game coordinator and wide receivers coach Ron Bellamy talks to quarterback Davis Warren (16) during the second half of the spring game at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor on Saturday, April 20, 2024.

With so much production out of the door, it has been easy to underestimate what has been lost out of the the wide receivers room. Michigan WRs coach Ron Bellamy, who lost both starters in Roman Wilson (Pittsburgh Steelers) and Cornelius Johnson (Los Angeles Chargers) to the NFL draft after combining for 95 catches for 1,393 yards and 13 touchdowns last year.

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But unlike other position groups on offense, the wide receivers don’t have much past performance to lean upon.

The running backs have a three-year contributor Donovan Edwards while the offensive line has multi-year Power Five starters in Josh Priebe and LaDarius Henderson. But…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/michigan-football-wrs-ready-surprise-100742271.html

Author : Detroit Free Press

Publish date : 2024-06-11 10:07:42

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