ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Wide receiver Amorion Walker may be counted as a new, incoming transfer this year, but really, that’s not exactly the case.
Walker was a part of last year’s Michigan football national championship team, but he somewhat fell off the radar. That’s because he had captured nearly all of the offseason hype as the next great Michigan cornerback — so much so that Jim Harbaugh called him ‘a unicorn’ — only to not have a great showing in the spring game and then get sidelined for much of the season due to an injury he sustained in fall camp.
Walker still appeared in six games, registering three tackles (he was credited with half a tackle for loss) and one pass broken up. But he chose during the offseason to transfer to Ole Miss, where he spent one semester before returning to Ann Arbor.
But, Walker had committed to Michigan as a wide receiver originally, and that’s the position he’s returning to now that he’s back with the Wolverines.
Considering that he just spent the past year working to stop or slow wide receivers, Walker now has more of an understanding of what he can do as a wideout to frustrate defensive backs covering him.
“It was substantial to my game,” Walker said. “Now I’m able to get that defensive mindset. I know what position guys don’t want to be in, what gets them uncomfortable. I feel like it helped me as a better receiver and to be able to look at the game through two lenses. So I feel like it helped me out a lot.”
As a receiver, Walker has one catch (made in Week 3 of the 2022 season against UConn) for four yards. But fans haven’t exactly seen much of what the 6-foot-3, 182-pound wideout can do now that he’s back at the position.
Asked about it, Walker spoke more in platitudes, not sharing that he may be the fastest player on the team (as his teammates have claimed), or about the dynamic plays he’s potentially capable of. He spoke more about what kind of teammate he is, how hard he’s going to work, and his level of accountability he has to his fellow teammates.
“I say the full package,” Walker said. “I’m a great teammate. I’m gonna go on the field, give you everything I got, fight for the brothers next to you, and just making plays. That’s all it comes down to — having fun with it, too. It can be stressful so you’ve gotta have a lot of fun.”
The idea going into the season was that Fred Moore would be the deep threat. But with Walker returning and Kendrick Bell switching from QB to WR, there are myriad options for the Wolverines — even if they’re somewhat unproven at this stage.