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ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Every year, you know you’re going to see some new faces emerge on the Michigan football team.
While many of those will be players who have been waiting in the wings, awaiting their turn after years of climbing up the depth chart, others will be newcomers that burst onto the scene in their first year with the program.
More often than not, those freshmen who make an instant impact are players who arrived on campus early, starting in late December or January rather than making their way to Ann Arbor in June with the bulk of the recruiting class.
Michigan has several of those early-enrollee freshmen on campus at the moment, highlighted by five-star cornerback Will Johnson, who will have a strong opportunity to see the field early, partially as a result of him getting the extra months of acclimation. But others, defensive backs Kody Jones and Zeke Berry, as well as a trio of wide receivers, are also in the mix to make an early impact.
“Right now, they really just come out and demonstrate more athletically, physically, what their traits are,” Harbaugh said. “What their talents are. You know they’re gonna — one week, they’re gonna be better than the last week in terms of their knowledge of the system and what they’re supposed to do, their assignment, their alignment, their technique. But yeah, it’s just great to see them out there and see what they can do, what they can do physically. Then you can project, yeah, this person is going to have a great chance to play early.”
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While Harbaugh didn’t mention any names on Tuesday to start out with, we asked him about those three receivers, especially with reports that Darrius Clemons — who picked the Wolverines over Oregon on early signing day in December — has really come on strong in his first intercollegiate experience.
Harbaugh didn’t mince words.
“Freak show!” Harbaugh exclaimed. “Really all three receivers physically, what we were just talking about, in terms of what they can do — running, jumping — those traits are quite off the charts. Amorion Walker, Darrius Clemons, and Tyler Morris.”
Fans will get an opportunity to witness all of the early-enrollees on April 2, when Michigan hosts the spring game at The Big House.
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