Tag: Ron Bellamy

Why has the Michigan football offense lacked explosiveness after preseason optimism?

It’s just gotta be better than this. #GoBlue

There was a lot of skepticism entering the 2024 college football season for the Michigan Wolverines about the offense, particularly the pass game, but much of the skepticism was glossed over in fall camp as the maize and blue shared their thought that they could be more explosive in the pass game than even the past three years.

However, 10 games into the season, Michigan hasn’t even had a single pass play go for 40 yards or more.

On Wednesday, Ron Bellamy was as surprised as anyone that the pass game has struggled as it has. Speaking from a wide receiver perspective, there are things to work on, but between the offensive line, quarterback, and receivers, there’s failure at every level.

“Yeah, I’m shocked by it,” Bellamy said. “We’re continuing to work every day, hoping we can connect on those plays. We’ve had opportunities for one region or another. We just have not collectively made that happen. It’s one of those things where we’re going to continue to work on it and just make the plays when we have a chance to.”

Offensive coordinator Kirk Campbell was the one in fall camp who insisted that the offense would be explosive. Bellamy notes that we’ve seen players currently on the roster show off the ability to make big plays throughout the years, and we’ve even seen some of that action in spring games from certain players.

But Bellamy shares the same sentiment head coach Sherrone Moore has when it comes to most of the players doing what they’re supposed to while one doesn’t. That type of thing can cause a play to fail.

“I think with the optimism, there’s – yeah, you look at it, guys like Donovan Edwards, he’s had those moments, right?” Bellamy said. “We’ve all seen explosive plays. Kalel Mullings, we’ve seen that. You’ve seen Tyler Morris in the Rose Bowl. You’ve seen that. You’ve seen what Semaj can do. We’ve seen Fred Moore, things that he could do in practice and he did early in the season. And, obviously, Colston Loveland is arguably the best tight end in America.

“And, offensive-line-wise, you had Josh Priebe that came in with a ton of experience. And some of the other guys have played a lot. And, it’s just one of those things where you have the players and we just haven’t executed. We haven’t – 11 guys have not played as one throughout the year. And that’s something as coaches and players that we’re constantly challenging ourselves to be better at.”

Still, Bellamy feels like the wide receiver corps is moving in the right direction. At some point, the hard work should pay off if they keep pushing.

“Yeah, I do. The guys are working hard every day, and when opportunities present itself, be ready,” Bellamy said. “Stay ready so they don’t have to get ready. They live by that mantra. The guys are making plays and doing whatever they can to help the team win.”

Ron Bellamy on Michigan football wide receivers: ‘Collectively, we all gotta be better’

This position group needs to improve NOW! #GoBlue

There were a lot of questions about the wide-receiving corps for Michigan football entering the 2024 season, and plenty of consternation about the talent in that room. Despite some fall camp hype indicating that the Wolverines were confident about what they had, the wide receivers have significantly underperformed through seven games.

Part of that could be Michigan not having a viable starting quarterback, but to this point, the wideouts have a total of 38 catches for 342 yards. There are some teams that get that kind of production from their wide receivers in one game, let alone over the course of seven games.

On Wednesday, Wolverines wide receivers coach and pass game coordinator Ron Bellamy said that the lack of production this year is something that’s surprised him.

“I am. I mean, obviously, two of your top receivers having that low of a production,” Bellamy said. “But, ultimately for us, in our receiver room, the one thing we constantly talk about is, when opportunities present themselves, you got to make the plays. And most importantly, do what you can do or do what you got to do for us to win. And we haven’t done enough thus far this year. I haven’t done enough. Collectively, we all gotta better.”

But why is that? Bellamy parroted the same thing we’ve heard throughout the course of the season. Much of what’s supposed to happen on a specific play does, but one player doesn’t do what they’re supposed to.

“Well, one-eleventh — it’s usually a breakdown somewhere,” Bellamy said. “We just all got to play collectively. We got to play together. And obviously, I say that word, and as a coach, we got to do a better job just not on executing. I challenge myself every day to take a long, hard look in the mirror and self-reflect and how can I be better? How can we be better? And just to make sure we execute at a higher level.”

WolverinesWire asked junior receiver Tyler Morris on Tuesday if the pass game looked better in practice than it had in games and he answered affirmatively.

Bellamy somewhat concurred, noting that part of it is lack of experience, but there’s clearly something missing with this group that isn’t translating what’s happening in practice during the week compared to Saturdays.

“I don’t know. I mean, we got to take it from State Street and bring it to Main Street,” Bellamy said. “That’s the biggest thing. And I do know, like I said, having played here, having been around, played the receiver position, it’s usually you got to carry that over. You got to carry that over to the stadium. And usually experience comes with that. But we’re going to keep attacking it. There’s no doubt about it.

“We understand it. We’re not shying away from it. And we understand we have to be better. We have to be better because it makes the offense better. And then collectively it makes the team better.”

Why hasn’t Amorion Walker seen the field much since transferring back to Michigan football?

He’s one of the guys you hope steps up here in the near future. #GoBlue

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — It was big news last year when Michigan football switched second-year wide receiver Amorion Walker from being a pass catcher to a cornerback. He had all of the spring hype as ‘a unicorn,’ but injuries and the depth chart precluded him from seeing game action. He thus transferred to Ole Miss for a semester but, to much fanfare, returned to Ann Arbor as a wide receiver.

The expectations were through the roof given the sudden lack of depth and size at the position. However, through two games, Walker has only seen one snap, according to PFF.

On Wednesday, his position coach, Ron Bellamy, shared what has held Walker back from seeing the field and what he needs to do in order to become a productive member of the offense.

“Just the transition from defense to offense. Although he was on offense his freshman year, we changed some things,” Bellamy said. “So just that hurdle, that’s kind of been the biggest hurdle now is kind of just getting the consistency there.

“Super talented guy, super talented player. He’s getting more and more each and every day. He’s getting more and more comfortable, acclimating himself back into the receiver room. So, hopefully, we’ll be ready to roll with A-Walk. He’s talented and I love him. And, he’s spending a lot of time working on his craft to make sure he gets on the field more.”

He’s not the only one with high expectations. The entire group has underperformed to this point, even as Semaj Morgan, Tyler Morris, Fred Moore, and others were lauded all throughout the offseason as the next big thing. Thus far, Morgan is the only wideout to have scored a touchdown through two games and it came in garbage time against Texas.

Bellamy says that the expectations remain high on all of them and that eventually he anticipates that the cream will start rising to the top.

“I think you put the added stress on just picking one particular person,” Bellamy said. “All our guys have very unique skill sets that I think it makes it harder on Saturdays for defenses to, like, ‘OK, we’re going to single this guy out.’ But, like I said, once the production rises, then obviously that becomes more stress for the defense. So that’s something that we constantly — guys have different skill sets that are better than others that you’ve got to utilize on Saturdays. And, moving forward, that’s our goal.”

Healthy thus far, Roman Wilson showing out as college football’s TD leader through Week 3

He’s been incredible thus far (please stay healthy, Roman)! #GoBlue

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Thus far in 2023 for Michigan football wide receiver Roman Wilson, it’s been an excellent showing. So, perhaps the maize and blue would be wise to put their senior in some bubble wrap to get him to midseason.

Wilson is 67th in terms of total yards and 64th in yards per game but leads all college football wide receivers in the most important stat of all: touchdowns. With six through three games, no one has more than the standout wideout in Ann Arbor.

This is what fans envisioned of Wilson since he arrived in 2020, and while he’s had good showings each of the last two years, both seasons have been hampered with injuries that took place in Week 5. Thus, his position coach Ron Bellamy hopes that he can keep doing the little things, both in his game as well as to stay healthy.

“Obviously, you see the production. Having Roman out there gives us a different look on our offense, a guy that can intermediary game or obviously can stretch the defense,” Bellamy said. “You guys know he’s an explosive receiver. He’s shown that throughout his career, just I’m proud of just keep stacking days up for Roman.”

Perhaps the most important part of Wilson’s game, other than his health, is that he’s becoming more consistent, Bellamy says.

As fellow wide receiver Cornelius Johnson often likes to point out, whatever one does on State Street will generally translate over to Main Street — the former representing the practice facility and the latter the stadium. What Bellamy sees is Wilson becoming that much more of a force in practice, which is translating to the games themselves.

“The great thing about Roman and the rest of the guys, not just the receiver position, but just our team in general, when you practice like that, it shows up on Saturdays,” Bellamy said. “For Roman, that’s been it, he’s been having great weeks of practice and he’s stacking up days, so gotta keep it rolling.”

Big Ten play starts in earnest on Saturday with Rutgers coming to town. Kickoff is slated for noon EDT and will be broadcast on Big Ten Network.

Why you’re seeing Michigan football first-year WRs in games earlier and earlier

Excited to see more and more of them! #GoBlue

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — It seems that every offseason, the Michigan football coaching staff waxes ecstatic about the incoming skill position players, only to see them fall by the wayside once the season actually begins.

This year, the coaching staff raved about the trio of freshman wideouts — Karmello English, Fred Moore, and Semaj Morgan — and while we haven’t seen a ton of production out there from any of the above as of yet, we’re seeing them getting in the games early and often. We’ve seen all three come out as early as the first half, during key drives, and in the case of Moore, even make a crucial catch early in a game.

Contrast that to a player like Nico Collins, who was arguably Michigan’s best wide receiver in his tenure, who didn’t see any time in his freshman year until late in the season, — and that was out of necessity rather than him coming on so strong that they had to get him out on the field. His compatriots in that class — Tarik Black and Donovan Peoples-Jones, also played early and often, and while some of that was certainly because of talent, it also appeared to be out of necessity, given that both Jehu Chesson and Amara Darboh had moved onto the NFL that offseason.

On Wednesday, Wide receivers coach Ron Bellamy shared why these freshmen have been able to get more and more playing time, noting that they treat the game like seasoned veterans.

“They’re doing well, they’re doing well. You can’t treat them like freshmen,” Bellamy said. “I tell them all the time, whoever we play, you’re not going to look across and say, ‘Oh, this is an 18-year-old freshman here, take it easy on him,’ like no — they are going to be attacking them like they would any other player. So there has to be the mindset. We don’t treat them like freshmen. Those guys are diligent about their craft. That’s the thing I like about them. And that’s why they’re getting opportunities. Those guys are constantly wanting to learn and making sure that they’re dialed in and detailed in everything that we do.”

At this juncture, only Moore and Morgan have registered stats. Moore has two catches for 18 yards while Morgan has one for 35.

Fans will get a chance to see the trio in action on Saturday when Michigan football hosts Rutgers for the start of Big Ten play and the annual homecoming game. Kickoff will be at noon EDT and will be broadcast on Big Ten Network.

Why J.J. McCarthy reminds Ron Bellamy of Drew Brees

A lofty comparison, but he’s not making it in the way you might think. #GoBlue

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — When drawing comparisons to NFL quarterbacks, Michigan football’s signal caller, J.J. McCarthy, has tended to be mentioned in the same breath as Patrick Mahomes. Not because he’s had equal production, of course, but because he does a lot of similar things when plays break down. But is there another NFL quarterback that perhaps McCarthy compares to?

On Wednesday, Michigan wide receivers coach Ron Bellamy said that McCarthy reminds him a bit of former NFL QB Drew Brees, more so because of the demeanor they both have than anything.

“Just the athletic traits, just the God-given abilities,” Bellamy said. “Just the way the guys have a demeanor about themselves by keeping everybody calm. I’ve played with quarterbacks that you just kind of feel like that stress. Those guys have a way about just relaxing everyone, just letting everyone know (to remain calm), even if a receiver drops the ball.”

McCarthy had probably his worst performance in a Michigan uniform last week, outpacing his two pick-six game against TCU. While those pick-sixes in the College Football Playoff were decimating, at least McCarthy was able to bounce back quickly from both and move the ball down the field. Against Bowling Green, once he got down, he stayed down.

Bellamy says that regardless, McCarthy doesn’t stay down for long, keeping an even keel, regardless of who makes the mistake. And as a result, the players surrounding him pick him up when he’s down. It’s a perfect example of true leadership at the position.

“I played with Drew and I’ve seen J.J. doing — ‘Hey, I’m coming back to you, man, just be ready. Make sure you stay locked in.’ And those are the qualities of a quarterback that takes the whole team to another level,” Bellamy said. “Because if a quarterback doesn’t have their best game, the receivers, O-line, they’re doing the same thing to those guys because they’re giving that energy off to us.”

Fans will get an opportunity to see McCarthy bounce back on Saturday, when the Wolverines host Rutgers for homecoming and the start of Big Ten play. The game will kick off at noon EDT on Big Ten Network.

Everything Michigan football WR coach Ron Bellamy said before Week 4

Really good stuff here! #GoBlue

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Michigan football has looked to get more production from its pass game in 2023 and so far, so good. Though Week 3 presented some challenges, the duo of Cornelius Johnson and Roman Wilson both produced highlight-reel touchdowns, even if their yardage wasn’t as eye-opening as it was in the first two weeks.

On Wednesday, Wolverines wide receivers coach Ron Bellamy shared the progress of his entire unit, how the aforementioned duo have performed, who the up-and-comers are, and much more. With conference play beginning on Saturday with Rutgers coming to town, the maize and blue will need more players to step up, and we now have a better idea of how the rest of the room is doing.

Here is everything he had to say.

Ron Bellamy shares Donovan Edwards’ growth from high school to his junior year at Michigan

He’s going to really show out this year. #GoBlue

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Back in 2018, I was at the SoundMind SoundBody 7-on-7 camp and I ran into West Bloomfield head coach Ron Bellamy. We’d gotten to know each other over the years, starting with a documentary I was filming (but never finished) back in 2014.

In the years immediately preceding this football camp, I had become accustomed to speaking to Bellamy about his players. Lance Dixon was a major target for the Wolverines and Makari Paige was becoming one. But Bellamy was most enthusiastic about one player: Donovan Edwards.

Here we are years later, and both Bellamy and Edwards are in Ann Arbor. Bellamy coached the star running back for his entire high school career before accepting a position coach job at Michigan. But watching Edwards continue to grow and become one of the most exciting players in college football, it’s something that the Wolverines wide receiver coach relishes.

And he’s seeing an eagerness in a healthy, dynamic running back who just wants to get off of the practice field and into game action.

“It’s great. It’s like, ‘Please, can we play a football game!’ because now he’s he’s so eager and excited to get going,” Bellamy said. “It’s like alright, let’s line it up and get this guy going. But Donovan, he’s been Donovan. He’s been great. Super enthusiastic. You know, Donovan. He comes in, smiles bigger than life, and he brings the juice. He brings the juice to our team and you know, Donovan is ready to go, he had a fantastic camp. It’s time to go now.”

Edwards revealed this summer that he had injured his knee in Week 2 of last year and played with a torn patellar tendon all season long. And he also broke his thumb, of course. Yet, for much of the year, he played through the pain and earned national accolades late in the season when he was still suffering from both ailments.

It was no surprise for Bellamy to see Edwards look his best in those moments. Because he’s seen him play through injury before.

“He may or may not had the same, very similar (injury) in high school that he played through,” Bellamy said. I’ve seen it, obviously. We were together for his four years in high school, and I’ve seen him battle through some things. And there’s no denying that kid. You’re going to have to physically remove him to not have him play. And, obviously, a 70-75% Donovan Edwards is better than most guys at full strength.”

Fans will get a chance to see Edwards in action on Saturday when Michigan football hosts East Carolina for the 2023 season opener. The game will kick off at noon EDT and will be streamed live on Peacock.

‘A freak athlete,’ Kendrick Bell taking well to new role at wide receiver

Never count out a Bell! #GoBlue

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — For some top-flight schools, it would be considered taking a flyer when accepting a commitment from the No. 861 player in the country. At Michigan, if that player has the last name ‘Bell’ it’s basically a sure thing.

The Wolverines lost wide receiver Ronnie Bell to the NFL this offseason but welcomed in a new recruit at the same time: 2023 three-star athlete Kendrick Bell, Ronnie’s younger brother. Coming aboard as a quarterback initially, during fall camp, the younger Bell switched over to his brother’s position, wide receiver. And so far the returns are excellent.

“He’s a freak athlete,” Michigan receivers coach Ron Bellamy said. “He has some of the same qualities that Ronnie does. You watch him, he was a state champ long jumper, state champ high jumper once he averaged like 50 points a game in basketball. His twin brother is — I forgot what school in Missouri that his twin brother signed up for — Southeast Missouri? The Bell genes, you know?”

Of course, he’s a little behind when it comes to the learning curve compared to the much-ballyhooed trio of first-year receivers that the Wolverines are working in. Two of those three were around in spring ball and even got to participate in bowl prep in December. Karmello English arrived in the summer but has been working at wideout ever since he got on campus.

Bellamy is confident, however, that once Bell gets the ins and outs of working the role, he’ll showcase many similar attributes to his older brother.

“It’s just a matter of him just learning the position,” Bellamy said. “He’s been a quarterback primarily his entire life so just learning a position and you could tell that he has a bright future if he does want to stick a receiver. And obviously, we’ve welcomed him with open arms and he’s done some exciting things like, ‘Oh! Alright, he’s a Bell!'”

Fans could potentially get a chance to see another Bell receiver in action on Saturday when the Wolverines open up the season against East Carolina. The game will kick off at noon EDT and will be streamed live on Peacock.

Why Michigan football freshman wide receivers have excelled in fall camp

Seems like every day, there’s someone singing their praises! #GoBlue

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — It’s not usual that high-end college football teams have to rely on first-year players, let alone wide receivers. And while Michigan football doesn’t have to rely on their trio of talented wideouts, it is confident that it can if it wants to.

Though a fourth has entered the fray in fall camp with Kendrick Bell converting from quarterback to receiver, there have been many accolades all offseason for Karmello English, Fredrick Moore, and Semaj Morgan. Wide receivers coach Ron Bellamy shared why they’ve put themselves into the conversation for playing time in their freshman year.

“What I love about them is they love football. And I love their approach to the way they attack football every day,” Bellamy said. “All three of them came from great high school football programs. And those guys, they understand that commitment to success, they understand: show up every day, you learn, and you to learn from the mistakes that you’ve made. And every day you see growth, and that’s what’s super encouraging as a coach. They’ve got the trust of the coaches and the players.

“So just keep growing. They’re still young, but every week, every day, every opportunity to just keep building their confidence up and let it grow.”

Trust is a difficult thing to build, especially early. It’s a credit to their consistency as well as work ethic that all three are gaining the trust of their coaches and teammates. Because to do so, they have to know the playbook, their assignments, their routes, block willingly, catch the ball, and make defenders miss. There’s a lot that goes into being a top-flight receiver.

For Bellamy, the big thing is that the three crave more. They master the tasks they’re given and then they ask for more. For a position coach, that’s the best-case scenario.

“Just knowing them. Obviously, having recruited all three, and you go watch their senior years of high school football, watch the success that they had, go look at the level of competition they played, those guys — and two out of the three came in in the winter for spring ball,” Bellamy said. “But those guys have unbelievable character. That’s first and foremost, those guys love football and they’re competitors. And when you have those traits, it’s just a matter, from a coaching standpoint, how much can they retain? What is the best position to put these guys in to be successful?

“And they want it, these guys want it more than anything. They don’t look at themselves as freshmen. They look at themselves as football players. And obviously, we know being a freshman comes with making some — you’re gonna make mistakes. But those guys strive to be perfectionists in every day in and day out. Those guys just give me more, ‘I want more, feed me more. Hey, Coach,’ they come in, texting late at night, just asking for more information. And that’s the qualities of a champion.”