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.”