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.