There has been plenty of talk surrounding the wide receivers on this roster. That is for good reason. Collin Johnson and Devin Duvernay are gone after combining for 1,945 yards and 12 touchdowns. Brennan Eagles and Jake Smith are the leading receivers returning from the 2019 squad. They racked up a combined 796 yards and 12 touchdowns. While that is a good start, the team will need multiple players to step up in 2020.
Joshua Moore is expected to play a larger role in the upcoming season as well as Jordan Whittington provided he can stay healthy. The team also added Tarik Black from Michigan this past offseason via the transfer portal. Black has his own injury issues during his time in Ann Arbor. Trading Big Blue for the Forty Acres could just be one the top rated player from Connecticut needs.
Our brothers at Wolverines Wire recently spoke to us about the addition of Tarik Black to the wide receiver room.
Black showed extraordinary prowess as a true freshman, having the look of a bona fide No. 1 wide receiver in his first few games, but was lost for the season when he broke his foot in Week Three. In camp the next year, he was getting rave reviews, once again, but broke his other foot one week before the season opener. He returned midseason, but wasn’t heavily utilized.
He returned to the field healthy in 2019, but as the offense shifted to a more spread-oriented attack under new offensive coordinator Josh Gattis, Black saw relatively few opportunities. He’s the type of wideout who would best thrive in either a traditional pro-style offense or more of an AIR RAID look. He’s tall, long, and can make contested catches.
Given his tenure at Michigan, a new opportunity will likely serve him better than it did in Ann Arbor. He has the promise of being a first-round-type receiver, but injuries have limited his emergence, and he was thus passed up on the depth chart in Ann Arbor. Getting a new chance in Texas, Black could thrive, especially if the offense is looking to get the ball downfield to a more prototypical X or Z receiver. – Isaiah Hole, Managing Editor of Wolverines Wire