WR Position preview courtesy of MLive
Outside of one player, maybe two, Michigan's wide receiving corps is almost a complete unknown heading into fall camp -- which begins Aug. 7 in Ann Arbor.
http://www.mlive.com/wolverines/index.ssf/2015/07/michigan_position_preview_wide.html#incart_river
Right now, this is one of our weakest groups. But I can't help but be excited about what this will look like in a few years.
SR: Moe Ways, Freddy Canteen
Jrs: Drake Harris, Brian Cole
Sophs: Grant Perry, Brad Hawkins, maybe Mitchell
That is a studly group.
We really need a couple of the young guys to emerge big time. There is some talent there but it is almost totally unproven.
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you drunk already?
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I like your enthusiasm, but we haven't seen a true freshman WR make an impact since Manningham. I have no doubt he has the talent, but does he have the technique down to play WR in the B1G at that level? I have my doubts
Probably should be an asterisk next to it, *career long handoffs
poop.jpg
Just went back over the last few years and looked at where a 600yd season would rank for a Michigan receiver and it made me very sad.
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I agree but I also think some of that was scheme/play design and some was lack of a ground game to open up the passing game. I am HOPING both areas are improved this year. If so, the WR position may not be outstanding but could certainly be solid.
You're right that the offense didn't help themselves by not scheming WRs open like Rich Rod. It's mostly isolation routes
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Darboh and Chesson were quality 4-star types with a variety of power conference offers. They aren't misses, but they are seniors now and we know they aren't superstars either.
Canteen and Harris were notable prospects Michigan had to really fight for. Can't call Harris a miss, certainly, but the injury situation is worrisome. Canteen had a promising season, for a freshman.
Beyond that, it's been 3-star flyers or local kids. Cole was the big GET but many (most?) seemed to want him at DB.
I don't know that anyone on the roster is a 'miss'. We're not talking about 5-star recruits like Pipkins or Campbell here.
If you're crossing your fingers and hoping for an all-conference caliber breakout season from a WR - point your hopes and good vibes in the direction of Canteen and Cole. Maybe Harris' hamstrings too. Otherwise, I think the best reasonable hope for the other guys is 'solid contributor'.
On the more bright-side... WR is a place where freshman can contribute, so things may look better a year from now.
The WR cupboard isn't bare, but its full of a bunch of stuff that doesn't look that appealing. And I think we're at the point where we've opened and closed it about a dozen times and are slowly talking ourselves into that can of peaches or old box of mac and cheese.
Complete unknown...sometimes unknowns end up being amazing things, right? RIGHT?!
Here's to hoping.
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It looks bleak right now. But I also see alot of potential in many of those players.
takes the time to log on just to downvote my thread (and every one of my posts), even though it appears that he is no longer able to post.
Thanks for thinking about me buddy!
Actually, I was encouraged by the article. It states that we have lots of young and undeveloped talent. If one or two of Canteen, Ways, Harris, and Coles shows real improvement we could have a good receiving corps. It does look like we are going to need to lean on the run game early in the season especially, however. And I had forgotten about Chesson's speed. His blocking has so endeared him to us fans that it would be nice to see him turn into a true deep threat.
Chesson has made some GREAT plays on special teams, as well. He really seems to like to deliver a hit.
Thank you for using "corps" and not "core." Dunno why it bugs me so much that most people don't appear to know which of those to use for a group of people, but it does.
Awesome...Ludington was my favorite...my team got 2nd place back in 1992 - heartbreaking defeat in the final.
Ludington is still pretty big. Love that it's on the beach and you can booze will watching games.
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Let us see what happens when the OL and QB situation straightens out.
doesn't mean bad and the players that we have seen (Darboh, Chesson, Canteen) could get a lot better this year. However, I said this yesterday in another thread but I'm still most concerned about WR and RB group stepping up. I believe the OL and QB will be at least OK but without anybody turning into a real playmaker it will be another tough year on offense.
We have a slew of quality complimentary WRs, but we have no #1 or big play guy. They all seem OK. I will say they do seem like great blockers, especially Chesson. Hopefully either Darboh, Chesson, or Canteen can take a big step forward or Ways, Harris, or Cole can make an immediate impact. I have my doubts on all of the above. I think our TEs may have to make up for our lack of playmaking at WR, which I think they may be capable of if Butt and Hill are healthy. Bunting could also create some mismatch problems, but I'm not sure what his role would be, TE or WR?
I think the rest of the offense has an impact here too. I've been watching a lot of last years games and Gardner missed a ton of open recievers. They didn't need to make great plays, they just needed an accurately thrown ball to the open reciever instead of starring down his intended target and/or throwing into coverage. If the QB this year can correctly read coverage and throw accurately I'm not sure we need a big play WR, especially if the o-line can protect and get the running game going. But, then again the QB, RB, and OL positions are also question marks, so who knows. C'mon defense!
I think people underestimate the effect of having a quality QB (no offense to Devin who was hit or miss) in the throwing game who is consistent. He will have 1-2 shit games this year but 10 out of 12 consistent games will seen very very weird to UM fans as we have not had consistent performances since 2007. That's nearing a decade.
Yes we dont have guys who get open easily but either did Iowa outside of 1 player. Maybe these are all complimentary guys but a quality QB will make complimentary guys look better then they are while a "high ceiling low floor" guy whose passes are not often are target makes their wide receivers work extra hard and expose themselves to bad hits (Funchess).
There is a lot to YAC in simply throwing to a guy in stride rather than throwing it 1.5 yards behind him or 1 yard too high etc.
I dont expect miracles from the Ways, Canteen, Harris (fingers crossed on hammies) group but these guys already had more "buzz" in their first 1.25 yrs than the Dukes, Jones et al had in 3. That's a very low bar I understand but at least we heard some hype about those guys at some point - whereas the older dudes were "just another guy" in Jeremy Jackson mold.
If Cole can put in 15 catches as well it will be a bonus.
(and yes I assume rudock will be the man)
I think taking much of anything from the 2014 season as a basis for comparison is doing the WR corps a diservice. The fact of the matter is Michigan had a #1 target and he was injured and prone to drop the football. Other than that no one really had a chance to shine out thee because the ball never came to them. If we have a QB that has time in the pocket and can make reasonable decisions I think even a mediocre group of recievers can look good. If the QB is getting knocked around and is throwing into pressure even an excellent group of recievers is going to look bad.
I think the only reasonable thing we can say is that there are athletes at the WR position and their overall value to this team is going to be largely dependent on who is getting them the ball.
Today's random act of kindness: Me feeding pepperoni slices to my vegan co-worker's toddler.
Our WR corps could use some work, really could of used Laquan Treadwell or George Campbell. I hope we can land Peoples-Jones.
I will be interested in how Campbell turns out. From all accounts he has "hands" issues like Ways does.
Treadwell of course - that dude is a superstar. Hope that grisly injury doesnt permanently slow him down - he looked like a top of the 1st round pick.
I thought this was the most diapointing unit last year. Funchess, obviously. I expected Chesson to produce like an experienced player and almost nothing. I thought Canteen looked good but 0 production. Only Darboh produced at what I expected.
Still, this unit has potential. Not vintage Michigan, this year, but maybe not dragging down the team.
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We had a weak passing game last year, but it's hard to tell how much of that was due to QB play, WR play, OL play, offensive scheme, or play calling. It definitely was not just due to WR play, so it should be interesting to see what happens this season.