22 IN '22: Wolverines to Watch: #18 - WR Darrius Clemons
Every Tuesday until the season begins TMBR will be counting down the "22 in '22 Wolverines to Watch". These are the twenty-two players with the best chance to make an impact ranked by their potential impact.
THE LIST: #22 DB Will Johnson | #21 OL Zak Zinter | #20 DL Kris Jenkins | #19 DB/WR Mike Sainristil | #18 WR Darrius Clemons
#18 WR Darrius Clemons
As a Recruit
Darrius Clemons was the top recruit out of the state of Oregon. A Rivals Top 100 player and top 20 WR in the country. Oregon was the favorite to land the unicorn wideout, but with the departure of Mario Cristobal to Miami, it was down to Auburn and Michigan in the end. Clemons would take a late visit to Ann Arbor in December and close the deal a couple of days later.
Originally from Lansing, Clemons was a childhood friend of Michigan WR Andrel Anthony, which is said to have played a huge role in the recruitment. Clemons was an early enrollee for the Wolverines this spring.
Career at Michigan
As an incoming freshman, early enrollee Clemons' career at Michigan so far is spring camp. He was the talk of the spring, however. Players, coaches, and anyone who saw Michigan practice couldn't stop raving about the freshman WR. Clemons is a freak athlete, running sub 4.4 40s at 6'4" 210lbs. He possesses great hands and is already impressing his teammates with how quickly he has learned the route tree and playbook.
Everything we heard about Clemons was on display in the annual Maize and Blue Spring Game. Including an awesome touchdown grab that got Ronnie Bell running to celebrate.
Read: Michigan has its next superstar in Darrius Clemons
Read: Michigan Football: Post-spring offensive depth chart
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2022 Expectations
Needless to say, expectations are sky-high for Clemons. Clemons has already worked his way into the two-deep and will be impossible to keep off the field. I have him as the backup X behind Cornelius Johnson, but between Michigan's tendency to rotate and their Non-Con schedule, we could see Clemons early and often to start the season.
The WR room is loaded and time will tell just what level of impact Clemons can make in 2022. I wouldn't be shocked if come the season's end Clemons is the third or fourth option at wideout. It is so rare to have a player with the size and physical traits of Clemons, with the raw speed and quickness, and a work ethic that has caught the eye of Blake Corum, Cade McNamara, and head coach Jim Harbaugh.
This staff is all about exploiting matchups. Different players could be utilized very differently game-to-game. It is easy to see how Clemons has the potential to be a matchup nightmare in nearly every game the Wolverines play this season. A freshman breakout is a reasonable expectation, but if the dominos line up the right way, we could see the best freshman season for a Michigan WR since Mario Manningham.
Comp: Faster Nico Collins Michigan / Houston Texans
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