Although he’s only a sophomore, Eddie McDoom is one of the most experienced players in Michigan’s young receiving corps. As a result, he explained that some of the freshmen wideouts have turned to him for leadership.
“Nico [Collins] and Donovan [Peoples-Jones] have,” he said. “I feel like Donovan has been growing up fast — he’s a different animal. He listens, gets the job done, is explosive and is just maturing early. Nico is looking for us to guide him through the process, but he’s doing a great job.”
It’s no secret the Wolverines’ offense has lacked big plays this season (especially through the air), but McDoom talked about what it’ll take to make explosive plays happen.
“We have to finish routes,” he said. “The plays are there to be made, but we’re just not there yet. Sometimes the ball is either over or underthrown, and sometimes we drop it — but we just need to be able to finish.
“When a play breaks down and the quarterback is rolling out, we have techniques and things we do to get open — it’s called a scramble drill that we work on in practice. For most guys, it should be habit by now because it’s something we work on — it can be instincts sometimes too.”
Fifth-year senior quarterback John O’Korn has a tendency to roll out of the pocket more than redshirt junior Wilton Speight did, but McDoom explained that the team is very comfortable with the former as the team’s signal-caller.
“Of course we are,” he said. “We’re comfortable with any quarterback, because we’ve been training with them since the beginning of camp. We’ve worked with them so often, that it’s just natural catching passes from any of them.”
The comfort level is also there with redshirt freshman Brandon Peters, who McDoom said is progressing nicely.
“He’s stepping up, and has gotten a lot louder,” the sophomore explained. “He’s going to be a great player here.”
While the physical traits are there, most agree that Peters now has to conquer the mental aspect of the game.
McDoom recently had a mental challenge of his own to get past when he dropped a crucial pass late in the Michigan State game on Oct. 7 with less than two minutes left.
A potential catch would have put the Maize and Blue in scoring position, but instead they had to settle for a last second Hail Mary that fell incomplete.
“It wasn’t tough for me [to get past that drop],” he said. “We’re football players and drops happen, even to the greatest players. If I would’ve dwelled on that play, then I wouldn’t have caught the next one — it’s always on to the next play.”
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