Position Breakdown: Wide Receiver

For our Position Breakdown series, we are going to take a look at each position group for Michigan Football with spring practices nearing a close.

How does the current depth chart shake out?
What are the storylines or things you should be watching heading into the summer and eventually of course the season?
What's the X factor, whether it's a player, coach, or situation that could change the way the group looks?

Let's talk about the playmakers on the outside.

Cornelius Johnson and Roman Wilson are the clear top two receivers. Johnson led the team in receiving in 2021 and has been a factor for the last 4 seasons in Ann Arbor. Wilson has flashed his playmaking ability by taking short screens for touchdowns and turning deep passes into walk-in scores.

Where things get interesting is how will Michigan rotate and use its receivers in 2023. Darrius Clemons was the star of last year's spring game but did not see much action during the season. Entering his sophomore campaign he is a favorite to take a big leap, potentially starting as Michigan's X receiver. Johnson would take a role similar to Bell last year, while Roman Wilson will stay in the slot where he took 90% of his snaps in 2022.

Michigan has talent in the slot, however. Is this the year AJ Henning finally breaks out? We heard about a Deebo Samuel-type role for him last year, but it never truly came to fruition. Henning will be pushed by another sophomore Tyler Morris. A rise from Morris could mean more snaps for Roman outside and less for Clemons. Who Michigan has in its top 3 and top 6 and how it rotates, will be the biggest storyline to watch with the wideouts.

There could be a few choices here but I am going with Darrius Clemons. Clemons looked the part of WR1 as soon as he arrived on campus last year. At 6'3" 215lbs, Clemons has the size, speed, and athletic ability to be everything you want from an outside receiver in the Big Ten. If he is able to lock down that X role, I think that also means Cornelius Johnson and Roman Wilson get to play their most natural positions as well. Johnson thrives when he is able to move around and run a deeper round tree, as we saw against Ohio State and while Roman Wilson can play outside, he feels like a perfect slot receiver.

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