Michigan Wolverines football receiver Roman Wilson has made arguably the biggest impact of any of U-M’s freshmen this season, already reeling in eight catches for 118 yards and one touchdown through three games.
His 118 yards are the third most on the team, while his eight receptions check in fourth. Wilson isn’t physically imposing at 6-0, 180, but has received a significant amount of playing time so far due to his elite speed.
“I always knew I was faster than normal,” he told reporters this afternoon on a zoom call. “I was always the fast kid in school and on my Pop Warner team.”
He nevertheless flew a bit under the radar as a recruit, thanks in large part to the fact he played his high school ball in Hawaii. Wilson was rated as a three-star prospect when he signed with U-M, but it was no secret he was one of offensive coordinator Josh Gattis’ top targets on the 2020 recruiting board.
“Coach Gattis told me and [fellow freshman wideout] A.J. Henning we’d be given a chance to play,” Wilson revealed when asked about what he expected his workload to be as a freshman.
“I wasn’t sure how big my role was going to be, but I’m just happy to get my chance to go in and make plays.”
The freshman had a team-best 71 yards in Michigan’s Oct. 31 loss to MSU, and served as the club’s best wideout that day. There have been a few obvious miscommunications with redshirt sophomore quarterback Joe Milton though, which is perhaps to be expected from two first-year starters.
“We have a good connection,” Wilson confirmed. “All of them [miscommunications] have been my fault. I messed up some plays against Indiana and in our first week. It’s been my fault and Joe has been putting the ball where it’s supposed to be.
“I have to do better. Against Indiana, I may have run the wrong route. At Minnesota, I took an inside release when I was supposed to take the outside. It’s not Joe’s fault.”
Milton has held up his end of the bargain so far through three games, and is near the bottom of the list when discussing factors that have led to U-M’s 1-2 start. He’s completing 60.7 percent of his passes and is averaging 289.6 passing yards per game, but will face his toughest challenge yet this weekend when Wisconsin comes to town.
The Badgers have had their last two games canceled and actually haven’t played since an Oct. 23 win over Illinois.
“Our mindset is the same as it is every week,” Wilson confirmed when asked about Wisconsin’s extended time off. “We have to come away with the win, no matter who it is or how many games they’ve played.
“We just have to come out and really focus on winning the game and putting in the work to be the better team. The message [from the older guys on the roster] is that we have to do better.
“We can’t point fingers at anybody because overall we’re a team.”
Notes
• Playing his high school ball in Hawaii made Wilson a bit of an unknown to the rest of the country, with 'underrated' inevitably being a word that is oftentimes associated with him.
“I’m a very humble person, so I’d never say I’m underrated or overlooked," he laughed today when asked if he thinks he is. "I wish I could’ve been maybe recruited a little earlier.
"I’m not stressing over it though because it all turned out alright in the end.”
• Twelve different Wolverines have already caught at least one pass this season, with the Maize and Blue using a bit of a revamped receiving unit following the departures of Nico Collins, Tarik Black and Donovan Peoples-Jones from the 2019 team.
“Just being able to be in that receiving room is truly amazing," Wilson said. "It's a blessing to be able to work with [sophomore] Mikey [Sainristil], [sophomore] Giles [Jackson], [junior] Ronnie [Bell], [sophomore] C.J. [Cornelius Johnson], A.J. and a handful of other guys.
"They're all fast and have great ability."
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