Isaiah Hole
June 5, 2024 1:07 pm ET
While much of the national college football media focuses on Michigan football’s quarterback competition as the fulcrum to potential success (or lack thereof) in 2024, there’s another room that will be just as pivotal.
The wide receivers.
Michigan lost the bulk of its production from that room with Cornelius Johnson and Roman Wilson moving on to the NFL this offseason, and thus the Wolverines will be looking to get big production from familiar, yet inexperienced players.
While Tyler Morris was a starter last year, his sole touchdown in a winged helmet came in the College Football Playoff semifinal against Alabama in the Rose Bowl. Semaj Morgan was heavily utilized last year but mostly on gadget plays. Fredrick Moore saw some early time earlier in the season, but little in the latter half. Amorion Walker — who transferred to Ole Miss and back again — was converted to cornerback but is returning as a wideout again. Kendrick Bell showed out in the spring game and could be a recruiting find, just like his older brother, Ronnie, was. And Michigan also brought in a transfer in Youngstown State WR C.J. Charleston while having two freshman who are coming in this summer.
On the latest ‘In the Trenches’ podcast, wide receivers coach Ron Bellamy shared his thoughts on most every player in the room and broke down what they bring to the table at this stage in their development.
Here is what he had to say about each.
Tyler Morris
Photo: Isaiah Hole
Everyone brings something different to the table. I will say the alpha in our room right now is Tyler Morris. He comes in with the most experience, he’s the oldest, and he’s a quiet leader — doesn’t say anything. But when he does his voice is so loud. And the guys understand that and ‘Timo’ wants the best for everyone. And just the way he attacks the game, attacks meetings, attacks practice and everyone brings it.
Semaj Morgan
Photo: Isaiah Hole
Semaj, he’s a younger guy, but I’d say he’s the vocal guy in our room. Which is kind of cool to see a young guy do that. We really haven’t had that since a young Ronnie — lead the room like that. And I don’t mind a young guy having a voice in the room just because I’ve experienced it, playing here with guys like David Terrell, the Larry Footes the world. Those guys were young, they were dawgs though, you know. And the guys respected them just the way they approached the game.
Fredrick Moore
Photo: Isaiah Hole
(Bellamy did not speak at length about Moore, but simply said, ‘You guys saw glimpses of Fred Moore last year.’)
Kendrick Bell
Photo: Isaiah Hole
A couple guys were super excited about is obviously, Kendrick Bell. Kendrick, if you know anything about Kendrick, he’s the younger brother of Ronnie, but that’s the one thing we’re gonna talk about. We got to change your name. People know you as Ronnie’s little brother, you need to be known as Kendrick Bell. And, Kendrick was a quarterback in high school that as we evaluated him, we thought that he was a phenomenal athlete. He was an all-state basketball player. He was a state champion in high jump and state champion a long jump in Kansas City. So, Missouri — obviously, he’s a Kansas City kid. But we knew that he had some of those traits that we look for in receivers — can they jump? Can they run? Can they change direction? How explosive are they? And he checked all those boxes.
Last year, he played receiver in a reserve role as a scout team guy, and this spring, he had an opportunity with our numbers, he had a chance to go against the Will Johnsons of the world and Jyaire Hills of the world, Keshaun Harris — some of the older guys. And he held his own, did some good things. And then, in the spring game, he showed some flashes of what he’s capable of doing. We’re super excited about him.
Amorion Walker
Photo: Isaiah Hole
Amorion Walker came back to the family and he’s here. I had him freshman year as a receiver and moved a corner and now he’s coming back as a receiver. And he gives us the length and speed that when we recruited him out of Ponchatoula, Louisiana, that’s what we were looking for — a 6-4 guy that can stretch the field. And he’s another on that can jump out the gym and extraordinary talent and we’re excited about him.
C.J. Charleston
Junfu Han-Detroit Free Press
C.J Charleston — older guy. I thought we needed an older guy in our room. Another guy that could be a leader with experience. Played at Youngstown State. But he’s also played Big Ten. He’s been in The Shoe, he’s played against Ohio State. He’s been in East Lansing. He’s played against the Spartans, so he’s played Big Ten competition.
Past success, you can watch the game film, see him going in there. And he’s a perfect fit for us. We’re super excited about him.
Channing Goodwin and I'Marion Stewart
Photo: Isaiah Hole
And obviously, our two incoming freshmen, Channing Goodwin — legacy kid, son of Jonathan Goodwin. Exceptional player coming from North Carolina.
And I’Marion Stewart, coming out right outside of Chicago. We’re excited about those guys, we recruited those guys for a couple of years. We’re fired up about them, too. And they didn’t do spring ball, but we’re excited to get them on campus now and just watch those guys grow and develop.
