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Thursday, August 11, 2016
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
SPORTS

ALLISON FARRAND/Daily

Junior Moe Ways is one of several Michigan receivers looking to earn more playing time. 
‘M’ looks for third breakout receiver

By JACOB GASE 

Daily Sports Editor

After nearly 20 minutes of 

questions about his team’s ongoing 
quarterback competition at the 
Wolverines’ 
team 
media 
day 

Sunday, Michigan passing game 
coordinator Jedd Fisch broke into 
a wide grin when a reporter finally 
broached the subject of his other 
position group.

“Thank you for that question,” 

Fisch said, barely exaggerating his 
excitement. “All these questions 
about quarterbacks all the time 
— we’ve got pretty good receivers 
around here!”

Though 
the 
Wolverines’ 

receiving corps still has no idea who 
will be throwing them the ball this 
season — whether it be redshirt 
sophomore Wilton Speight, redshirt 
junior 
John 
O’Korn, 
or 
even 

redshirt junior Shane Morris — the 
group is strong at the top and, more 
importantly, deeper than it has been 
in years.

Fresh off a season in which he 

led Michigan with 58 catches, 
fifth-year senior Amara Darboh 
has ridden what Fisch called “an 
incredible offseason” to take the 
lead as the No. 1 receiver. Fellow 
fifth-year senior Jehu Chesson — 
who would have been right in the 
conversation if he hadn’t partially 
torn his posterior cruciate ligament 
at the very end of last season — is 
now fully healthy and will line up 
opposite Darboh, looking to top his 
breakout 2015 season in which he 
tallied a team-high 764 yards and 
nine touchdowns.

“I think going into last year at 

this time, we didn’t have many 
conversations about Jehu,” Fisch 
said. “The way he evolved, the way 
he developed, how hard he worked 
and what he ended up doing for 
our program — on special teams, 
on offense, running the football on 
some reverses and sweeps, and as a 
leader? Unbelievable.”

Adding in senior All-American 

tight end Jake Butt, the Wolverines’ 
top three targets are set in stone. But 
with a spot as a third receiver up for 
grabs and plenty of young talent on 
the roster, Fisch’s lesser-scrutinized 
position group remains extremely 
competitive.

According to Fisch, the receiver 

to beat heading into fall camp is 
sophomore Grant Perry. Despite 
starting off last season struggling 
to get on the same page as then-
starting quarterback Jake Rudock, 
Perry recovered to finish his 
freshman campaign with 14 catches 
and 128 yards — not overwhelming 
numbers, but by far the most 
production of any wide receiver not 
named Darboh or Chesson.

Perry’s 
spot 
is 
far 
from 

guaranteed, 
though. 
According 

to Fisch and Michigan coach Jim 
Harbaugh, junior Moe Ways was 
having a stellar spring camp before 
breaking his foot, and he is now 
healthy again for fall camp, so he 
could be ready to pick up where he 
left off in March.

“I’m hoping that I can be that 

next guy,” Ways said. “I’m working 
toward that, and I think just with 
hard work and getting better every 
day, that goal is attainable.”

And redshirt sophomore Drake 

Harris, once a highly touted recruit 

who has suffered through a slew 
of injuries to his hamstrings and 
ankle, will be looking to take on a 
bigger role as well.

With the top two receivers 

having set the standard, their 
less-established counterparts see 
no reason why they can’t be the 
Wolverines’ next breakout star.

If no veteran receiver steps up, 

Michigan also has plenty of new 
faces with high potential. Freshman 
Ahmir Mitchell enrolled early last 
winter and turned some heads 
with his play when the Wolverines 
traveled to Florida for practice 
during spring break. Additionally, 
a fresh crop of talented receivers 
arriving in the fall — including 
Kekoa 
Crawford 
and 
Eddie 

McDoom — could mean that 
someone will follow Perry’s lead 
and earn immediate playing time.

Much like at quarterback, the 

competition for the third wide 
receiver slot remains wide open. 
And with increased expectations 
for the team as a whole — Michigan 
checked in at No. 8 in the preseason 
coaches’ poll last week — no one is 
taking the battle lightly.

“I feel like there’s always gonna 

be 
expectations 
coming 
from 

Michigan,” Harris said. “When 
you’re one of the top teams in the 
country, coaches are expecting you 
to go out there and do big things on 
the field.

“There’s 
gonna 
be 
tons 
of 

competition. We have a lot of depth, 
and obviously Jehu and Darboh 
have their spots, but that third 
wide receiver position is open and 
someone needs to step in there and 
take it.”

Slimmer Charlton 
hoping to be ‘bullet’

By ORION SANG 

Summer Managing Sports Editor

Ask Taco Charlton if he’d rather 

be a slug or a bullet — like his 
defensive coordinator Don Brown 
did — and you’ll get a laugh out of 
the senior defensive end.

Like most, Charlton would 

prefer to be the bullet, though his 
performance as the proverbial 
“slug” last season certainly wasn’t 
lacking.

Despite 

starting 
just 

three 
games, 

Charlton 
managed 
to 

tally 8.5 tackles 
for loss and 5.5 
sacks as an end in 
former defensive 
coordinator 
D.J. 
Durkin’s 

3-4 
defense. 

The numbers with such limited 
snaps are even more impressive 
considering injuries along the 
defensive line forced Charlton to 
play as both a tackle and an end.

As a result, Charlton had to 

carry 
more 

weight 
to 
be 

better equipped 
to handle the 
opposition’s 
running 
game — hence 
Brown’s playful 
comparison.

But under his 

new 
defensive 

coordinator’s 
system, Charlton 
is back to being the bullet, having 
lost 13 pounds this offseason. 
Heading into fall camp, Charlton’s 
weight is listed on the roster at a 
still-formidable 272 pounds.

That weight on a hulking 6-foot-

6 frame that has spent close to four 
years in a college weight room 
could be a nightmare for offensive 
lines this season — which is 
Charlton’s goal.

“Going to a 4-3 defense kinda 

suits my game a lot, because 
it puts me outside where I can 
use a lot of my speed,” Charlton 
said at Sunday’s team media day. 
“Going back to a 4-3 end, I believe 
my production is only going to 
skyrocket. It wasn’t necessarily 

bad weight that I had on last year, 
but it was baggage I didn’t need 
and (the weight loss) allowed me 
to be a lot faster off the edge and 
get the speed that I really wanted 
back.

“That speed coming off the edge 

is something that our team needs, 
and (Brown) wants me to be that 
pass rusher that we need. That’s 
what I’m going to be capable of 
bringing.”

Charlton 

has 
enjoyed 

learning under 
Brown 
— 
a 

coach 
with 

a 
penchant 

for 
bringing 

pressure with 
all 
kinds 
of 

blitzes.

That, 

Charlton 
explains, 

allows the defensive line to be free.

“One of the worst things is when 

you have to contain the whole 
time,” Charlton said. “You can’t 
really rush (the passer) because 
you’re so afraid of the quarterback 

getting 
out. 

But 
with 

coach 
Brown, 

he blitzes so 
much. 
As 
a 

rusher, 
when 

you hear that, 
you’re 
really 

able 
to 
pin 

your ears back 
and go get the 
quarterback.”

That’s not to 

say Charlton isn’t willing to flex 
back inside if asked. He’s adamant 
in saying that he’ll do anything 
to help his team win, and if that 
means having to flip back-and-
forth between positions, so be it. 
He has played pretty much every 
position on the line in his career 
— strong side, weak side, rush end 
and tackle.

“So 
I’m 
really 
capable 
of 

going back and forth and playing 
wherever my team needs, and I’m 
able to do it and be productive 
at it,” Charlton said. “If a coach 
moves me inside, I can definitely 
rush (the passer). I’ve got the speed 
to do it, and I’m strong enough to 
do it.”

FOOTBALL

Charlton 

recorded 5.5 

sacks in limited 
time last year.

“(Coach Brown) 
wants me to be 
that pass rusher 
that we need.”

