Coming out of high school, football
fans knew Roman Wilson as a burner.
Considering his 4.37 40-yard dash
time, that reputation was warranted.
But during Saturday’s 38-17 win
over Wisconsin, the sophomore wide
receiver stood out for other reasons.
His team-leading six catches and 81
yards were a product of crisp route
running and separation rather than
pure speed. Both marks also set a
new career-high, a testament to his
connection with junior quarterback
Cade McNamara.
“(Wilson) is growing leaps and
bounds,”
Michigan
coach
Jim
Harbaugh said Saturday. “… It’s
almost like some of those X-Men
movies, where the little kid or the
teenage X-Man finds their power.
Now they know they have it, and
they’re using it. It’s really exciting to
watch as a coach.”
Watching Wilson’s high school
film, it doesn’t take long to notice
a trend. The Hawaii native made a
name for himself as a national recruit
by repeatedly burning defensive
backs over the top, helping Saint Louis
High School win four consecutive
state titles. Wilson racked up long
touchdowns during the fall and
spent the spring running sprints and
jumping for the school’s track and
field team.
But during his first two years
in Ann Arbor, he’s grown in ways
beyond blazing speed. Wilson is no
longer just a deep threat, and some
of his most important catches for the
Wolverines so far have come on short
and intermediate throws.
Take Saturday, for example. With
Michigan facing a 4th-and-two near
midfield, McNamara hit Wilson in
stride on a short out route to move the
sticks. At another point, McNamara
took a downfield shot to Wilson, who
timed the ball perfectly for a leaping
catch on 3rd-and-10.
“Roman Wilson, of anybody, had
the best day,” Harbaugh said Monday.
“Offensive player of the game, et
cetera. Fabulous-type catches.”
Wilson no longer has to rely on
speed alone to make an impact on
Saturdays. After developing the
footwork to run short routes to
perfection and the skills to make
contested catches against physical
Big Ten cornerbacks, he’s proven
himself as a versatile threat.
Senior wideout Ronnie Bell’s
season-ending knee injury left the
team’s receiving corps with plenty
of questions, but Wilson’s emergence
has provided an answer. He lacks
Bell’s experience, but his rapid
growth has allowed him to find
consistency over the first half of the
season.
“I don’t know how much you
can really tell from just looking at
somebody’s eyes, but the demeanor,”
Harbaugh said. “And then he’s
catching the ball. Getting open,
catching the ball, blocking. His
blocking has improved so much.”
In just five weeks, Wilson has
already matched his reception total
and surpassed his yardage total from
last season. And as he comes into his
own, the Wolverines are reaping the
benefits of establishing yet another
offensive weapon.
But unlike the X-Men finding
their
powers,
Wilson’s
drastic
improvement
isn’t
a
sudden
discovery.
“Roman’s been working,” senior
receiver
Daylen
Baldwin
said
Monday. “All the receivers, we’ve
just been pushing each other in ways
I don’t even think we know at the end
of the day. I go out there and make
a good block, that might inspire
Roman to make a good block. Roman
goes out there and makes a good
catch, that might inspire me to make
sure I catch the next couple footballs
that come to me.
“We’re
pushing
each
other
without even noticing, and we’re
making each other a lot better.”
Earlier this week, an SB Nation poll
showed that the majority of Michigan
football fans weren’t confident in
junior Cade McNamara as the starting
quarterback.
It’s an easy
conclusion
to
draw when —
prior
to
this
week’s matchup
—
more
than
80%
of
the
Wolverines’
touchdowns
had
come
on
the
ground
and especially when, other than
an
87-yard
touchdown
against
Northern Illinois, McNamara had
done little to show he can carry the
offense when the run game can’t.
That changed on Saturday. Against
Wisconsin, he showed that mistrust
was doled out prematurely.
It’s no secret that up until this
point,
Michigan
has
primarily
chosen to run the ball. Coming into
this Saturday, the Wolverines were
averaging 290.8 rushing yards per
game compared to just 164 in the air.
Meanwhile, Wisconsin holds the
nation’s top rushing defense, having
held its first three opponents to an
average of 23 rushing yards.
And
Michigan
knows
what
happens when a team figures
out how to stop its run game. It
happened last weekend: Rutgers
held the Wolverines to a season-low
112 rushing yards, and McNamara
did little to pick up the slack. He
played a decent first half, completing
8-of-11 passes for 156 yards, but his
performance fell off later in the game,
completing just 1-of-5 passes for seven
yards in the second half. Michigan
eked out a win while relying on a
stymied run game that kept trying to
shove a round peg into a square hole.
Still, the struggles did little to damper
Michigan’s confidence in its passing
game.
“I think throughout the season,
our intermediate stuff has been really
good,” McNamara said on Sept. 27.
“We’ve thrown it deep in the game,
(and) we’ve been able to do that really
well, so I think we’re building. …
When we’re in those scenarios where
we have to throw our way back into a
game, I think I’m more than capable
of doing that.”
And on Saturday, McNamara and
his receivers followed through. It
started with a 34-yard flea-flicker
touchdown pass to junior receiver
Cornelius Johnson in the first
quarter and ended with another
aerial play to Johnson that put
Michigan up by 21 in the fourth
quarter. In between those highlight-
reel moments, McNamara proved
himself with smart, consistent
second-half plays that culminated in
17 completed passes on 28 attempts
for a total of 197 years — a season-
high.
While the passing game was
markedly improved from previous
weeks, it still wasn’t perfect. The first
half was riddled with juggled balls
and missed targets. McNamara threw
10 incomplete passes in the first two
quarters. While some fault was on the
receivers, McNamara’s throws were
frequently misplaced, often lagging
behind the route-runner.
The offensive performance was as
much a testament to the receivers as
the quarterbacks themselves. With
about 10:48 minutes left in the third
quarter, sophomore receiver Roman
Wilson sprung up behind a Badger
cornerback to snag a seemingly-
uncatchable 38-yard bomb from
McNamara on third-and-ten. Four
plays later, J.J. McCarthy snuck the
ball into the end zone with a one-yard
rush.
Often, McCarthy proved himself
to be a valuable supplement to
McNamara’s offense. In the fourth
quarter, the freshman quarterback
extended the Wolverines’ lead to 28
with a 56-yard touchdown pass to
senior receiver Daylen Baldwin. The
flashes of brilliance that have come
from McCarthy, combined with
fits and bursts from McNamara so
far this season, are leading some
Michigan fans to hope for a switch in
the starter.
But, if the Wolverines’ coaching
staff is to be believed, McNamara’s
starting position has never been in
danger. Nor should it be.
In the season opener, McNamara
registered
136
yards
for
two
touchdowns. At the time, the mark
was the second-highest in his
Michigan career. Two weeks later
against the Huskies, that number
was up to 191. Two weeks later — this
weekend against the Badgers — he
topped it again for 197 yards.
None of this is to say that those are
stellar, game-changing numbers. But
they’re going in the right direction.
By the time the second half started,
McNamara’s mistakes were few and
far between. The throws and catches
looked much cleaner in the final two
quarters, evidenced by McNamara
completing 6-of-7 attempts.
“I kind of knew going into this
game that it would be difficult to
run the ball,” McNamara said after
Saturday’s game. “I accepted the
challenge, and we got the dub.”
Why start a competition at
quarterback after Michigan won
on the road at Camp Randall for the
first time since 2001? After the first
underdog win of Jim Harbaugh’s
tenure? After a 5-0 start to a
season that began with bare-bones
expectations?
As the old saying goes, if it ain’t
broke, don’t throw a wrench in your
entire offensive scheme to fix it.
Maybe McNamara won’t throw an
85-yard-game-winning touchdown
against Ohio State next month, but,
for now, he’s getting the job done.
And that’s all Michigan fans
should ask for.
SportsWednesday: In win over Wisconsin, running game shows offensive potential
LANE
KIZZIAH
Wednesday, October 6, 2021 — 10
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
MADELINE HINKLEY/Daily
In leading Michigan to a dominant victory in Madison, Cade McNamara continued to silence critics.
MADISON — On Tuesday, Mazi
Smith stood beside Schembechler
Hall and grinned in anticipation
of the Michigan football team’s
pending trip to Wisconsin.
“Going
into
somebody else’s
place and trying
to take it from
them… it shows
you
who
you
really are,” the
junior defensive
tackle said.
Early in the
fourth
quarter
on Saturday, when junior receiver
Cornelius Johnson executed a toe-
tap touchdown catch in the corner
of the endzone, posing in front of
an abandoned student section, who
they are was abundantly clear. The
5-0 Wolverines, fresh off a 38-17
thrashing of the Badgers, are a
legitimate contender.
In essence, they are who they
thought they were — it’s just a
version of themselves that few
others envisioned.
“These last few years, we’ve
done enough flinching,” junior
defensive back Dax Hill said after
the game. “We didn’t want to feel
that way anymore.”
For
the
past
six
months,
Michigan has spoken ad nauseum
about its culture change, rattling
off platitudes about a revamped
locker room and the benefits of
a young coaching staff. From
an outsider’s perspective, those
buzzword-ladened refrains tend
to sound artificial. Without any
tangible on-field success, they
would ring hollow.
Through
five
games,
the
Wolverines have made good on
their word.
“We’ve taken control of this
year and I think we made the
changes that we wanted,” junior
quarterback
Cade
McNamara
said. “We know that’s not gonna
be easy to be different, but so far
what you’re seeing right now is
just a reflection of everything that
we’ve preached, everything we
tried to make a difference for in the
offseason.”
Camp Randall Stadium has
been a house of horrors for
Michigan for the better part of
this century. Before Saturday,
the Wolverineswere winless in
Madison since 2001. Often, the
trip to Wisconsin has induced a
sobering reality, rendering any sort
of early season success a facade.
This go-around had the opposite
effect,
solidifying
Michigan’s
undefeated record. The Wolverines
both exorcised demons from past
visits and backed up their season-
long conviction.
McNamara spent the majority
of September insisting that he
was capable of leading Michigan’s
offense through the passing game.
The fact that he beat out 5-star
freshman J.J. McCarthy without
a competition and steered the
Wolverines to a 4-0 start did little
to stave off critics.
And yet on Saturday, playing
in front of fans on the road for the
first time in his collegiate career,
McNamara threw for 197 yards and
two touchdowns while Michigan’s
potent rushing attack managed just
112 yards on 44 carries. McNamara
had his fair share of hiccups, but he
showed poise under pressure, made
throws on the run and executed
on a number of critical third and
fourth down conversions.
The
defensive
line,
which
seems to be perpetually gashed
by
Wisconsin’s
run
game,
wreaked havoc in the backfield,
creating continuous pressure and
allowing just 43 rushing yards.
You wouldn’t be faulted for doing
a double-take as Michigan players
shedded blocks and flew around
the edge with ease, demoralizing
the Badgers’ typically dominant
offensive line.
“A lot of our players, it’s a pretty
young team,” Michigan coach
Jim Harbaugh said. “It’s almost
like some of those X-Men movies
where the little kid, the teenage
X-Men find the power. Now they
know they have it, and they’re
using it. It’s really exciting to watch
as a coach.”
This
sort
of
growth
and
improvement from last season’s
disastrous 2-4 campaign wasn’t
supposed to happen this quickly.
Sure, Wisconsin and Washington,
who stand as the Wolverines’ two
marquee victories on the season,
are programs seemingly marred in
down years. But Michigan entered
this season in the same boat, with
question marks up and down the
roster and expectations on the
floor.
From the very first possession,
Michigan played with a sense
of urgency, representative of a
team conscious of the game’s
importance. The Wolverines twice
went for it on fourth down in their
own half of the field. In total,
they converted four out of five
fourth down attempts, including
a one-yard touchdown run from
McCarthy.
“It’s a statement, a statement
play,”
sophomore
receiver
RomanwWilson
said
of
the
fourth down aggression. “We
want to win and we’re not gonna
back down.”
The game featured everything
that Michigan fans have spent
the last few weeks clamoring for.
There was a more ordinary run-
pass balance, with 30 passing
attempts compared to 44 carries;
a blend of creativity, with a series
of end-arounds to sophomore
receiver A.J. Henning and even a
34-yard flea-flicker touchdown to
Johnson; and even semi-regular
appearances
from
McCarthy,
whose speed adds an intriguing
layer to the offense.
That’s not to say the win was
perfect, but no game is going to be
flawless. Michigan proved it can
win in spite of its shortcomings,
a trait of resiliency absent from
last year’s group and one that
Harbaugh said he felt when he
arrived at the stadium Saturday
morning.
“A vibe that they weren’t gonna
be denied,” Harbaugh said.
The
prevailing
image
of
Saturday’s demolition occurred
in between the third and fourth
quarter, when “Jump Around,”
Wisconsin’s
adopted
anthem,
blared through the stadium. The
Michigan sideline, players and
coaches alike, spilled onto the field,
thrusting their arms into the air
and waving towels. Across the way,
Wisconsin, trailing 20-10, stood
stoic.
It’s
a
scene
that
seemed
inconceivable just a few weeks
ago. And yet, in spite of the
celebration,
the
Wolverines
continue
to
maintain
the
mentality that has carried them
this far.
“We have big goals,” junior
edge
rusher
David
Ojabo
said. “You can’t come in all
complacent. It’s just day-by-day,
week-by-week. Can’t be high-
fiving each other thinking we
won a championship. We haven’t
done anything yet.”
In that context, they haven’t.
But they have proven to be a bona
fide contender in the Big Ten,
something few would have thought
a month back — except for the
Wolverines themselves.
MADELINE HINKLEY/Daily
Throughout a dominant victory in Wisconsin, the Michigan football team continued to make good on its early season
convictions.
The Wolverines are a contender, just like
they thought they’d be
Roman Wilson’s big day
shows how far he’s come
DANIEL DASH
Daily Sports Editor
JARED
GREENSPAN
MADELINE HINKLEY/Daily
Displaying skill and precision on top of sheer speed, Roman Wilson has shown
his growth as a receiver so far this season.