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.

