ROMAN WILSON

Portland (Ore.) Westview four-star Darrius Clemons chose the Wolverines over Auburn, Penn State, Oregon and Miami, while Ponchatoula (La.) Suddenly, receiver became a strength of the class as the duo joined previously-committed La Grange Park (Illinois) Nazareth Academy four-star Tyler Morris. Senior Ronnie Bell also is back for a fifth-season and is “on track” in his recovery from a torn ACL suffered last year’s opener against Western Michigan, according to Harbaugh. “Great group of receivers,” Harbaugh said last month on “In The Trenches” podcast. I was gonna say three freak shows that are incoming -- Darrius Clemons and Tyler Morris — and Amorion Walker is really doing some incredible things.

Hassan Haskins ran for two second-half touchdowns and broke a school record as No. 2 Michigan captured its first Big Ten title in 17 years and a probable playoff berth with a 42-3 rout over No. 15 Iowa.

ANN ARBOR – Michigan receiver Roman Wilson had a breakout game Oct. 2 against Wisconsin, catching a career-high six passes for 81 yards in a 38-17 win. Junior Cornelius Johnson is the only receiver to lead the team in receiving yards in more than one game this season, while five other receivers have done it once. The eighth-ranked Wolverines (9-1) are one of six Big Ten teams without a receiver with over 500 receiving yards this season. “The one thing I would say we probably haven’t had is the consistency of each game, who’s it gonna be? It’s almost been a different person by different games.

But Jim Harbaugh’s pants really, truly, caught fire Saturday during the early moments of Michigan’s 21-17 win over Penn State. You can see photos of the damage — with the back of Harbaugh’s left pant leg ripped apart — captured by freelance photographer Patrick Barron below. Jim Harbaugh's pants got burned by the space heater on the sidelines in the 1st half pic.twitter.com/RPF60G3UwZ — Patrick Barron (@BlueBarronPhoto) November 15, 2021“‘Oh my gosh, my parents are on fire,’” Harbaugh responded. There was no mention of the incident after the game, nor any indication he suffered any serious injuries. Instead, he says, he plans to keep the pants — which retail for more than $100 — as a memento.

Cade McNamara threw a 47-yard touchdown pass to tight end Erick All with 3:29 left and No. 9 Michigan stayed in the Big Ten championship race, rallying past tricky No. 23 Penn State 21-17.

Michigan football overcame a late blown lead against Penn State on Saturday in Happy Valley, bouncing back to earn a massive victory and keep its Big Ten title hopes alive.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — With the game less than 24 hours away, Michigan will certainly have its hands full with in-state rival Michigan State. But before we get to kickoff, here are some key storylines on the Michigan side to note:1. But establishing a ground game early will be vital to the success of the Wolverines’ offense. It’s what has made the operation so successful and suggesting that Michigan can win a rivalry game without it would be foolish. If Michigan wants to come out victorious on Saturday, save for a defensive showcase, it’s going to need the 200 yards rushing, 200 yards passing that Jim Harbaugh often preaches.

Roman Wilson, who was emerging as a top target for the sixth-ranked Wolverines, is in uniform and going through pre-game warmups ahead of Saturday’s game against Northwestern (noon, FOX). Wilson, who is sporting a wrap on his left hand, sat out Michigan’s 32-29 win at Nebraska two weeks ago. Another starting guard, Zak Zinter, exited the game with an injury but is in uniform and expected to be available today. With Keegan out, look for redshirt junior Chuck Filiaga and redshirt sophomore Karsen Barnhart to get extended playing time at guard. ... Twenty minutes before kickoff, Michigan remains a 23 1/2-point favorite over the Wildcats at sports books across the country.

Michigan football survived the first half of its season without a loss. Now, after a well-placed bye week, the Wolverines face a much tougher second half.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Jim Harbaugh often refers to the bye week every season as “improvement week,” an opportunity for his Michigan coaching staff to regroup and his players to recharge. “A good time to get some guys rested and healed up,” Harbaugh said Monday. More: Michigan WR Ronnie Bell set for surgery, rehab expected to take ‘months’“It’ll be my first day ever,” Harbaugh said. “It’s a good opportunity to spend more time than I normally would in a game week, to catch up,” Harbaugh said. That makes the balance of the bye week so important, for Harbaugh and his players.

— Michigan was without top target Roman Wilson on Saturday, one week after the sophomore wide receiver suffered an undisclosed injury. As a result, Michigan (6-0) had to play without him, providing quarterback Cade McNamara one fewer receiver option. Graduate transfer Daylen Baldwin benefitted the most, turning a game-high 14 targets into six catches for 64 yards. The injury came at just about the worst time for Wilson, a Honolulu, Hawaii, native who was beginning to emerge as Michigan’s No. Of course, that’s notwithstanding the season-ending knee injury to receiver Ronnie Bell, who is scheduled to have surgery (finally) this week.

And after struggling for the majority of the second half, their defense came up with a turnover and a key stop on Nebraska’s final two drives. STOCK UPJake MoodyThe Michigan senior kicker has been clutch all season and was again Saturday. Meanwhile, Corum was able to show off his speed in space again after a couple down weeks, rushing 13 times for 89 yards, including a 29-yard touchdown scamper. The Cornhuskers scored on the next play, putting Michigan behind for the first time this season. With Wilson’s injury, Henning figured to play a larger role on offense, but he didn’t play much and didn’t have any touches.

— Michigan quarterback Cade McNamara will be without one of his top receiving targets for tonight’s game against Nebraska. Sophomore wideout Roman Wilson is injured and did not make the trip to Lincoln, Nebraska, for the prime-time tilt (7:30 p.m. The Honolulu, Hawaii, native posted career highs in both catches (6) and receiving yards (81) in a 38-17 win over the Badgers. He was tied for second on the team in catches (9) and third in receiving yards (145). ... Michigan is wearing its all-white uniforms for tonight’s game, just the third time ever the program has played a football game in Lincoln, Nebraska.

When Michigan football lost No. 1 wide receiver Ronnie Bell for the season, there were a handful of candidates to assume a larger role.

“I’ve mentioned this before, that everything we do we’re trying to win,” quarterback Cade McNamara said after Saturday’s win. Fast and aggressive to start, followed by a preference to control tempo and eat away at the clock. More: Roman Wilson joins U-M’s expanding pass attack partyBut there’s also a realization that the level of competition is about to pick up, beginning with Nebraska on the road this Saturday (7:30 p.m. And Roman Wilson, of anybody, had the best day. It was good to see.”_______________________Buy Wolverines gear: Fanatics, Nike, Amazon, LidsBuy Wolverines tickets: StubHub, SeatGeek, TicketmasterStream Wolverines games live: fuboTV, ESPN+, Sling

Eight different receivers caught a pass, 18 in total, but the storyline coming out of this one had to do with Roman Wilson. “Another guy,” head coach Jim Harbaugh said after the game, pointing to another play-maker beginning to find his stride. And he’s catching the ball.”More: Jim Harbaugh: ‘This group’s different. Stock report: Michigan’s pass rush soars in win vs. WisconsinMichigan ran 19 more plays than Wisconsin, averaging 4.9 yards per play and 14.1 yards per completion. Mike Sainristil added two catches for 15 yards, while grad transfer Daylen Baldwin caught another long touchdown pass from backup quarterback J.J. McCarthy.

Washington has a lot to prove, coming off a loss to Montana.

As a wide receiver, he caught 24 passes over his two seasons at Michigan, adding both a receiving and rushing touchdown. “Definitely weird,” Michigan sophomore wide receiver Roman Wilson said this week of what it will be like to see Jackson on the opposing sideline. Washington head coach Jimmy Lake was asked at a press conference if Jackson told him why he transferred from Michigan. He’s going to get better from here.”Lake said Washington did recruit Jackson, an Antioch, California, native, out of high school. Michigan lost its top receiver, senior Ronnie Bell, to a season-ending injury in Saturday’s 47-14 win over Western Michigan.

It happens every offseason among Michigan football fans: The number of offensive skill players generating hype far exceeds the number of those who will actually make a significant impact.

As struggles mounted at quarterback, the Wolverines had trouble distributing the football as often as they would like. In-game experience and player development are crucial at the position, and the receivers got plenty of the former last fall. Games like those are where young players get their confidence; it’s just unfortunate the Wolverines only played one more game after that. Giles Jackson followed up an active freshman season with more contributions, catching 15 passes for 167 yards in five games in 2020. Henning, the first two receivers recruited by Gattis at Michigan, both saw extended playing time during the abbreviated season: Wilson (9 catches, 122 yards, TD) finished fourth in receiving yards, while Henning (6 catches, 59 yards) got his feet wet.

Michigan 48, Rutgers 42SECOND OVERTIMEMichigan drive starts on Rutgers 25The Wolverines answered Rutgers’ touchdown to send the game to a third overtime. Michigan 35, Rutgers 3511:17 – Michigan drive starts on own 15What a drive from Michigan. Michigan 35, Rutgers 2713:32 – Rutgers drive starts on own 19LB Josh Ross had a pivotal sack to push Rutgers back for a second-and-21. Michigan 28, Rutgers 27THIRD QUARTER1:57 – Michigan drive starts on own 29A Rutgers facemask penalty put Michigan into Scarlet Knights territory. Rutgers 7, Michigan 04:26 – Michigan drive starts on own 28Not a good offensive possession right after Rutgers takes the lead.

The freshman receiver’s speed was his hallmark attribute coming out of St. Louis High in Hawaii, but translating it to the field at the college level quickly made an impression on his teammates. Wilson, speaking to reporters via a video teleconference Monday, said he was always considered the “fast kid at school” growing up. The 6-foot, 180-pounder has been one the most productive receivers for Michigan this season, too. He is third on the team with 118 receiving yards on eight catches, including his first touchdown reception in Saturday’s loss to Indiana. He’s definitely a special receiver, and I’m very excited for him and his future.”Get Wolverine Confidential texts straight to your phone from our Michigan football writers.

Luke SchoonmakerNick Eubanks returned for Saturday’s game against Michigan State, catching one pass for 5 yards. Michigan wide receiver Roman Wilson (14) catches a pass against Michigan State cornerback Chris Jackson (12) during their Big Ten football game at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, on Saturday, October 31, 2020. Joel HonigfordJalen Mayfield exited Saturday’s loss to Michigan State with an injury, one that was later X-rayed and found negative for a break. Greg TarrQuinn Nordin appears healthy and taken the reins as Michigan’s top placekicker, converting all three PATs and a 23-yard field goal against Michigan State. But the more intriguing battle here is at punter, where Will Hart and Brad Robbins alternated duties Saturday against Michigan State.

Second drive: Milton throws on target to receiver Mike Sainristil on an out route, which gains four yards. Fifth drive: Milton pulls the ball away from his running back and keeps it, gaining 17 yards with his legs. That sets up third-and-10, and Milton hits Jackson between two defenders to pick up 15. 12th drive: Michigan is down 10 points and starting its drive on its own 7-yard line with 5:03 left. Milton hits All over the middle for 5, again having to get rid of it faster than he would have liked.

Michigan’s third-year offensive line coach acknowledged that he had a new group of starters (minus right tackle Jalen Mayfield), but pointed to their familiarity. And perhaps more importantly, it opened up a few massive holes for the running game. More: QB Joe Milton sparkles, and sheds a tear, in first Michigan start• Which is where we’ll start, at 12:23 of the first quarter with Michigan trailing 7-0. But what made this play so successful was Filiaga recognizing (and blocking) Minnesota defensive back Jordan Howden on the right side. That creates an open running lane on the right side for Milton, who found a hole for a 23-yard pickup.

Michigan’s coaches emphasized throughout the preseason camp that several true freshmen will get a chance to play this fall. It didn’t take long for a handful of them to make an impact in Saturday’s season opener at No 21 Minnesota. But Corum wasn’t the only freshmen involved offensively. “They did their thing,” Michigan running back Hassan Haskins said in a postgame video conference call. “The one thing Coach Harbaugh has stressed to all of our coaches, to everybody -- make sure everybody gets coaches.

Michigan offensive coordinator Josh Gattis wasn’t hesitant to play his trio of true freshmen receivers in 2019, even with an experienced group around them. “I think the level they’re at right now as freshmen is probably as high as any freshmen that I’ve ever been around. They’re going to play for us. They’re going to play a lot of football for Michigan and they’re gonna make some plays for us. They’re going to be real good for us.”Get Wolverine Confidential texts straight to your phone from our Michigan football writers.

Wide receiver attritionIt looks like the Wolverines will be without three of their top four wide receivers from a year ago. That trio, which highlighted the team’s top-five 2017 recruiting class, combined for 96 catches, 1,490 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns last season. So what would the receiving corps look like if Collins isn’t in the picture? NewcomersNo matter who comes and goes, Michigan is always going to bring in new playmakers at the wide receiver position. They don’t all need to be better than Collins, Peoples-Jones and Black.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Four-star Honolulu wide receiver Roman Wilson committed to Michigan football Tuesday over several of the top schools in the Pac-12. 59 receiver in the 2020 class and the No. Wilson chose the Wolverines over a host of Pac-12 schools, including Oregon, UCLA, Cal, Arizona State, Colorado and Washington. Wilson's commitment gives Michigan two wide receivers in the 2020 class. Jim Harbaugh now has 21 players in his 2020 class -- 10 four-stars and 11 three-stars.