What are realistic expectations for the freshman receivers?

Submitted by WhoopinStick on
Michigan has an incredible freshman receiving class filled with talent and a diverse skill set.  But historically most freshman receivers at Michigan have not put up great numbers.  Below is a list of Michigan’s top 10 receivers (based on career receiving yards) followed by the number of catches, receiving yards, and touchdowns that each had in their freshman year.
 
1.  Braylon Edwards    3 catches, 38 yards, 0 touchdowns
2.  Anthony Carter    17 catches, 462 yards, 7 touchdowns
3.  Jeremy Gallon    4 catches, 49 yards, 1 touchdown
4.  Amani Toomer    16 catches, 238 yards, 1 touchdown
5.  David Terrell    14 catches, 149 yards, 2 touchdowns
6.  Mario Manningham    27 catches, 433 yards, 6 touchdowns
7.  Roy Roundtree    32 catches, 434 yards, 3 touchdowns
8.  Tai Streets    5 catches, 43 yards, 0 touchdowns
9.  Marquis Walker    4 catches, 31 yards, 0 touchdowns
10. Jason Avant    2 catches, 21 yards, 0 touchdowns
 
Five of these receivers  had less than 100 yards receiving during their entire freshman season,  only 3 totaled more than 240 yards receiving, and all had less than 470 yards.  Only 2 had more than 20 catches for the season.
 
History would lend one to believe that Crawford, Perry, or McDoom will lead the team in receiving this year.  But Michigan has never had a freshman receiving class like this one.  
 
What is a realistic expectation for any of the freshman receivers?  Will any of the freshman number above be broken - 32 catches, 462 yards, or 7 touchdowns?   
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Freshman receivers

FauxMo

September 1st, 2017 at 12:54 PM ^

Wait, now this became a real question. 

If a QB takes a snap at the 1 inch line, drops back into his own endzone to pass, throws a forward pass that is caught and taken all the way to the other end zone, that's a 100-yard reception, isn't it? Or does it automatically "round up" to 99 yards??? 

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Double-D

September 1st, 2017 at 11:18 AM ^

AC was a starter and his numbers show it. Playing time for these guys is a factor. Tarik and DPJ are likely playing starter type minutes so I would expect pretty good numbers from them.

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befuggled

September 1st, 2017 at 12:58 PM ^

AC was the third leading receiver in 1979, behind TE Doug Marsh (33 catches for 612 yards) and RB Butch Woolfolk (18 catches for 128 yards). Doug Marsh's 33 catches was the second most any receiver had under Bo in the seventies; Paul Staroba led the team with 35 catches in 1970. (Jim Mandich did have 51 in 1969, but he and QB Don Morehead were Bump Elliott recruits.)

Bo didn't really throw the ball much until the eighties, and even then he wasn't really happy about it.

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stephenrjking

September 1st, 2017 at 1:11 PM ^

Correct. The two guys with the biggest numbers there, Manningham and Roundtree, both came at times where leading receivers had just left or had not really existed. They had to be important cogs right away. And passing had become more common, even under RR.

As for some others: Braylon wasn't a highly touted recruit, and his eventual emergence was a surprise. Terrell was a highly touted recruit, but he played in 1998 for a relatively mediocre offense that liked tight ends and featured Tai Streets. And, uh, Lloyd Carr was probably less enthusiastic about using freshmen than Jim Harbaugh. 

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mlmudge

September 1st, 2017 at 12:48 PM ^

For him not winning the Mortell award as well.  The absence of the award leads me to believe this post was rushed and not thoroughly thought out.  

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