Wolverine Wide Recievers: How Many Are There?

One of the BHB readers asked me to run down the number of Michigan wide receivers on the roster and rank their probability of playing. Michigan currently has 12 on the roster.

Hemingway, Stonum, Odoms, Stokes, La Savoy, and Matthews have all played the WR spot this year.

Michigan also has a position called Slot Receiver (SR), and they have eight of those, as well. Yes, Odoms is listed as a WR, not a slot on the roster. Go figure.

The players who have seen action at SR are: Kelvin Grady and Odoms.

My opinion on grade and depth chart:


Wide Receivers

1. Junior Hemingway is Michigan's top WR. He is a deep threat with good hands. Needs to stay out of the trainer's room; has a history of bad luck injuries. Grade: A-
2. Greg Matthews made the winning touchdown catch against Notre Dame and has good hands. Not a burner, but can use his 6'3" frame to out-jump smaller DBs. He is a senior and needs to have a big year. Grade A-
3. Darryl Stonum is a second year sophomore who didn't really live up to the hype last year as one of the top WRs in the country out of high school. Darryl enrolled early and saw a lot of playing time.
   
   He had a DUI and really didn't do anything explosive until the ND kickoff return. Darryl has a lot to prove and is off to a decent start in 2009. We still need more productivity from him at the WR position. Grade: B
4. LaTerryal Savoy is a fifth-year senior who I thought would be on the bubble to be asked back for his fifth year. He is back and made a couple of nice plays before the big drop in the end zone.
   
   LaTerryal has been getting some good practice press, which has lead to some playing time this year. Could be a sleeper pick for a decent year. Grade: B-
5. Je'Ron Stokes is a four-star freshman who has only been on campus for a few weeks. He was a signing-day commit to the Wolverines and has a nice upside. Look for him to get some more playing time in the coming weeks. The jury's still out on Je'Ron as he learns the offense. Grade: B-
6. James Rodgers is a junior who really hasn't done much or seen any decent field time since becoming a Wolverine. He is in the mix, but barley. Grade: C-
7. Cameron Gordon is a true freshman out of Detroit. He is 6'2", 208 and the Michigan coaches wanted him at LB instead of WR, but he came to Michigan as a WR. Guess what the latest rumor is? That he is moving to LB. No official word on the change yet. Grade: TBD
8. Zac Baker, Jon Conover, Joe Reynolds and Patrick Collins are just column fodder at this point.

Now on to the Slot

1. Kelvin Grady has taken over the slot position after playing on Michigan's basketball team for the last two years. He has shown flashes, but nothing great yet. He has shown a nice pair of hands in catching some high throws. Jury is still out on him: Grade B
2. Martavious Odoms was Michigan's leading WR last year as a freshman. He plays the slot position, so I have him listed here instead of above. I keep waiting for Odoms to break the bubble screen to the house, which just hasn't happened.
   
   He lost his punt return job because he fumbled and dropped too many balls. He has done a decent job on kickoff returns this year. I'm still waiting for his breakout game. Grade: B-
3. Terrance Robinson is a redshirt freshman whose injuries limited his practice time last year. There have been rumors that TRob is having trouble catching the ball and may transfer.
   
   TRob hasn't done anything yet, and maybe it's still too soon, but it can't feel too good to lose your spot to the point guard of the basketball team. Grade: D
4. Roy Roundtree: is a redshirt fresman who I had high hopes for this year. He lit up the spring game and many thought he was Tate's favorite target.
   
   I sort of expected him more in the WR role, but he's still in the slot. Not much action so far this year, but expect him to get some time now that he can see the ball with his new contacts. Grade: TBD
5. Jeremy Gallon is a true freshman and has only been on campus for a few weeks. He needs time to learn the offense and maybe the return game. Grade: TBD
6. Column fodder: Doug Rogan, Nick Koenigsknecht, Jordan Owens, Ricky Reyes

The Big Ten Week 3 Preview and Predictions coming this afternoon. Stay tuned.