Fresh Off ‘Opportunity Week’, Young Wolverines Have Chance To Play Key Roles

The standard flow of a college football schedule doesn’t generally allow for much real opportunity for non-rotation players to show what they can do. With games every single Saturday, the focus of practice each week immediately points to game-planning for the next opponent, with an emphasis on making sure the starters are ready.

But a bye week disrupts that flow, and Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore likes to take advantage of the extra practices by giving his younger, more inexperienced players a chance to show out.

Last week, during an interview on "Go Blue Detroit: The Michigan Football Podcast", Moore called last week’s practices “opportunity week” for younger players. Monday, he offered some updates on who took advantage of their opportunities.

The Wolverines receiving corps has been a question mark all season, and now Michigan has turned to some true freshmen wide receivers to try and find answers.

“There’s two guys really in the receiver room,” Moore said in a press conference Monday. “Andrew Marsh, Jamar Browder, those guys really stood out, made some plays.”

Marsh and Browder have both seen the field this season, but it’s been limited. Marsh has played in all four of the Wolverines’ games, catching one pass and even rushing for a touchdown on an end around against Central Michigan. Browder, on the other hand, entered the game against the Chippewas, but did not record a stat.

Out of high school, Marsh was a four-star prospect and a top-100 player. He was the Wolverines fifth-rated prospect in the class, and the highest-rated wide receiver. Given his background, many expected him to crack the lineup at some point this season.

Browder, however, was just a three-star, ranked as the 84th-best receiver in the country. But what stands out about Browder is his frame. Standing at 6-foot-5 and coming in at 215 pounds, he is a physical specimen, and that’s certainly an advantage Michigan will try to exploit.

Even freshman running back Jasper Parker earned a shoutout from his coach. Although his path to the field is rather clogged, Moore remains happy with what he sees from his young runner.

On defense, Moore claimed to have a “bevy” of guys that stepped up, but was singularly impressed by freshman linebacker Nathaniel Owusu-Boateng. 

“The guy that stood out on defense probably the most is Nate Owusu,” Moore said. “He’s back and he’s feeling good. He was just in the backfield half the day, and it was good to see him moving around and pushing around.”

The Wolverines linebacker room is already packed to the brim with talent, and Owusu-Boateng  just adds one more to the list. Too many good players is a good problem to have, certainly, and with senior linebacker Jaishawn Barham taking more reps at edge rusher, it could open up some opportunities for Owusu-Boateng.

He hasn’t seen the field yet this season mainly due to injury, but the former four-star recruit is quickly making a name for himself.

Moore also mentioned freshmen defensive backs Jayden Sanders and Elijah Dotson. While both have already been contributing on the field, they can still earn themselves more trust from the coaching staff. Michigan’s secondary room is thinner than the linebacker’s, so convincing practices could certainly provide a higher snap count for both young backs.