The past two years, Michigan football had two wide receiver coaches in Ron Bellamy and assistant Erik ‘Soup’ Campbell, the latter having overseen the position for years during the Lloyd Carr era. But the head coach at the time, Sherrone Moore, had more of a commitment to running the football than throwing — even in games where the initial plan may have been to pass more.
Much of the offseason consternation has centered on quarterback Bryce Underwood, but just as important is the emergence of the wide receiver room. And while the room itself has improved greatly on paper, with Andrew Marsh entering his second year and with the additions of JJ Buchanan, Jaime Ffrench, and Salesi Moa, there are two new faces leading the unit in Micah Simon and assistant Marques Hagans.
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Hagans comes aboard after having spent the past three seasons as Penn State‘s bona fide wide receivers coach. Instead of following James Franklin to Virginia Tech, he came to Ann Arbor where he is now Kyle Whittingham’s assistant wide receivers coach working with Simon. As someone who knows a bit about Jason Beck’s quarterback philosophy, as he worked with him at Virginia from 2016-21, he’s eager to see how those pass catchers can work with Underwood in the confines of the offense to make the whole group reach another level.
“I see a lot of guys that are coachable, a lot of guys that are working hard. And then a lot of guys that are just really hungry to prove,” Hagans said. “There’s opportunities here for those guys to really get out and show what they can do. Knowing Coach Beck and being a part of offenses that he’s run — coached with him for six years — there’s going to be a lot of opportunities for these guys, and I think they’re hungry for it. Two dogs, one bone. Like every time you line up, that’s the mentality. Two dogs, one bone. Somebody’s got to eat, somebody’s got to win, somebody’s got to lose.”
The one thing about being adept run blockers as the receivers have had to be the past several years is that it adds a layer of toughness that perhaps other receivers might not have. That mentality isn’t changing — and Michigan very well may run the ball a lot, given Beck’s prowess having had the No. 2 rushing attack each of the past two years — and Hagans is working to instill a certain violence in his players. It’s not just about beating corners, safeties, and linebackers on the field, it’s about doing everything it takes in everything in order to ensure that the pass catchers have the correct disposition once on the field of play.
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“There’s nowhere to hide in our practice if you aren’t tough or physical,” Hagans said. “I think that’s what’s callousing us to whatever situation we come across, whatever team we play, wherever we play. We’re just going to show up and do what we do every day, and that’s play violent, play fast, and play physical.”
Michigan will have its turn at Big Ten media days this week with fall camp set to begin on August 1.
This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: New Michigan football coach brings ‘violent’ style to receivers
