Michigan HC Sherrone Moore shares confident words on multiple key playmakers that Wolverines need to beat Washington
Bryce Underwood needs to lean on emerging star WRs Andrew Marsh and Donaven McCulley
It’s tough to find the good coming off of a 31-13 loss to USC, but Sherrone Moore couldn’t help but talk up the development he’s seen from multiple key playmakers. Michigan is still 4-2 with plenty of time left to save the season and perhaps even make a push toward the College Football Playoff.
However, first they’re going to need to keep up with a red hot Washington Huskies offense in this week’s matchup. The Huskies have put up over 500 yards of offense in three games already this season, so maintaining pace might be tough. Bryce Underwood needs to clean up a few things, but he has the playmaker(s) emerging to make it happen.
Bryce Underwood stats with freshman WR Andrew Marsh
- Bryce Underwood has posted an NFL passer rating of 144.39 (out of a possible 158.3) when targeting true freshman wide receiver Andrew Marsh in the last two games.
- Andrew Marsh has caught 12 of 13 targets for 218 yards and a touchdown in the last two games alone for Michigan.
- Andrew Marsh is averaging 3.4 yards per route run, which ranks 6th among all power conference wide receivers with 15+ targets on the season–just ahead of Ohio State’s Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate.
Bryce Underwood growing alongside his developing offensive weapons
Michigan’s offense looked like it was starting to come together ahead of last week’s USC game. The Wolverines had averaged 7+ yards per play in three straight contests, scoring 117 points in that span, but they unfortunately sputtered trying to keep up with the Trojans’ efficient offense. Still, when asked about some of the offense’s development, head coach Sherrone More was confident in several of his young playmakers who have stepped up quickly this season:
“I think obviously you’ve seen some playmakers evolve. I think you’ve seen some guys really step up that you hadn’t seen at the beginning of the year. Donaven McCulley’s really stepped up. Andrew Marsh obviously is a true freshman making plays. And we’ve seen what Justice Haynes can do. I think just continuing to put guys in position to make plays and then involving the tight ends like we’re going to keep everybody off balance and continue to make the offense better.
Justice Haynes was the first major offensive playmaker to step up, kicking off the year on Michigan program record-setting pace. Then McCulley saw some decent action against Oklahoma and Wisconsin. Now it’s Andrew Marsh, the true freshman, who might be the most impressive playmaker on the team. And it’s likely that last connection that Bryce Underwood needs to continue leaning into if Michigan’s going to have any of hope of beating teams like Washington or Ohio State this season.
Andrew Marsh has been absolutely ridiculous the last two weeks. He was one of the top ten fastest ball carriers in all of college football this past week (running nearly 21 miles per hour) on his long touchdown against USC. He’s caught 12 of 13 targets for 218 yards and a touchdown in the last two games alone. Bryce Underwood is posting a near perfect passer ratting (144.39) when targeting Marsh in that span. Most ridiculously, Marsh currently ranks sixth among all power conference wide receivers in yards per route run–just ahead of Ohio State’s Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate.
When Bryce Underwood targets Andrew Marsh, good things happen. He just has to make sure that he continues improving when it comes to navigating the pocket, handling pressure, and keeping his feet right so he can find his newfound favorite target down field based on what Sherrone Moore had to say this week:
“I think overall [Underwood has improved when it’s not a perfect pocket] pretty well. He took a sack. But sacks are always better than throwing a turnover. There are times when you want him to step up in the pocket and make those plays, but he’s also made some really good plays in the pocket. And moved around and made some plays down field you didn’t think he would make. I thought he’s done a good job with that and we’ll just keep progressing…Usually accuracy starts from the ground up. Starts with footwork. Really football in general, it all starts with your feet. No difference with quarterback. So it’s all about footwork.”
The running game is likely going to get back on track, especially if Justice Haynes is healthy. The defense should perform better this week after an off-showing against USC. Bryce Underwood just needs to fix his feet and remember confidently that Andrew Marsh is always open–and is becoming one of the best wide receivers in football already. If he does that, Michigan might just be able to beat Washington.
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