We’ve been hyping Channing Goodwin, Whittingham agrees
If you have followed me at all going back to last season, Channing Goodwin earning praise from Michigan’s coaching staff should not come as much of a surprise.
We have been talking about him for a while.
People around the program have consistently described Goodwin as one of Michigan’s better route runners and one of its best blocking wide receivers. He is a coach’s son, a Michigan legacy, and the kind of high-motor player who tends to find a role in an offense that values physicality as much as it values explosive plays.
The question has never really been whether Goodwin understands how to play the position.
It has been whether he can consistently finish plays when the football comes his way.
Drops were an issue last season. There is no reason to dance around that. If Goodwin wants to become a significant part of Michigan’s passing game, he has to prove he can reliably catch the ball.
But everything else is there.
That is why Kyle Whittingham naming Goodwin as one of Michigan’s biggest fall camp risers caught our attention.
“He’s really brought himself in the mix now,” Whittingham said. “Channing is a guy that really came into his own this fall. He’s a guy that’s going to be a factor for us.”
The important part of that answer came immediately before it.
Whittingham made it clear Andrew Marsh and JJ Buchanan are Michigan’s top two receivers.
“Make no mistake, Andrew Marsh and JJ Buchanan will be on the field 90% plus of the time, if they stay healthy,” he said.
That should end any unnecessary debate over WR1 or WR2. Michigan has two top dogs at wide receiver.
The more interesting question is what happens behind them.
Goodwin, Salesi Moa, Travis Johnson and Jaime Ffrench should all have opportunities to earn what we loosely call WR3 snaps, but that role probably will not belong to one player in the traditional sense.
Michigan can use those receivers differently based on opponent and game plan.
Goodwin makes plenty of sense from the slot when Michigan wants to run the football. His physicality allows him to serve as an extra blocker from the interior, and his route-running ability can make him effective working underneath and across the middle.
Another matchup may call for more size, speed or vertical ability from someone else.
That is why Michigan’s receiver room looks much more dynamic than it did a year ago.
Marsh and Buchanan give the Wolverines two clear top options. Behind them, there are several players with distinct skill sets and breakout potential.
Goodwin does not need to become Michigan’s breakout receiver to have a very good season.
He needs to keep doing the things that have earned him trust — and catch the football when his number is called.
