Michigan PGC/WRs Coach Ron Bellamy ‘Not Shying Away’ From Offensive Woes 

The Wolverines have been able to run the ball at least somewhat productively in every game this season. The passing game has been about as bad as it could get. Three quarterbacks later, Michigan is 4-3 and closer to the bottom of the conference than the top. Michigan passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach Ron Bellamy said the offense has to attack everything as one. 

“It’s not what we wanted to be,” Bellamy said. “We all got to do our 1/11th, from protection to quarterback to receiver. Everything, even coaches, just being more detailed. Everybody just doing it together. That’s how we’re gonna get this thing rolling, and that’s our mindset.”

What’s Holding Them Back?

There have been multiple instances this season in which the Michigan quarterback has missed an open receiver, and that goes for Alex Orji, Davis Warren and Jack Tuttle. Bellamy said the wide receivers have to be able to adapt. 

“If the play presents an opportunity to make the play, we have to make them. I don’t think for us, it matters who it is. Whoever Coach Moore or [offensive coordinator Kirk Campbell] say, that’s who we’re rolling with. [They have] 100 percent support and the guys are going to play hard. It doesn’t matter who the quarterback is.”

One of the main messages coming out of Ann Arbor over recent weeks has been the inability to transfer success in practice to the games. Bellamy said youth could be playing a factor. 

“We gotta take it from State Street and bring it to Main Street,” Bellamy said. “That’s the biggest thing. Having played here, having been around and playing the receiver position, you got to carry it over to the stadium and usually experience comes with that. But we’re gonna keep attacking it. There’s no doubt about it.”

How Can the Coaches Help?

When a team struggles on offense like Michigan has, it’s usually not just on the player or coaches, but a combination of both. Bellamy said the coaches have been trying to make it easier for the players to execute.

“When we’re not executing at a high level, I think that’s what as coaches, you kind of look to asking, ‘Can we make things easy for us, harder for the defense?’, or whoever the opponent may be, whatever side of the ball we’re talking about,” Bellamy said. “There’s some merit to that. Depending on who’s your quarterback, what receivers you’re rolling out there, what tight ends, what backs, what o-line, whatever it may be.”

In addition to the quarterback changes, Michigan has also had to shuffle its offensive line due to injury. Nevertheless, Bellamy acknowledged that the offense hasn’t been up to snuff. 

“We have to be better,” Bellamy said. “Quarterback, receivers, collectively. It’s a breakdown somewhere and it has to get fixed. I’m not shying away from that, and I’m giving you my honest assessment of what I see, and that’s where we are. We’re not good enough. We’ve got to be better.”

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