The Michigan passing game is finally coming together, as freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood has surpassed 200+ yards in four of his last five games. His most recent performance was the most efficient of his young career, as he threw for 230 yards and two touchdowns with a 77.8 percent completion rate.
The offensive explosion is not just to the credit of Underwood, however, as the receiver room has been a lot more efficient as well. Three receivers have 18 or more catches this year and all three
have more than 200 yards.
On the surface, it may appear the passing game has been solved and the Wolverines can sling it around with ease. But in reality, there is a lot of work to be done, particularly with preventing dropped passes and being more efficient throughout games.
Michigan has seen the emergence of two receivers in particular in Donaven McCulley and Andrew Marsh. The two have a combined 42 catches for 666 yards and four touchdowns. Marsh even made a one-handed catch vs Washington last Saturday.
However, the biggest question mark that still remains is the wide receiver that has been with the program since the Jim Harbaugh days — junior Semaj Morgan.
Morgan burst onto the scene in 2023 as a true freshman despite a crowded pass-catcher room, catching 22 passes for 204 yards and two touchdowns. He also had four rushes for 67 yards and two touchdowns. Standing 5-foot-10, he had a knack for adjusting his body mid-air to make contested catches, and he did not shy away from contact.
However, it has been tough sledding for the West Bloomfield native over the past season and a half. He had just 139 yards and one touchdown in 2024, and he has been inconsistent in 2025. He’s played in three games where he surpassed four catches this season, but he also has another four games where he didn’t even have two grabs.
Drops have also been a big issue for Morgan in 2025, as Morgan has the seventh-worst drop rate in the country of receivers who receive 20 percent of targets per PFF. He also has the fourth-most drops with six.
While some fans believe Underwood’s fast passes are the biggest reason for the drops, wide receivers coach Ron Bellamy doesn’t believe that to be the case at all.
“First and foremost, (Underwood) throws great balls,” Bellamy said. “He throws catchable footballs. For (the receivers), it’s find the football, see the football, and see it caught, just play with detail. I’ve played with guys with big arms, and just catch the football. You get used to it. Whether you’re on the jugs machine, during practice, pre-practice, post-practice, whatever it is, the receiver’s job is to catch the football. I don’t see an issue with how he’s throwing the football. I think he’s throwing the ball just fine in my eyes. He’s talented. He’s giving guys opportunities to make plays. You got to make them, and it’s my job to make sure our guys are doing that.”
Despite the turbulent times for Morgan, his position coach believes he is still in a good place mentally and they need to continue developing his game.
“Yeah, he’s confident,” Bellamy said. “Semaj is a very confident player, and we just got to keep making sure when the ball finds him, he gets an opportunity. You’ve got to make plays. You can’t worry about what the outside forces say, different things like that. You’ve got to keep chasing the ‘how,’ and that’s something that we continuously not only tell Semaj, but everyone on the team, for that matter.
“If you’re struggling in an area, how can we build you up? He’s doing everything he’s supposed to in the sense of staying on the jugs machine, staying after practice, working with Bryce, he’s doing those types of things. And he’s got to keep building his confidence up because he is a very confident young man.”
The Wolverines have a fortunate matchup on Saturday evening against Michigan State, which is ranked as the No. 111 pass defense in the nation. If there is a good time to air it out and raise the confidence of the wideouts, it is right now against an opponent everyone in Schembechler Hall wants to beat.
