At this time last season, Andrew Marsh was simply looking to prove he was worthy of a spot in Michigan football’s wide receiver rotation.
A true freshman at the time, it took enrolling early, learning the offense in spring, climbing the ranks in the summer and earning it behind the scenes in the fall.
Through four weeks, Marsh played just 52 total snaps and had only one reception for a 30-yard touchdown in a 63-3 rout of Central Michigan. But after a bye in Week 5, he got his first career start in Week 6, where he played 55 snaps and caught four passes for 80 yards. The rest was history.
Marsh had 44 catches for 611 yards over the final eight weeks of the season − the most of any pass catcher in the Big Ten during that time − to go with three touchdowns. Now, he’s seen as the leader of the room and feels notably more comfortable in his second fall camp.
“I feel like the game has slowed down for me a little bit,” he said on Friday, Aug. 7 at Schembechler Hall. “It’s really about being able to go full speed all the time, every rep, and being more intentional throughout practice.”
As many know by now, the last Michigan player to have more than 1,000 receiving yards in a single season was Jeremy Gallon in 2013 (1,373 yards). Every year, the question rears its ugly head, and when Marsh was asked about it, he smiled because he knows all too well.
From 1999-2007, Michigan had a 1,000-yard receiver in every season except one, 2006, when Mario Manningham had 703 yards in nine games as he missed nearly a month in the middle of the season. For a program that’s been in need of a truly elite receiving weapon for more than a decade, Marsh is eager to be the one to end the skid.
“That’s big for me this year,” Marsh said of the 1,000-yard mark. “Something I definitely want to accomplish. At least for my personal goal, that’s probably top of the list … and then go get a Biletnikoff (top wide receiver in America).”
Marsh said he’s spent this offseason taking the next steps in his game. He’s worked on getting off the line of scrimmage and the intricacies with his routes and he’s also spent time with Bryce Underwood in Los Angeles, while the quarterback trains with Jordan Palmer.
At 6 feet and 190 pounds, Marsh isn’t a prototypical big-frame receiver, nor is he an elite burner, but he makes up for it in other ways. Just ask someone who has to cover him in practice.
“Yeah, that guy’s special,” Michigan corner Zeke Berry said. “Every time I guard him, I mean, I want to guard him every day because I know how special he is, and like the way he moves his body is, you know, it makes it hard to guard. You know, I need that practice.
“The way he can move … he has great hands. But I feel like the way he moves the body, his route running is pretty good. I feel like that’s what is like strength is.”
Marsh isn’t just making a name with those who guard him, but the entire team. He’s become one of the leaders under the new regime, a proven weapon who will have a massive role from Day 1.
In a new offense, there’s hope he can take yet another step and his special teams showing in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl − 143 total return yards, including a long of 51 yards − was further evidence of what type of game-changer he can be with the ball in his hands.
Veteran tight end Zack Marshall said his daily approach gives him confidence he’s on the right path to become one of the top wide receivers in the Big Ten – and possibly the country.
“He attacks the exact same way when he walked in the first day to now,” Marshall said. “Like, do what you’re told to the best of your ability. No excuses, no explanations. Be here, be about the team, handle yourself as a professional, and that’s exactly what Andrew Marsh does.”
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Tony Garcia is the Michigan beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at apgarcia@freepress.com and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: How Andrew Marsh plans to become best Michigan football WR in years
Reporting by Tony Garcia, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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By Tony Garcia, Detroit Free Press | USA TODAY Network
