Utah tight-end-ish wide receiver J.J. Buchanan has committed to Michigan.
Buchanan was a true freshman in 2025 and still started seven games, making 26 catches for 427 yards and 5 touchdowns. Coming out of Henderson (NV) Coronado in 2025, he was a 247 Composite 3-star, the #27 athlete, and #570 overall. He is in the transfer portal as a 4-star, the #1 tight end, and #19 overall, according to 247 Sports.
The story on Buchanan coming out of high school was that he was an athlete who could play a variety of positions, from receiver to safety to tight end to linebacker. He didn't show elite speed for a receiver, but he did show nice ball skills. He also doesn't have the range of a safety, but his combo of size and athleticism potentially made him intriguing as a linebacker project. Instead, he ended up being a "tight end" at Utah, but he lined up out wide or in the slot for all but five of his snaps in 2025.
Now listed as a wide receiver for Michigan, it will be interesting to see how the Wolverines coaching staff deploys him in the bigger, faster Big Ten. Michigan loses starting tight end Marlin Klein, and the backups (Hogan Hansen, Zack Marshall, etc.) haven't shown much in the way of playing as in-line tight ends. With receiver Andrew Marsh returning and receiver Jaime Ffrench incoming, those two could start on the outside with Buchanan working in the slot. How will Michigan use the remaining offensive skill position spots? Will they treat Buchanan as a receiver or tight end? Will they bulk him up with the eventual goal of making him a 245 lb. tight end, or will they want him playing around 225 lbs. as a big receiver?
Overall, Buchanan is a good addition to a team that is used to using tight end-type bodies. Even if he ends up as more of a receiver, he offers a big body and some versatility through which to run RPOs and the like. He should probably see starter-level snaps in 2026 and be a frequent target for quarterback Bryce Underwood.
Buchanan is one of four Utah players to following Kyle Whittingham from Utah, along with defensive tackle Jonah Lea'ea, cornerback Smith Snowden, and defensive end John Henry Daley.
Question -- is there any reason why a backup offensive lineman couldn't come in and play an inline TE role when called for? If the purpose of the inline TE is mostly for run blocking, why not? I think they may have to wear a different jersey number, but if all the rules can be met, what's the downside? I'm not talking about a permanent move for the guy, but just have them available for that role if needed.
ReplyDeleteThe downside is predictability. If the defense sees the 6OL formation and know that guy isn't going catch a ball they can adjust their defensive strategy. As an offense you're willfully tossing an eligible receiver in the trash.
DeleteIs it common for inline TEs to release from blocking and be the play target for a pass? I realize it can be done, but is it common?
DeleteMy favorite play is a bootleg, hitting a TE Drag
Delete*Moa goes Blue. No more WR lineups of sub-6ft non-playmakers. Whitt & Beck understand the assignment: try harder
No, there's no real reason that an OL/DL can't come in and play some TE with an eligible number. We saw Trente Jones do it some a few years ago. I expected it more for the past couple seasons, but it didn't happen for whatever reason. It does hurt predictability, but it helps in the form of potentially forcing a team to adjust their alignments or personnel. If your 260 lb. strongside end plays a 7-technique (inside shoulder of the TE) and suddenly that TE is a 310 lb. backup tackle instead of a 245 lb. tight end like Colston Loveland, that changes the calculus.
DeleteWho played sub 6' WR lineups and when?
DeleteCome on Lank, you know the answers
Delete#ifyouknowyouknow
i dunno.
Delete2023 was probably the peak of sub 6' WRs with Wilson playing a massive role and Morris and Morgan supporting. But even then we had Barner, Loveland, Johnson as big targets (including the TEs) so I dunno how often there was a lineup of all sub 6' guys.
In 2024 we Loveland as the primary downfield target playing most of his snaps split out wide and Klein at TE stepping into Barner's role. Johnson/Wilson both gone and Morris and Morgan still there but the main guys getting snaps after Morris were O'Leary, Bell, and Moore who were all over 6'. I dunno how often you had "sub 6' WR lineups" that year but my guess is the number of times you had Charleston, Morgan, and Morris making up the WR group on the field together was probably right around zero.
In 2025 we had Klein and a rotating cast at TE while at WR it was McCulley, Marsh, Goodwin, then Morgan, then Bell. 1 guy under 6' was even in the rotation.
This stuff just keeps getting more goofy
DeleteOnly two days ago you prioritized Targets & Receptions. Today, it’s only Snaps
Why Lank?
Sometimes you’re simply outsmarted. But others, you have the exact same information the rest of us have, but focus on only what agrees with you. It’s one thing to have bias, but your omission of relevant information is easily exposed as more lies.
Why? Because it proves you wrong, using the same logic you applied on 2o Jan at 1:47PM on the Ffrench post:
RECEPTIONS:
Morgan, 28
Morris, 23
Moore, 11
O’Leary, 1o
Bell, 7
Walker, 3
Charleston, 1
Taylor, 1
TARGETS:
Morgan, 38
Morris, 37
Moore, 17 (lol)
Bell, 15 (lmao)
O’Leary, 14 (LMAO)
Walker, 4
Charleston, 1
Taylor, 1
OUR “top two” receivers EACH had more receptions & targets than the next two COMBINED
Those two WRs were both under 6’, and neither was any good; they sucked
This poor excuse for a WR room is what you argued as pLaYmAKeRs … it was a bad take
Between this & the gimmick, it’s silly to try anymore, and then accuse me of insults when I pick you apart
*Colston Loveland was & is a Tight End. Maybe you can find a Roster, Bio, Award or Accolade that says otherwise. NO, you only dodge
So if you play most of your snaps outside or in the slot are you no longer a TE?
ReplyDeleteOr is it about what you are called -- even though one school might call you a TE and another school might call you a WR?
My take -- give him the slash!
Even if Buchanan is a WR and only a WR at Michigan (never lining up with his hand down next to the OT or in the backfield ever again) he takes pressure off the TE room. Michigan has used 2TE formations a lot but typically one of the 2 TE is really just lined up as a WR. In other words if they list Buchanan as a WR that means you are going to see fewer 2TE sets because Buchanan took one of those TE's job.
Regardless of semantics I see Buchanan as next in line behind Loveland and McCulley. Both were both bigger bodies who served as primary downfield threats in 2024 and 2025 respectively. Different players (McCulley never played TE after switching over from QB but was a big body while Loveland is clearly a versatile TE), but similar roles in the offense. Loveland was a TE but functionally he was also WR3 in '23 and WR1 in '24. McCully was WR2 in '25. Buchanan can be that guy that is both a downfield threat on deep balls and a reliable possession guy moving chains on 3rd down. Not going to be the fastest guy on offense like some WRs but neither was Loveland or McCulley and that's alright.
TE room context:
DeleteIn 2022 Michigan played 10 different TEs, at least. 6 of them caught passes during the season. 5 of them saw time in the barn-burner against TCU.
All, Schoonmacher, Loveland, Honigford, Hanson, Hibner, Selzer, Klein, Neff, Bredeson.
Headed into 2026 Michigan has 6 TEs on the roster total, including the 2 FBs (Hoffman, Owens).
Supposedly Beck/Utah favor 12 personnel as Harbaugh did but something tells me the vision is a little different with the room dropping from 10 (at least) to 6.
Great pick up! Whitt & Beck emphasized & added some size to our WR room
ReplyDeletehttps://x.com/supreme_simpson/status/2012543931691545061?s=42
ReplyDeleteif this is true, it's damning. I know fans joked that Semaj must've been blackmailing SM for the amount of snaps he was given, but I shrugged if off as bad coaching decisions. This makes me reconsider
I saw that ... I'm inclined to think it's more sour grapes than it is blackmail, but there might be an element of truth to it.
DeleteThe thing is, if it was known that players were blackmailing the coach for playing time, it would have gotten out long before now. If the subject of the blackmail was known beyond one or two people -- which is likely; secrets are really hard to keep contained in a group setting like a football team -- then the power of the blackmail is diminished, and the whole thing would have come out before Moore was fired.
Another theory I saw floated was that Semaj dropped balls as a way of sabotaging Moore, which is also unlikely. A player is not going to damage their own reputation by intentionally dropping balls, just to get back at a coach.
I suspect they played Semaj Morgan out of a combination of two things: (1) in practice he was dynamic, and the potential was so alluring; and (2) the coaching staff just wasn't that locked into things, which is a kind way of saying they weren't up to the task.
The room is swept clean, and we have a reset. And thankfully, it looks like a relatively low transition-cost reset. So let's turn our eyes to 2026, and hope we see some good football on display.
Keeping secrets is hard, but players & staff had to know, for that same reason. I've read that her apartment was in the same cluster as some of the players; over two years , that's tough to hide
DeleteI don't think there was anything intentional about Semaj being unable to make a play. After three years, that's who he was
I agree with celebrating that the WR room is reset, and we can finally move on
My phrasing wasn't good ... when I said "room," I meant the whole team. But the WR room is getting a fairly significant reset, perhaps more so than other rooms.
DeleteI'm in the camp of having some sympathy and compassion for Sherrone Moore, which does not mean I condone or approve of the behavior. I just think he was thrust onto the big stage way too soon for where he was as a coach. I don't think he was ready to assume the HC role at a place like Central Michigan, and he certainly wasn't prepared to take on the University of Michigan role. Even absent the extramarital stuff, he would almost certainly have flamed out after year three or four. I've been dragged in other places for saying this, but I truly hope he finds a path out of the depths he's in, and he gets back on his feet somewhere, ideally as a position coach for four or five years to start.
I'm not inclined to believe much that guys post on social media. So much (of their writing, of their interpretations, etc.) can be misconstrued, emotional, etc. When he says "blackmail," does he have proof of what we consider in the real world as blackmail? Or is he just pissed off that he didn't play and assumes that Morgan had dirt on Moore and made threats or whatever?
DeleteI think Semaj Morgan is a talented player. (I also think Anthony Simpson has talent.) Morgan did a lot of good things for Michigan in 2023 and struggled. He also plays bigger than he is when it comes to breaking tackles, etc. There have been reasons to give him the benefit of the doubt and try to get him back on track.
You never know what happens on the practice field, in the locker room, etc. Maybe Simpson wasn't doing what he needs to do in other phases of being a student-athlete. I've had good athletes who didn't play or lost playing time because of attitude, academics, etc.
"No more WR lineups of sub-6ft non-playmakers."
ReplyDeleteHmmmm....why would snaps relate to "lineups" used? I have no idea!
Uh oh, Sorry the sarcasm alarm just started ringing.
If you're looking at LINEUPS the main thing that matters at snaps.
If you're looking at ROLE snaps matter as well, but targets and production matter too.
The main difference in this conversation is Michigan's snap counts are readily available online and Utah's aren't.
Another failed attemped at a gotcha...
That's the short version. Stop reading now if you don't care for arguing deep dive.
-------------------
2024 stats conveniently ignore the main guy in targets, catches, and yardage who played most of his snaps split out wide as a WR. Semantics or no semantics, Loveland who was a TE and also used as a WR and thus can be accurately described as TE/WR was used by michigan coaches, at Michigan, on the field, as a WR. Frequently.
But let's set that omission aside and focus on the point here.
"WR lineups of sub-6ft non-playmakers."
Does ignoring the leading receiver and pointing out the next two 2 leading WRs were Morris, Morgan while noting the others who weren't under 6' got used very frequently as well tell us anything about "lineups of sub-6ft non-playmakers". Nope it doesn't.
It's like looking at the top 2 leading scorers on a basketball team, saying "see they are both guards who are under 6'5" therefore the basketball team played no one over 6'5.
In spite of the insult, nobody is being outsmarted here, but one person is putting out information that is deliberately cherry-picked to try to prove their point. Unsuccessfully.
BTW Tyler Morris sucks so bad that champion Indiana Hoosiers recruited him to be one of their starting WRs after he started for Michigan as the second option behind Loveland in 24 and a part-time starter on the national champs in 23. Harbaugh and Cignetti like him, but JE thinks he sucks so...I guess you be the judge. Some dude at a suburban rec center or two of the greatest football coaches on the planet. hmmmm. Reminds me of a QB endorsed by Heupel and Harbaugh who went on to start in the NFL after claims about how bad he sucked from the same rec center enthusiast. Some folks haven't played the game beyond 90s high school and think they know a lot more than they know.
So take note, there's more to the game than the boxscore because anyone who knows the game knows that the passing game was severely hamstrung by having Warren and company at QB in 2024. That's why Loveland's numbers went DOWN even as he ascended from the third option in '23 to the first option in '24. Now he's an elite player in the NFL providing that downfield receiver options were NOT a liability for Michigan and Michigan did NOT lack playmaking receivers but rather a functional passing game (due to incompetent QB play and incompetent coaching). In other words, WR play is STILL not the problem on the '24 roster that had Loveland, Edwards, Morris, and Mullings to throw to (among others) but still couldn't get a single QB to even a 120 passer rating.
MY BAD I FORGOT THE ALL CAPS OH WELL NEXT TIME AMIGO.
"*Colston Loveland was & is a Tight End. Maybe you can find a Roster, Bio, Award or Accolade that says otherwise. NO, you only dodgE"
ReplyDeleteOH NICE SO THE STATS THAT LISTED HIS ROLE PLAYING IN LINE SPLIT OUT WIDE OR SPLIT OUT IN THE SLOT WASN'T ENOUGH FOR YOU?
COLSTON LOVELAND IS A TE AND NO ONE EVER SAID OTHER WISE.
ANOTHER JEDUBFANTASY!
#IWASRIGHT
OH WELL I CAN LIVE WITH THAT.
2024 SNAP COUNT FACTS
ReplyDeletePEOPLE UNDER 6' LISTED WITH **
**Morris, Tyler 464
Klein, Marlin TE 422
O'Leary, Peyton 375
Loveland, Colston TE 370 *
Bell, Kendrick 340
**Morgan, Semaj 284
Moore, Fredrick 181
**Charleston, C.J. 148
Hansen, Hogan TE 93
Walker, Amorion 42
Goodwin, Channing 31
Marshall, Zach TE 31
*TOTAL FOR CL WITH 70% EITHER IN SLOT OR OUTSIDE WR SO ~250 WR SNAPS
WHERE THERE any any any TIMES THAT MICHIGAN PLAYED A LINEUP WITH ALL SUB 6' WRS ON THE FIELD?
ReplyDeleteMAYBE! BUT PROBABLY NOT AND CERTAINLY NOBODY TO PROVIDE ANY EVIDENCE FOR IT HERE.
THERE MAYBE WERE SOME PLAYS WITH LOVELAND IN LINE AS A TE AND 2 OR 3 OF TEH WRS BEING MORRIS/MORGAN/CHARLESTON. BUT IT WOULD BE RARE. CHANCES ARE ARE BELL, OLEARY, OR MOORE WERE OUT THERE, AND IF ONE OF THOSE GUYS WASN'T THEN LOVELAND WAS BEING USED AS A WR.
I LOOK FORWARD TO PROOF OF THE BASELESS ASSERTION.
I KNOW IF I MADE SUCH A BOLD CLAIM I'D AT LEAST LOOK FOR IT.
BUT ITS JUST THE WAY OF THE WORLD SOMEPEOPLE ARE MORE FEELINGS/VIBES ORIENTED AND NOT EVERYONE HAS THE TOOLS TO MAKE A COGENT ARGUMENT BASED ON DATA AND EVIDENCE'
OH WELL
oh boy, four posts that switched from iYkYk to aNoN, STAN, another An0n, and then ANONYMOUS
DeleteI really got him!!!
But after exposing the attempt to mislead, let’s outsmart Lank with quotes, links and his own logic:
“If you're looking at LINEUPS the main thing that matters at snaps"
uh, okay. Morris had almost 5oo snaps in 2o24. Semaj had 284. Charleston had 147 … that’s a hole lot of lineups w/ a non-playmaker smurf
Maybe you mean together? That would take a lot of viewing … I got as far as six occasions in only the first game when - all of a sudden - look who’s lined up Wide, at the bottom of the screen? MAX BREDESON! Then I started to recall all the times 44 lined up Wide or in the Slot. By your own logic, Bredeson is a Wide Receiver too!
Hahaha, noooo … that’s ridiculous Lank
AH, HAHAHAHAHAHAHA
https://youtu.be/kU_pEFvSkik?si=LyO783Vloer3tIDx
✅snaps
❌production (because their production sucked)
PSSST: Utah stats - including snap counts - can be found online too Lank
https://subscribe.pff.com/create-account
“(Loveland) can be accurately described as TE/WR”
by YOU Lank, only by you … LMAO, still nothing for evidence? Another self own!
Nevermind. Your basketball analogy was even dumber. That’s not an insult, but an honest assessment of a poor & desperate attempt that missed, badly
Tyler Morris got signed by Indiana, but never started. You don’t need to lie on this again, as I exposed it last time you tried. His 2o24 stats were shared Thursday; he sucked. I’ve also shared his career stats; he sucked!
The Hoosiers signed SIX receivers last year, and only ONE had more than 1o receptions (Jonathan Brady, Cal/NMSU xfer)
Crediting Morris w/Cignetti’s championship is a bad lie, even for you Lank
Milton again! Haha, every critique I had against Milton was later found in his draft profile, despite your protests … but I predicted his arm would be drafted; YOU did not
#iwasright
“There’s more to the game than box scores”
sure Lank, but I don’t care about your feelings
"anyone who knows the game knows that the passing game was severely hamstrung by having Warren and company at QB in 2024“
YES. And I predicted as much IN THE SPRING, despite your protests
#iwasright
“now (Loveland) is an elite player in the NFL”
Yes Lank, at TIGHT END
https://www.chicagobears.com/team/players-roster/colston-loveland/
“WHERE THERE any any any TIMES THAT MICHIGAN PLAYED A LINEUP WITH ALL SUB 6' WRS ON THE FIELD?”
who said “all WRs” on the field were under 6’?
Another lie exposed, trying desperately to keep up with je The Wise
*but it’s HILARIOUS that you caveat w/a “mAyBe” … all these Ls have drained you of confidence Lank!
“SOMEPEOPLE ARE MORE FEELINGS/VIBES ORIENTED”
that was 16 minutes after an essay that included “there's more to the game than the boxscore”
not even Lank believes Lank … still!
4 posts, easily picked apart … no matter which personality you choose
Go Blue Lank!
#links
#quotes
#outsmarted
oh look, more accolades
Deletehttps://www.instagram.com/p/DTvUvjEjaQd/?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==