Former Youngstown State University wide receiver C.J. Charleston has committed to Michigan out of the transfer portal.
Charleston was an unranked 2019 recruit who committed to the Penguins out of Gates Mills (OH) Gilmour Academy. He redshirted as a freshman and then played in five games during the COVID season, making 7 catches for 112 yards. Then in 2021 he made 16 catches for 147 yards before tearing his Achilles prior to the 2022 season, which caused him to miss the entire year. The 6'0", 190-pounder returned to play in 2023 and made 33 catches for 467 yards and 4 touchdowns while starting all thirteen games. He has two years of eligibility remaining, so he could be on Michigan's roster through 2025.
Here you can see him catching a 72-yard touchdown pass on a broken play against Illinois State last year:
Charleston does not have great speed or size, so he looks to be more of an intermediate possession guy. I'm not sure he offers much in the way of skills that Michigan does not already have. But he is another body to add to the room, and I would hope that his experience and time in a college strength and conditioning program will help him play a role as a leader and blocker.
Below are some highlights of the Charleston, who was a high school running back. As a senior in 2018, he ran for 198 yards, 2585 yards, and 49 touchdowns, albeit against some pretty weak competition. You can see his body type and running style lend themselves to the receiver position more, so that may explain why it took him some time to make an impact at YSU.
I see O'Leary and I see a guy that can play. Big target, looks like he has good hands, fast enough, good route runner.
ReplyDeleteOf course, that is the spring game and I guess the coaches that see him hours per day feel he can't play so they are adding JAG's.
Nice to add an older voice to the locker room. More specifically the WR room, which otherwise is very young and inexperienced. There's a leadership opportunity here, and presuming that Charleston fits the culture and is accepting of a complementary role, he could be the guy to fill it. With Morgan in particular still being a young guy (and having a lot of personality in ways both good and bad) I think there's potential value to the team that may never show up in Charleston's stats.
ReplyDeleteGiven coaches identifying a need here and not TE, part of me wonders if we won't see some changes (more than expected) diverging away from Harbaugh era philosophy. Not on the superficial level - I think Moore and Campbell will still be run first and emphasizing OL - I mean the frequency of 12 and 22 personnel.
Great opportunity for him, though not much impact for the team
ReplyDeleteWith our giant step back expected at QB, it'll be interesting how these Receivers are utilized, rotate and impact future prospects
This is looking more and more like a 9-3/8-4 season. Not horrible but not what we are accustomed to in the past 3 yrs. Unless there is a surprise breakout player (preferably at QB), it is difficult for us to make the playoff with this offense. We will probably be underdog to Texas/OSU/Oregon.
ReplyDeleteDepends on our OL too. I was inspired by each of our RBs getting hopes against a great (even if split) Defense
DeleteThere's hope, but Orji will have to remain a gadget or make significant strides as a passer
*holes
Delete