The Curious Case of Jaime Ffrench and Michigan Football's WR3 Battle

Entering Week 5, Michigan has two star wide receivers in JJ Buchanan and Andrew Marsh. Buchanan leads the team with 396 receiving yards, and Marsh has had back-to-back 100-yard outings to get to 239 yards on the season.

But after those two, it's Savion Hiter and Jordan Marshall as the Wolverines' No. 3 and No. 4 pass catcher, in terms of yardage. There have only been four total wide receivers who have caught a pass this season, and that's freshmen Salesi Moa and Travis Johnson.

What happened to Jaime Ffrench?

Mandarin's Jaime Ffrench (2) makes a one-handed touchdown reception — USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Michigan landed both JJ Buchanan and Jaime Ffrench from the transfer portal, while adding Salesi Moa, who is a freshman. Ffrench, a former top-40 prospect, played in just four games for Texas last season to preserve a redshirt.

Ffrench, who has good speed and can challenge the defense, spoke this offseason about coming to Michigan and being able to find the old Ffrench again, now that he has a chance to showcase what he can do.

"Man, just playing fast, just bringing the old me back to the college collegiate level," said Ffrench. "Just helping my team win, get touchdowns, move the ball on third down, stuff like that."

But that hasn't been the case. He has played in two total games and has 10 snaps. Nine of those snaps came late against UTEP. However, on Wednesday, wide receivers coach Micah Simon said that Ffrench is practicing well and could have a role going forward.

“He’s doing a great job,” Simon noted. “He’s practiced really well the last couple weeks, so as things continue to move forward, there’s a strong chance you see him out there more than you have previously.”

Simon on the WR3 battle

Michigan wide receiver Salesi Moa — USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Channing Goodwin began the season as the third wide receiver, but it's been Salesi Moa the last couple of weeks. Moa had a drop last weekend against Iowa, but the Wolverines are high on what he can do.

Micah Simon hopes to get more players involved in the coming weeks, but taking Marsh and Buchanan off the field likely isn't an option. And with how much Michigan runs the Rhino look, it's not so easy to find snaps for all these wide receivers.

“You definitely want to always get more guys involved," Simon said. "There are a ton of guys who probably say they have earned that opportunity to probably get a few more snaps here and there. I think the hard thing for me is, how Andrew and JJ have been playing, why would I ever bring them off the field right now? That’s kind of the battle I’m in, but the guys are working hard, and excited to keep moving forward with the rest of the season.”

Fans can see if Ffrench gets some more run this weekend when Michigan takes on Minnesota at Noon ET on FOX.

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