Michigan football: OC Jason Beck explains JJ Buchanan’s role, upside in familiar system

ANN ARBOR – Michigan Wolverines football offensive coordinator Jason Beck followed head coach Kyle Whittingham from Utah, and has a familiar playmaker to work with as he installs the new system at Schembechler Hall.

Sophomore wide receiver JJ Buchanan is in a unique situation after transferring this winter. Despite being new to the program and getting acclimated to his new digs, this will be his second season playing in Beck’s system, and a continuation of what he did as a true freshman.

Buchanan recorded 26 catches for 427 yards and 5 touchdowns in the potent Utah offense last year. The 6-3, 225-pound pass catcher is expected to play a major role in the passing offense with quarterback Bryce Underwood and wide receiver Andrew Marsh, both classmates.

“He came in the summertime as a true freshman, so we didn’t have spring ball with him,” Beck said on Tuesday evening. “He just showed up in the summer, early on in fall camp, within that first week, he just made some big contested catches and you just saw him do it, and you go, ‘Alright, let’s give him more and more opportunities.’ And he just kept going. So sure enough, game one, UCLA, he started and played the first snap. It was just his ability to make plays when the ball came his way.

“Now, he was very, I don’t know if raw is the right word, but he showed up from high school, and he was the player he was, and he was able to do that. Now it’s just a matter of continuing to develop his skills, his abilities, working on his releases, working on his routes in and out of breaks. Really adding the skill to his game, but his mindset and just showing up and making plays, that’s who he is.

“He’ll plug in here and play and do that while he develops all those other things. It’ll help him be a better player.”

Originally listed as a tight end both at Utah and in the initial transfer portal rankings, Buchanan will play the wide receiver position and do so in a variety of roles, both inside and out. Beck says Michigan’s pass catchers will be cross-trained to do so across the board.

 ”We do with our receivers,” Beck said. “We’ll move him all over. So they’ll play inside, outside, left, we’ll move him all over. And so JJ [is] much more [a wide receiver] than he is tight end. When he came to Utah, everybody kind of listed him as a tight end. But he’s 98% in a two-point stance flexed out. So he can maybe come in a little bit once in a while, but he’s in that receiver room and he’ll play all those different spots moving around.”

Honing in on Michigan’s playmakers

Michigan could have one of the best young offenses in the Big Ten with its projected contributors and Beck’s explosive system. But it’s still a little early to hone in on exactly what the group’s identity will be, the coordinator said.

 ”It’s really early in the process with that,” Beck explained on Tuesday. “We will be figuring that out, but it is just a matter of putting out some general baseline things and getting to work and then as guys emerge then start evolving and heading down those paths.

“Andrew Marsh. He makes plays and has an impact. Jordan Marshall makes plays and does a really nice job. We know what we have with JJ, and he’s been showing that to everybody here. And so it’s just a matter of… I’m just looking at who’s making plays who’s, who can you trust? Who do you trust? Getting their job done for everybody on the field and then adapting that way.

“We’re pretty early on. Today we got a little tackle work in, and really none of it matters until it’s live bullets and tackling. That’s when you evaluate them at the highest level. And so we’re just in that process and we’ll see where it goes, but we have good players.

“We’ll have plenty of guys to take looks at and see what they can do.”