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Will Semaj Morgan be replaced as Michigan's punt returner?

Screenshotby: Clayton Sayfie10/27/25CSayf23

Michigan Wolverines football has a problem in the punt return game. The Wolverines rank 16th in the Big Ten, averaging 2.3 yards per attempt on 12 tries, with junior Semaj Morgan handling 11 of those.

Blockers have run into Morgan on multiple occasions, the Wolverines have let balls bounce for extra yardage and they’ve fair caught some punts when there was room to run.

In his Monday press conference, Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore was asked if Morgan will remain the return man.

“We’ll see as we go through,” Moore said. “It’s always competitive. There are always competitive battles there.”

The Wolverines did put freshman wideout Andrew Marsh back there on one punt in the 31-20 win over Michigan State, but Moore noted that the returner isn’t the only issue with the operation.

“It’s not just him,” the Michigan coach said. “It’s the return game as a whole, right? You’ve got to get the blocks, you’ve got to get the hold-ups. The gunners have to do all of those … everything has to be aligned and in sync. And then there are a lot of punts that he’s just got to fair catch. Those pieces are a part of it. We’ll keep working to get that better.”

In this last game, a 31-20 win over Michigan State, Morgan fair caught a punt at the 5-yard line instead of letting it bounce and potentially go for a touchback, and also ran horizontally on another when there was a lot of room to go north and south.

“Yeah, the fair catch at the 5, he’s just got to be better there,” Moore said. “And then there are just some communication things when your gunners or your jammers are playing, we’ve got to do a better job with those guys to stay away from the ball.”

Morgan is better during practice, Michigan’s head coach continued.

“Stuff happens,” he said of games. “In practice, he practices at a high level, he practices hard, he practices with energy. But we challenge him. We challenge him just like we’re going to challenge everybody else, so there’s constant competition with him at punt returner, there’s constant competition with him at receiver. So, we’ll constantly do that to put the best product on the field we can.

Morgan has had his ups and downs while on offense, too, serving as Michigan’s primary slot receiver. His drops are tied for the most in the Big Ten, though he has hauled in 19 receptions for 214 yards and a touchdown.

Michigan players have his back, sophomore running back Jordan Marshall said.

“Semaj is a great player,” the tailback remarked. “I trust in him with all I have. I trust in every single guy on offense. I’ve seen them make plays in practice. I’ve seen them catch balls. It’s nothing. I think it’s just in his head, and he’s going to be fine. Semaj is a great player, and these coaches are going to put him in a great spot to keep making plays.

“Again, everybody trust him on this team. There’s no trust lost because he dropped a ball or this. He’s going to have to make a big play for us at some point this year.

“No trust is lost for Semaj. He’s a great player, great person. He’s worked his tail off all year, and he’s going to make a big play for us in one of these upcoming games, and he’s going to set the tone. And everybody’s going to be like, ‘Oh, we love Semaj’ and this and this. I’m excited to see how he takes the things that have been thrown at him and takes it out on the field and just plays.”

Marshall and other Michigan players have seen the fan criticism for Morgan.

“I have. Everybody has,” he explained. “You either can take it as motivation or you can hang your head on it. I mean, these people, comments, things like that, you can’t really get drawn into that. You’ve got to be yourself, be you at the end of the day, rely on what you’ve done, your training. We’ve all seen that Semaj can make plays.”