Michigan football has often promised that incoming freshman wide receivers are set to be big contributors, but it’s rarely come to fruition. However, for former four-star Andrew Marsh, he didn’t just participate; he led all pass catchers for the Wolverines in his first year of college football.
The maize and blue have long had issues presenting dominant receivers, but they may have just found one. Despite not being a factor both early and in the final two games of the season, Marsh led the whole group, reeling in 45 catches for 651 yards and four touchdowns in 2025. Now he’s expected to be the focal point in the pass game, but with JJ Buchanan coming in from Utah, Jaime Ffrench from Texas, and freshmen such as Salesi Moa and Travis Johnson expected to play factors, the pressure will likely be off him on a play-to-play basis.
Given what was seen in year one, Fox Sports’ Michael Cohen has high hopes for Marsh, putting him on his list of 10 breakout candidates across college football heading into the 2026 season.
College football is right around the corner đ€©
Check out @Michael_Cohen13‘s Top 10 breakout candidates heading into the 2026 season đ„ pic.twitter.com/X5lI9VpyNh
â FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) May 30, 2026
The issue, as noted, was that Marsh was a nonfactor in the first several games of the season last year, which is understandable for a true freshman. He didn’t see any significant time until the fifth game of the season, when he supplanted Channing Goodwin as the starter opposite Semaj Morgan and Donaven McCulley. He wasn’t targeted in the final regular season game against Ohio State, and was essentially a nonfactor in the bowl game against Texas.
So if the Wolverines deploy him early and often, as expected, he could have a big year. And given that the coaching staff is adamant about utilizing the talent at their disposal, there shouldn’t be any games where a healthy Marsh isn’t targeted at least once, if not several times.
This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: Andrew Marsh poised for breakout Michigan season