Notre Dame Football vs Michigan Wide Receiver Comparison

After a bye week, 8th ranked Notre Dame football (5-1) heads to The Big House, in Ann Arbor, Michigan to face the rival 19th ranked Michigan Wolverines (5-2).

Here is an in-depth positional breakdown of how the Notre Dame football matches up with the Wolverines in this epic battle at the wide receiver position:

Notre Dame

Chase Claypool 6’5″, 230 pound, senior, 4-star star recruit out of Abbotsford, BC

27 receptions for 394 receiving yards and four receiving touchdowns

Avery Davis 5’11, 202 pound, sophomore, 4-star recruit out of Cedar Hill, TX

Six receptions for 98 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns

Braden Lenzy 5’11”, 180 pound, sophomore, 4-star recruit out of Tigard, OR

Four receptions for 87 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns

Javon McKinley 6’2″, 220 pound, senior, 4-star recruit out of Corona, CA

Eight receptions for 200 receiving yards and three receiving touchdowns

Michigan

Ronnie Bell 6’0″, 184 pound, sophomore, 3-star recruit out of Kansas City, MO

24 receptions for 432 yards and zero receiving touchdowns

Nico Collins 6’4″, 222 pound, junior, 4-star recruit out of Birmingham, AL

19 receptions for 358 yards and two receiving touchdowns

Tarik Black 6’3″, 215 pound, junior, 4-star recruit out of Hamden, CT

18 receptions for 241 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown

Donovan Peoples-Jones 6’2″, 208 pound, junior, 5-star recruit out of Detroit, MI

17 receptions for 175 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns

Advantage-Michigan

Both Notre Dame and Michigan have solid wide receiver groups. Michigan features the top recruited wide receiver in 2017, in Donovan Peoples-Jones and fellow junior Nico Collins as the top receiving threats for the Wolverines. Donovan Peoples-Jones was named to the preseason watchlist for the Paul Hornung Award (nations most versatile player), indicating the type of game changing ability he possesses.

However, the Notre Dame defense will need to remain cognizant of the whereabouts of the speedy big play potential of sophomore receiver Ronnie Bell.  In addition, Tarik Black offers Michigan big play potential, after missing most of last season with a foot injury.

For the Irish, Chase Claypool will remain the big play receiver option. His combination of size and speed make him a difficult receiver to defend, especially on jump ball passes. Sophomore wide outs Braden Lenzy and Avery Davis provide the Irish with speedy receiving options on the outside, as well as legitimate threats to run jet sweeps. Javon McKinley has been a big play receiver for the Irish this year, averaging an incredible 25.0 yards per reception on the season.

The size and pedigree of the Wolverine wide receiving corps gives them the slightest of advantages over a very talented Irish receiving group.