Karmello English’s path to Michigan, outlook for 2023

Michigan’s wide receiving core will likely feature some fresh faces in 2023, as someone will have to step up with Ronnie Bell heading to the NFL. Cornelius Johnson and Roman Wilson are two experiences guys expected to produce, but there are receptions to be had for Michigan’s young group of pass catchers.

Karmello English could be one of the freshman that carves out playing time for himself. Here’s how he got to Michigan and his outlook on the 2023 roster.

The story so far

English committed and signed with Michigan in December. He was originally committed to Auburn, but re-opened his commitment back in September when Auburn struggled to start the year. He attended Michigan’s win over Penn State this past season, and committed to the Wolverines not long after that.

A four-star pass catcher on the 247Sports composite, the Phenix City, Alabama, native is ranked as the 188th-best player in the 2023 class. He’s also rated as the 26th-best receiver and the 16th-best player from the state of Alabama.

As Jon Simmons covered when he committed, the 5-foot-11, 175-pounder is a versatile receiver who could play inside or outside with the Wolverines. He mostly played in the slot in high school, amassing 1,909 yards and 29 touchdowns over his last two seasons.

Outlook for 2023

It’s tough to know at this point in the summer how much we’ll see of English this season. He’s one of three promising receivers in the 2023 class, along with Semaj Morgan and Fredrick Moore. He didn’t play in the spring game, so we haven’t even seen him in a Michigan uniform yet.

As our Dan Plocher laid out in this piece on Morgan, the Wolverines will need a kick and punt returner with A.J. Henning’s departure. That spot could go to a number of guys on the roster, including Morgan or other reserves at wide receiver like Tyler Morris.

Perhaps English could earn some special teams time with his speed, but unless he really impresses coaches in pre-season practices, we may not see him a whole lot in 2023. I wouldn’t be surprised if he is redshirted.