There's been a lot of discussion in Michigan football circles about the lost production on offense, and how or if the team will successfully replace it in the 2024 season.

The obvious top priority is figuring out who will step in for the program's all-time winningest quarterback in J.J. McCarthy; a top-10 NFL draft pick who went 27-1 in two years as a starter and led the Wolverines to their first national championship in a quarter of a century.

There's also the notable departure of Blake Corum, the former unanimous All-American running back who re-wrote the U-M record books, surpassing Anthony Thomas for the most rushing touchdowns both in a single season (27) and career (58).

And the Wolverines have to replace the entire starting offensive line plus the top rotational tackle, including captains Zak Zinter and Trevor Keegan, who were two-time Joe Moore Award winners and have left for the pros.

With so much production out of the door, it has been easy to underestimate what has been lost out of the the wide receivers room. Michigan WRs coach Ron Bellamy, who lost both starters in Roman Wilson (Pittsburgh Steelers) and Cornelius Johnson (Los Angeles Chargers) to the NFL draft after combining for 95 catches for 1,393 yards and 13 touchdowns last year.

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But unlike other position groups on offense, the wide receivers don't have much past performance to lean upon.

The running backs have a three-year contributor Donovan Edwards while the offensive line has multi-year Power Five starters in Josh Priebe and Myles Hinton. But the wide receivers are largely unproven, as a cast of nine pass catchers who have combined for just 49 catches for 500 yards and four touchdowns at the Power Five level in their careers.

That's on par with the team's star tight end Colston Loveland, who last year alone had 45 catches for 649 yards and four touchdowns.

“We had a great spring with the guys," Bellamy recently said on the "Inside The Trenches" podcast with Jon Jansen. "Here’s the thing that I think people forget: They played a lot. Tyler Morris played over 300 snaps last year, and Semaj Morgan played over 200. Fredrick Moore played just under 100 snaps last year. Peyton O’Leary came on at the end of the year. So we do have experience.

“Now, the guys understand the production has to step up, and they’re ready ... ready for their opportunity."

The first obvious candidate appears to be Morris.

A former high school teammate of McCarthy, the rising junior knows he is expected to be one of the focal points of the offense. Though he never quite broke out last season, he did finish with 13 receptions for 197 yards and a high note toward the end of the year when hauled in his first career score on a 38-yard crosser in the Rose Bowl against Alabama.

"I will say the alpha in our room right now is Tyler Morris," Bellamy said. "He comes in with the most experience, he’s the oldest, and he’s a quiet leader — doesn’t say anything. But when he does his voice is so loud. And the guys understand that, that T-Mo wants the best for everyone."

At 5-foot-9, 182-pounds, Morgan was frequently used as a gadget player on screens and end arounds — in addition to hauling in 22 passes for 204 yards and a pair of scores, he also ran four times for 67 yards and a touchdown — but told the Free Press earlier this spring he's excited to be able to expand his role in the offense this year.

Bellamy, who coached Morgan at West Bloomfield prior to joining U-M's staff in 2021, feels he's ready, too.

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“Semaj is a dawg," Bellamy said. "He’s a guy that you show him how to do it once, and he’s going to perfect and keep attacking it and keep attacking it. Semaj is 5-9, but he plays like he’s 6-2. He’s always been like that."

Morgan praised Fredrick Moore last month at a camp; saying he feels the sophomore is due for a breakout season, but the St. Louis native had just four catches for 32 yards a season ago, raising questions on whether he can help much this season.

Morgan has long been praised for his work ethic and he says Moore has been with him every step of the way.

"Me and Fred man, we came in together," Morgan said in May. "We've been doing literally everything together since we got here. Workout, talk, one thing that's big, like me and Fred will critique each other's game. Like, we really love football and we really want to get better.

"At practice, we critique each other like, 'you did this on that one, try to do this' like me and Fred man, we gonna be something special."

Speaking of former Missouri standouts, there's sophomore Kendrick Bell, a former quarterback who was named the best high school football player in Kansas City and won state championships in high jump and long jump.

One might remember he turned heads with a long touchdown grab in the spring game from Davis Warren.

"What we talk about, we got to change your name," Bellamy said of his conversations with Bell. "People know you as 'Ronnie's little brother,' you need to be known as Kendrick Bell."

Payton O'Leary, who had just three catches for 18 yards and one touchdown in his career, was the fifth and final scholarship wide receiver in the room during spring practices; offensive coordinator Kirk Campbell said U-M would have to go to the transfer portal to round out the room with more bodies.

When it did, a familiar face returned in the form of Amorion Walker, the 6-foot-4 speedster who transferred to Ole Miss. Michigan also brought in CJ Charleston, a sixth-year player out of Youngstown State, who had a career year last season with 33 grabs for 503 yards and two scores; but largely against lesser competition.

The 6-foot, 190-pound wide out missed all of 2022 with an Achilles injury, but has played Big Ten foes in the past; in a pair of games against Ohio State and Michigan State, he combined for four catches for 25 yards.

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"I thought we needed an older guy in our room," Bellamy explained. "Another guy that could be a leader with experience."

While it won't come easy, nobody inside Schembechler Hall seems too concerned about wide receiver production.

"I feel good about them," head coach Sherrone Moore said earlier this summer. "People forget about the guys like Tyler Morris, Semaj Morgan, Fredrick Moore. I'm super stoked for them. Kendrick Bell is another guy that I'm excited about. We've got good depth."

Contact Tony Garcia: apgarcia@freepress.com. Follow him at @realtonygarcia.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan football WRs know they must step up, led by 'alpha,' 'dawg'