Roman Wilson: 'No matter what situation I’m in, I’m just blessed.'

Wolverine senior, sporting the coveted No. 1 this season, is a big-play receiver hoping to have a very big season

Photo Courtesy of University of Michigan Photography

Wolverine receiver Roman Wilson signals a first down made against Illinois in the 2022 home finale victory.

By Steve Kornacki

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Roman Wilson has produced his share of big plays for the Wolverines. There was the 75-yard touchdown pass from tailback Donovan Edwards in the 2021 Big Ten championship game against Iowa, and the Statue of Liberty handoff he took 18 yards into the end zone in last year’s Fiesta Bowl national semi-final against TCU. He absorbed heavy contact on that scoring run, and his body was doing a helicopter spin over the final yards.

The senior wide receiver comes up big in the biggest games, and now is hoping for a really big season. With Ronnie Bell off to the San Francisco 49ers, Cornelius Johnson and Wilson are in line to become the go-to receivers.

“I hope so,” said Wilson. “But my goal is to help this team and do whatever I can – be the best receiver I can, and put ourselves in a good position.”

While Wilson, a 6-foot, 192-pounder from Honolulu, Hawaii, has definitely been a difference-maker, he had just 25 catches for 376 yards and four touchdowns in 2022.

Michigan offensive coordinator Sheronne Moore senses that Wilson is up to doing much more in 2023.

“You can see the confidence and twinkle in his eye when he’s in the game,” said Moore. “He’s got a little bit of swagger, understands the game more, understands the offense more. He turns it up a little bit. So, I’m excited to see him as a receiver this year.”

Wilson wore No, 14 as a tribute to favorite receiver Stefon Diggs, a three-time Pro Bowl pick with the Buffalo Bills, but has taken on the coveted No. 1 that has been special at Michigan ever since three-time All-American and 1982 Big Ten MVP Anthony Carter sported it.

“This is an opportunity to step up into a high-profile role,” Wilson said of the new number. “It’s a big deal here, I guess. It’s a lot of pressure, but that’s what I want.”

He most equates No. 1 with Braylon Edwards (Biletnikoff Award winner, Big Ten MVP and No. 3 overall pick of the Cleveland Browns in 2005) and Devin Funchess (first-team All-Big Ten tight end in 2013).

“I think about Braylon Edwards the most and then Devin Funchess,” said Wilson.

Josaiah Stewart, a junior edge rusher who transferred from Coastal Carolina, has noticed the spark Wilson brings to the team.

“He has play-making ability and is going to be great for us,” said Stewart. “But his character that he brings to practice every day is also going to be beneficial for us. He lifts up all his guys, the receivers and tight ends, even the O-line. Having that camaraderie on a team is real important.”

J.J. McCarthy scrambled to find Wilson for a 14-yard touchdown pass late in the fourth quarter of the Fiesta Bowl, and I asked Wilson about the rapport he’s developed with the junior quarterback.

“That’s my quarterback,” said Wilson, smiling. “I have a better and better relationship with him, and that team trip we took Up North [in northern Michigan] I got to know him more as a person. He’s from Illinois. I’m from Hawaii. We’re from two different parts of the world. It took us a while to get closer, but now I understand who he is as a person.”

There was one play that just might be his most memorable because it was ruled a touchdown before it was reviewed and determined to be only a 48-yard catch. Officials ruled that he was down between the one-yard line and goal line against TCU in Glendale, Ariz.

A lost fumble on the next play denied Michigan points after that catch covered nearly half the field, and those seven points could’ve been the difference in a wild, 51-45, loss to the Horned Frogs.

It’s a play that TV replays appeared to show was indeed a touchdown, and Wilson gets asked about it quite often.

“It’s definitely something that happened in the past,” he said. “I wished I would’ve scored. But, you know, it just didn’t happen, and I’m not upset. It’s just something that happens and you move on.”

Still, is that frustration compounded by what the replay showed?

Wilson said: “When I saw the replay, I was like, ‘It is what it is.’ I’m not going to get bitter because if it happens, it happens, and you’ve got to move on.”

I asked Wilson to pick a favorite among his biggest plays, and he said, “I don’t know. I really like all my plays. In the most humble way, making a big play really means a lot to me. Growing up as a kid, it was something I dreamed of. And every time it happens, it’s a surreal moment out there in front of 100,000 people with millions watching on ESPN or whatever broadcast.

“It’s really surreal. When I get home, I’ve got to settle down and think about how far I came.”

Who most helped Wilson, a four-star recruit, develop?

“I mean, I’ve got an endless list of people that helped me out,” said Wilson. “There are my parents [Colleen Colegrove and Jeffrey Wilson], God and so many coaches throughout the years. I’ve just had a long journey to get here.”

There are times when he says he can still hear Mom shouting “GO ROMAN!” at Michigan Stadium – something common place when he was a star at St. Louis High in Honolulu. He made 61 catches for 1,025 yards and 11 touchdowns as a senior on a 12-0 team that won 38 consecutive games while winning four state championships.

He has a vertical, one-word tattoo, “Blessed,” on the left side of his neck that he said is connected to his relationship to God.

“I got that in my freshman or sophomore year,” said Wilson. “It’s just like something I put on me. My dad always tells me tattoos stay with me for the rest of my life. So, this was something I wanted to remind myself of every day. No matter what situation I’m in, I’m just blessed.”