Michigan football extends scholarship to former walk-on wide receiver
Michigan football’s wide receiver group has gotten plenty of attention as a group to watch ahead of the 2023 season. But one more name has been added to the mix in terms of players to keep an eye on – junior wideout Peyton O’Leary.
O’Leary (6-3, 195) revealed this week that after spending two seasons as a walk-on at Michigan, head coach Jim Harbaugh and the staff have elected to put him on scholarship moving forward.
“He called to tell me that they were putting me on a scholarship,” said O’Leary, via The Daily News of Newberryport. “I was pumped. It’s been a dream come true to be able to play football here, and it’s truly a blessing to earn a scholarship. My family was really proud of me. It was great too, because in my class we had four preferred walk-ons, and three of us just got put on scholarship.”
O’Leary contributed in six games for Michigan during the 2022 season, primarily on special teams and recorded one catch for 4 yards. The Byfield, Massachusetts native joined the program in 2021 after having his senior season in high school canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. O’Leary had 38 catches for 750 yards and 8 touchdowns during his prep career and also starred in basketball and lacrosse. He was originally committed to UMass Amherst to play lacrosse.
But now, he appears the have turned enough heads in Ann Arbor to warrant further consideration at wide receiver. He was one of the breakout stars of last offseason with Harbaugh comparing him to an NFL star.
“Another guy who’s surged is Peyton O’Leary,” Harbaugh said last August. “So, Peyton O’Leary is backing up Cornelius Johnson right now at the X-position. And he’s had a Cooper Kupp-like training camp. I mean, he’s almost got that nickname around here right now. So that’s been tremendous.”
There is an opportunity moving forward for playing time at wide receiver with Ronnie Bell off to the NFL and Andrel Anthony transferring to Oklahoma. Graduate Cornelius Johnson, seniors Roman Wilson and AJ Henning and the sophomore trio of Amorion Walker, Darrius Clemons and Tyler Morris will compete for spots at the top of the Michigan depth chart.
Despite that, O’Leary plans on making a push to crack the lineup despite higher-regarded young prospects ahead of him.
“For next year my goal is to be in the top-6 receivers,” said O’Leary. “I know that starting isn’t realistic, but I’m going to work really hard to get into that top-6. Now that I’m on scholarship, I have more of an even chance to get there. Once you’re here the best person plays, they don’t care what you’re name is.”
Behind the scenes, O’Leary has helped Michigan reach unforeseen heights as a program. He was a Scout Team star in 2021 and continued to grind behind the scenes in 2022. Michigan has won a pair of Big Ten Championships and made the College Football Playoff twice since he has been on campus.
“It’s been an awesome journey so far,” O’Leary. “We’ve made back-to-back trips to the College Football Playoff in my two years here, and we’re going to have a lot a really good returners back next year. It’s a job for sure. During the season, we’re in the building five hours a day grinding. But it’s all worth it, all of the hard work has been worth it.”
