If Michigan football’s new assistant wide receivers coach Erik Campbell, who is more affectionately referred to around the program as ‘Soup,’ ever wants another job, Ron Bellamy knows exactly what it should be.

Bellamy, U-M’s primary wide receivers coach, spoke to media Monday afternoon and recalled that the first thing Campbell did upon his return to Ann Arbor − not only did he coach wideouts under Lloyd Carr for a dozen years from 1995-2007, but returned as recruiting coordinator in 2015 under Jim Harbaugh − was re-do the wideout room.

“I told Soup he’s an interior decorator,” Bellamy joked.

But for Soup, er, Campbell, there was a method to the madness. He wasn’t putting in mood lighting and chairs with comfier seatbacks; he wanted to dedicate the group’s meeting room as a shrine to all who’ve come before them. So Campbell put up pictures of all of U-M’s greatest wideouts in program history on the walls.

It not only serves as inspiration, but has become a way for the players of today to learn about those of yesterday.

“You can see the boys looking and marveling at it like, ‘man, wow,’” Bellamy said Monday. “We do trivia before we start every meeting. Last question was: who was the first 1,000 yard receiver that Eric Campbell coached here?”

Bellamy joked that everybody involved began looking around the room, trying to do the math of what player may have been there at that time. While most guessed Amani Toomer, the answer was actually Tai Streets.

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It may seem like a small detail, but between Bellamy, a former wideout who had more than 1,000 all-purpose yards and nine touchdowns during his career (1998-2002) and Campbell, who Bellamy called “the best wide receiver coach in program history” there’s been an emphasis placed on embracing the pedigree that comes with being a pass catcher in the maize and blue.

“You go down the list, it’s a rich tradition here of receivers at Michigan and you can see the boys take pride in that,” Bellamy said. “On the wall it’s a collage of guys throughout the history of Michigan football so (now) it’s like ‘who’s next?’ Who’s going to be the next one of you guys in that room who enters that wall?

“Then they say ‘Hm, you got to get to work to be on this wall.’”

That’s exactly what’s happened not just this offseason, but since 2024 ended. Last spring, the Wolverines were incredibly shorthanded at wideout, with just a half-dozen scholarship players fully available. This year, the room hasn’t just added bodies, but those with proven pedigree as well as others perceived with upside.

Donaven McCulley, who caught 48 passes for 644 yards and six touchdowns in 2023 at Indiana, entered the fold as the most experienced option. A 6-foot-5, 205-pound wideout out of Indianapolis, he simply looks different than anybody else who was in the room last year.

After starting his career as a quarterback (he’s thrown a touchdown against U-M) he has more than 1,000 career snaps out wide and was Bellamy’s first answer when asked who could be the next guy on the wall.

“He’s on track to do that,” Bellamy said of McCulley’s spring workouts. “Challenging himself every day … been a great addition.”

Beyond that, there are a pair of intriguing freshman coming in. Andrew Marsh, a four-star out of Katy, Texas, is the highest rated high school recruit at the position to pledge to Ann Arbor since Donovan Peoples-Jones in 2017. He’s 6 feet 1, 185 pounds while his fellow early enrollee, Jamar Browder, stands 6 feet 4 and is yet another big-bodied option.

Last season, U-M was undersized out wide, which didn’t allow them to challenge as much down field. This year, the staff made a concerted effort to add length, which should not only help Bellamy, but help the quarterbacks.

“With the bigger guys, it gives you the one-on-one matchups,” Bellamy said. “Most guys call them 50-50 balls, but if the ball is in the air, then it’s ours, that’s our mentality. When you’re starting to roll out 6-3, 6-4, 6-5 guys, most of them have basketball backgrounds … that’s something we didn’t have last year, we do now.

“Feel good about the additions we made to address that. … it takes stress off the play caller and the quarterbacks.”

Bellamy also warned not to forget about the sophomores and juniors, either. Fred Moore and Semaj Morgan both have two years experience in the system, while Channing Goodwin (a U-M legacy) and I’Marion Stewart each have been more involved this spring, too.

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Neither enrolled early last year, and by the time they arrived for fall camp, they were swimming in the playbook. Now, things have slowed down, which presents two more options to potentially work into the fold out wide. That’s not to mention Peyton O’Leary, who had more than 100 yards in the spring game a few years back and has seemed on the precipice of a bigger role since 2023.

Add it all up and Bellamy feels much better about where his group is now than at this time a year ago.

“This is probably the deepest the room has been since I’ve been at Michigan,” Bellamy said. “Obviously we got work to do, guys still have to go prove themselves, but it’s not just young guys who are forced to play … I’m super excited about the competition that we have in our room because we’re a deeper unit.”

Bellamy paused, as if he was done. Then, he couldn’t help himself, and added one more thought.

“We still got to put the work in.”

Tony Garcia is the Michigan Wolverines beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at apgarcia@freepress.com and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.