Tag: JJ Buchanan

2026 Season Countdown: #9 J.J. Buchanan

Name: J.J. Buchanan
Height: 6’4″
Weight: 218 lbs.
High school: Henderson (NV) Covenant
Position: Wide receiver
Class: Sophomore
Jersey number: #6
Last year: Buchanan played at Utah. He caught 26 passes for 427 yards and 5 touchdowns while starting seven games.
TTB Rating: N/A

Buchanan was a lightly regarded tight end recruiting coming out of high school and was listed by Utah as a tight end in 2025, but he didn’t play tight end. Offensive coordinator Jason Beck moved him all around the field, playing him in the slot, outside, snug to the line, etc. He showed a really impressive ability to adjust to short throws and especially balls thrown behind him, and his hands are outstanding. At 6’4″ with long arms and strong hands, he’s a problem for opponents because of the size advantage against most defensive backs.

Michigan needed help at wide receiver after frankly being pretty bad at receiver in 2025. Michigan has not recruited extremely well at wide receiver in the past couple classes outside of Andrew Marsh, and the inability to throw the ball also goes back to having starting quarterbacks named Davis Warren and Alex Orji, along with a young true freshman Bryce Underwood last year. Kendrick Bell and Channing Goodwin don’t strike fear into opponents, so Michigan brought in Buchanan – a size mismatch – and Jaime Ffrench (Texas) and Salesi Moa (Utah). Between Buchanan and Marsh as the top two and then whoever they decide the #3 and #4 receivers will be, the Wolverines should be much improved in 2026.

I wanted to save Buchanan for later and thought long and hard about whether to rank him higher than Andrew Marsh, but ultimately, I think Marsh is the field stretcher and perhaps special teams contributor (kick/punt returner) who could be more difficult to replace. Underwood developed a good rapport with Marsh during the second half of last season, and this spring/summer, it looks like Underwood has done the same with Buchanan. While it should be a run-focused offense, it looks like Michigan will be able to create some big plays and more consistent chunk gains through the air this fall.

Prediction: Starting wide receiver; 50 catches, 750 yards, 7 touchdowns

J.J. Buchanan, Wolverine

Utah tight-end-ish wide receiver J.J. Buchanan has committed to Michigan.

Buchanan was a true freshman in 2025 and still started seven games, making 26 catches for 427 yards and 5 touchdowns. Coming out of Henderson (NV) Coronado in 2025, he was a 247 Composite 3-star, the #27 athlete, and #570 overall. He is in the transfer portal as a 4-star, the #1 tight end, and #19 overall, according to 247 Sports.

The story on Buchanan coming out of high school was that he was an athlete who could play a variety of positions, from receiver to safety to tight end to linebacker. He didn’t show elite speed for a receiver, but he did show nice ball skills. He also doesn’t have the range of a safety, but his combo of size and athleticism potentially made him intriguing as a linebacker project. Instead, he ended up being a “tight end” at Utah, but he lined up out wide or in the slot for all but five of his snaps in 2025.

Now listed as a wide receiver for Michigan, it will be interesting to see how the Wolverines coaching staff deploys him in the bigger, faster Big Ten. Michigan loses starting tight end Marlin Klein, and the backups (Hogan Hansen, Zack Marshall, etc.) haven’t shown much in the way of playing as in-line tight ends. With receiver Andrew Marsh returning and receiver Jaime Ffrench incoming, those two could start on the outside with Buchanan working in the slot. How will Michigan use the remaining offensive skill position spots? Will they treat Buchanan as a receiver or tight end? Will they bulk him up with the eventual goal of making him a 245 lb. tight end, or will they want him playing around 225 lbs. as a big receiver?

Overall, Buchanan is a good addition to a team that is used to using tight end-type bodies. Even if he ends up as more of a receiver, he offers a big body and some versatility through which to run RPOs and the like. He should probably see starter-level snaps in 2026 and be a frequent target for quarterback Bryce Underwood.

Buchanan is one of four Utah players to following Kyle Whittingham from Utah, along with defensive tackle Jonah Lea’ea, cornerback Smith Snowden, and defensive end John Henry Daley.