Michigan wide receiver Amara Darboh was one of the stars of the team's 31-0 shutout of the BYU Cougars. He made one of the best plays of the college football season so far with this reception in the first quarter.
Darboh spoke to the media following the game, addressing if that was the best catch he has ever made and about how he channeled his inner Odell Beckham Jr.
“When it was going up, the ball kind of…it didn’t go the direction I thought it was going to go and it kind of changed at the last second and I tried to keep my eyes on it and then make a play," he said.
“That’s up there. I had one in practice a couple of years ago that was pretty big too, but I think it’s better to have one in the game.”
So, did Beckham's catch last season cause him to start practicing one-handed grabs?
“I wasn’t thinking about it during the game," he said. "I was watching that game (where Beckham made the catch) and I saw highlights of course after.
"It was an amazing play. I guess you do kind of think about it, because he’s a great player and he’s made a lot of great plays. I think as a receiver, for me and my mindset, it’s never a bad ball and you have got to go out and just make a play. I haven’t been practicing (one handed catches) really. I think I’ve been more focused on it , though, because once you’ve seen it, you know it’s possible."
Darboh knows that this was a big win for the team and was mindful of the fact that the Wolverines have struggled in matchups against ranked teams recently.
I think it’s going to build our confidence," he said. "I try not to think about things like this, but I saw on TV that we had lost nine out of the last 10 against ranked teams. That kind of stuck with me coming into this game. Just do whatever it takes to win and Coach Harbaugh said that before the game.
“We ran the ball great. Jake delivered the ball. The lineman played great. De’Veon, Ty, Derrick. Everyone played well, so I think we are moving towards the right direction.”
Throughout the first four weeks of the season, the progress that Michigan has made on offense is apparent and the identity of the team is starting to shine through as the season moves along.
“I think we’ve made a huge jump, Darboh said. "In week one, we kind of… we didn’t really know our identity and we were trying to go out there and find it, and I think that as the weeks have been going on, we’ve tried to find it more and more, and as the season goes on, we’re going to find our identity. If we do what we can do, great things will happen.”
It has been a special week for Darboh, who was officially sworn in as a U.S. citizen a few days ago. Jim Harbaugh said after the game that the team was very supportive of him and threw a small party to celebrate.
“It means a lot. I’m very fortunate to be a part of this team and have the teammates and coaches I do," Darboh said.