Note: This is the 12th story in a multi-part series examining Michigan’s key players and position groups ahead of spring practice.
Simply put, Tarik Black has been dealt a series of unfortunate incidents.
The Michigan wide receiver has spent the bulk of his first two seasons at Michigan sidelined, having to recover from a fractured foot. It first happened three games into 2017, his freshman year, when he came up limp on his left foot.
A season that began with so much promise -- 11 catches for 149 yards and a touchdown -- would come to an end right there, right then. Hoping for a chance at redemption, Black returned this spring and fall healthy and ready to go. It was the first time in his life he had to miss that much of football.
Then something similar happened last fall, in practice during the lead up to the season opener against Notre Dame. This time it was his right foot. Fractured.
“I just been working on not taking this thing for granted,” Black told reporters after Michigan’s Peach Bowl loss, his first interview since the pre-season injury. “It’s been taken away from me, and I make sure of it every time I get the chance to play. That’s all it is.”
The 6-foot-3, 215-pound Black was able to make a return last season, appearing in six games. But he was clearly not the talented playmaker we all saw in the fall of 2017: Black made just four catches for 35 yards, none of which were for a score. He was rarely used.
Was that because he was not 100 percent and just looking to play football again? Might he have lost the speed and break off the line of scrimmage that he once had? It’s difficult to pinpoint it.
But what Black does still have is three years of eligibility remaining, a good thing for the Michigan football team, especially in 2019. The Wolverines have welcomed in a new offensive coordinator, Josh Gattis, one with an extensive background in working with wide receivers. Wideouts are expected to be a big part of the show this fall.
That should mean more passes from the quarterback. More catches from the receivers. Michigan have Nico Collins and Donovan Peoples-Jones back, their two most productive receivers in 2018, but will need another weapon on the field to help complement them.
Black, of Hamden, Conn., will get another opportunity to be that guy. His four-star ranking out of high school made him a sought-after receiver, one whose size and big-play ability helped get ahead of the curve as a freshman in college. At Michigan, he was destined to become a star.
After two seasons, through a series of unfortunate breaks, he hasn’t had the opportunity. But another one awaits this spring. Black knows it -- and this time, he hopes to finally be healthy enough to seize it.