It can be a very difficult task separating a set of receivers’ rankings from their quarterback. Good quarterbacks inflate their receivers statistics, while bad quarterbacks leave receivers doing their best Randy Moss impressions. Despite this difficulty, I strongly believe that the information presented here is a good indicator of the actual receiving corp talent, rather than an evaluation of the passing game as a whole.
12. Colorado (lost all-time leading receiver Scotty McKnight; sophomore Paul Richardson, 34 rec, 514 yards, 6 TDs; senior Toney Clemons, 43 rec, 482 yards, 3 TDs) — Nothing is particularly enticing about this situation. Quarterback Tyler Hansen, while solid throughout spring drills, has never been the measure of consistency, new head coach Jon Embree has inserted a new offense and Colorado must move to a conference that is used to defending strong passing games. Even with a solid group of receivers an adjustment period would seem reasonable. This isn’t a solid group.
As a true freshman last season, Paul Richardson broke out in the second half of the season, catching all six of his touchdown grabs in Colorado’s final six games. Proving himself late in the year when teams weren’t anticipating his success was one thing, doing it again this season when every opponent will go into games making sure their best player is covering Richardson will be entirely another. That’s what separates solid players from stars. Is Richardson a star? We will all find out early on this season. Buff fans hope his 19-yard touchdown grab in the spring game is a sign of things to come.
Thus far Michigan transfer and former four-star receiver recruit Toney Clemons has failed to live up to the hype that accompanied him on his move from Ann Arbor to Boulder. Clemons (6-2, 210-lbs.) looked brilliant in the spring of 2010, but failed to turn that into any major success during the season. As a senior, this is his last chance. The ability and size are there, but as for the production… that’s another story.
The same can be said for this unit as a whole.
11. Utah (junior DeVonte Christopher, 39 receptions, 660 yards, 6 TDs; junior Luke Matthews, 18 rec, 289 yards, 3 TDs) — Utah loses three of its top five receivers in terms of yards and four of its top five in terms of receptions. They do, however, bring back second-team All-Mountain West Conference honoree DeVonte Christopher, a big-play threat who quickly adjusted to the position after playing quarterback in high school. Christopher ran his mouth a bit before the Las Vegas Bowl against Boise State and was rewarded with a 0-catch, 0-yard day. Whoops!
Luke Matthews, who flirted with playing in the backfield at the running back and fullback spots in the spring, returns to the receiver position. That could mean one of two things: either Utah feels they are going to have three solid options running the football and Matthews talents could be used as at receiver, or the Utes desperately needed to add depth to their pass catchers. Frankly, I think it’s a little bit of both — with emphasis on the former. The newly formed three-headed monster of Harvey Langi, John White and Thretton Palamo made Matthews the odd-man-out.
Heading into spring practices it looked as though former Oregon State Beaver Reggie Dunn had potential to be a breakout-type player, however he was passed on the depth chart by redshirt freshman Dres Anderson. Both can stretch the field, but for different reasons. Dunn provides the blazing speed (out of high school Dunn was considered one of the fastest players on the West Coast), while Anderson (son of former Rams wide receiver Flipper Anderson) utilizes his 6-1, 185-lb. frame and football savvy to get behind corners, but provides a little more consistency in the short-passing game.
Four-star junior college signee Anthony Denham (6-6, 215-lbs., 4.5 40-time) is the unknown here. He’s got the body and the skills to shoot this group up the list if he can come in, contribute and use his size to his advantage. If it takes him awhile to learn a new offensive system and he can’t provide a big-play option downfield, this group is thin.
10. Arizona State (Gerell Robinson, 29 rec, 387 yards, 5 TDs; Mike Willie, 36 rec, 442 yards, 6 TDs; Aaron Pflugrad, 29 rec, 329 yards, 2 TDs) — The Sun Devils were prepared for the loss of Kerry Taylor (54 rec, 699 yards, 3 TDs) from last year’s group. What they weren’t expecting was that their second-leading receiver, T.J. Simpson, would tear his ACL in spring practice. Simpson (29 rec, 481 yards, 0 TDs) will not be ready for the start of the season and the possibility remains that he will not heal in time to play at all this fall. That’s trouble for a group that would have been in the bottom four or five teams in terms of receiver talent even wit Simpson.
Now, the Sun Devils will look to Gerell Robinson (6-4, 222-lbs.) to be their go-to guy. Several reports throughout spring drills indicated that Robinson was having a tremendous spring and that he will be primed for a breakout season. Arizona State certainly hopes so. Robinson is a guy who has shown flashes of high-level playmaking ability, but has yet to put it all together on a consistent basis. This may be the year that he finally shows what he can do.
Oregon transfer Aaron Pflugrad and Mike Willie round up the ASU starters. Pflugrad was incredibly sure-handed early on at Oregon, but seemed to lose confidence in the spring after his first impact season and never recovered. If he’s regained the sure-handedness that got him into the mix with the Ducks, he could be a strong slot receiver — any more responsibility than that for him in the Pac-12 indicates a significant weakness in a roster.
Junior college standout George Bell could become a serious contender for the number two spot alongside Robinson. He made an acrobatic catch in the spring game and put up video game numbers at the junior college level.
Brock Osweiler is going to put together a strong year and put up some big numbers. It is likely that at least one of these guys will benefit to the point of a second or third-team all-league season. Here’s betting its Robinson.
9. UCLA (senior Taylor Embree, 32 rec, 409 yards, 0 TDs ; senior Nelson Rosario, 29 rec, 309 yards, 1 TD; return top eight from last season) — This group is more talented than their numbers indicate — a problem across the board for UCLA during Rick Neuheisel’s tenure and one of the many reasons he finds himself on the hot seat. However, the quarterback play was so horrible that it remains difficult to accurately assess how talented the receiving corp can be when the gunslingers improve. It can’t be a good sign that the Bruins top two receivers (Embree and Rosario) managed just one touchdown between them all season. I don’t care how terrible the quarterback is playing, if you have strong playmakers they reach paydirt more than an average of 0.5 times a season.
Junior Randall Carroll and sophomore Ricky Marvray each hauled in two touchdowns last season and will continue to be thrown into the mix, as will returning start at tight end Cory Harkey, who was atrocious at times last season and needs to improve by leaps and bounds to keep his job.
Three players who transferred earlier in their careers will fortify the group: former Colorado receiver Josh Smith and former Notre Dame athletes Joseph Fauria (tight end) and Shaquelle Evans (receiver). Back in 2008 Smith set Buff records in both kickoff returns (50) and return yards (1,568), but was also an up-and-coming talent at the receiver position. He will play this year and be a factor. Like Smith, Fauria (a four-star recruit out of high school) showed enough in limited spring practices that he is expected to contribute. Evans was also highly recruited and could enter into the mix.
A player to watch will be highly-touted true sophomore Anthony Barr, who will likely receive more than six carries and nine receptions this season as he grows accustomed to his role in the offense and the college game.
As the Bruins are well aware, highly recruited players don’t always turn into elite guys at the next level. Morrell Presley, once considered the top prep tight end in the nation, elected to leave the program this year. He underperformed on the field and was suspended twice due to his behavior off of it.
Statistically, the Bruins will be better than they were a season ago, but that doesn’t mean they have dramatically improved their talent.
8. Stanford (senior Coby Fleener, 28 receptions, 434 yards, 7 TDs; senior Chris Owusu, 25 rec, 396 yards, 3 TDs) — I equate Stanford’s current position to what occurs at the high school level when a team has an all-state quarterback. He’s able to sling the ball around so well and put up such great numbers that both the receivers end up second-team all-league. In those situations receivers can’t help but accrue honor-worthy numbers — the all-state QB’s touchdown passes and yardage have to go somewhere.
Losing their top two receivers (statistically) in Doug Baldwin (58 rec, 857 yards, 9 TDs) and the sure-handed Ryan Whalen (41 rec, 439 yards, 2 TDs) hurts, but not as badly as some might thing. Owusu would have ended up near Baldwin’s numbers if not for his absence from six games, and while Coby Fleener’s end of the year numbers were aided significantly by a 173-yard, 3-touchdown effort in a 40-12 Orange Bowl win, he did end the season with 7 TDs and will become a major factor this season.
Fleener (6-6, 244-lbs.) isn’t the only tight end that Stanford will rely upon. Sophomore Zach Ertz (6-6, 249-lbs.) produced a brilliant Fleener impression in the spring game, hauling in three touchdown passes of his own. Shockingly, neither of these two were able to beat out sopohmore Levine Toilolo (6-8, 263-lbs.) for the starting job last season, but Toilolo was injured on the first series of the season and missed the remainder of the season. The Cardinal may be the team with the deepest set of tight ends in the country, but they still lack depth at wide receiver.
Owusu has proven he can be game-breaker, but I’m not sold on him as a number one receiver, nor am I certain he can stay healthy for an entire season. He plays like more a number two receiver who stretches the field.
Someone out of senior Griff Whalen (walk-on in 2008), redshirt freshman Darren Daniel, junior Drew Terrell and junior Jamal-Rashad Patterson (4-star, 6-2, 200-lbs.) is going to need to step up and become a reliable playmaker quickly. Daniel could be the one to watch.
True freshman Ty Montgomery might be worth keeping an eye on. He had offers from Georgia, Notre Dame and UCLA before selecting Stanford.
It feels wrong to have Stanford this low because of the numbers they will put up, but based on their actual talent level, this group is in need of a few more
playmakers.
7. Oregon State (James Rodgers, 2009, 91 rec, 1,034 yards, 9 TDs; Markus Wheaton, 55 rec, 675 yards, 4 TDs; Joe Halahuni, 30 rec, 390 yards, 6 TDs; Jordan Bishop, 22 rec, 353 yards, 2 TDs) — He’s back! Or is he? The do-everything wide receiver/end-around specialist James Rodgers returns to the Beavers after a knee injury in the fifth game of the season sidelined him the rest of the way. When healthy Rodgers is one of the premiere receivers in the Pac-12, if not the country, but missed the spring and his future remains unclear. It’s a bad sign that he has adamantly predicted a return for the opener. Sure, it’s great that he thinks he’ll be ready, but it’s a bad sign that this long after an injury it’s still even a question.
In Rodgers’ absence, the Beavers looked to sophomore Markus Wheaton, who stepped up in a big way and looked like — had Rodgers not come back — that he could have easily become a solid go-to guy for OSU. Rodgers and Wheaton both can run the end around successfully, which will throw another wrinkle into the offense.
Jordan Bishop and Joe Halahuni, receiver and tight end, respectively, also failed to make waves in spring due to injury. Bishop (6-3, 199) is an incredible athlete and is an All-American high jumper. If he can harness that athleticism (and stay healthy) he could be in for a big season. Halahuni isn’t a guy who will scare defensive coaches, but he is sure-handed and can be counted on to make a grab over the middle — an invaluable skill on third and short situations, especially with some questions surrounding the running game.
Coach Mike Riley always gets the most out of his talent. If this group is healthy, that could mean big numbers (and a jump up this list). If not, he’ll still find ways to get it done.
6. Oregon (senior David Paulson, 24 rec, 418 yards, 4 TDs; senior Lavasier Tuinei, 36 rec, 396 yards, 2 TDs; sophomore Josh Huff 19 rec, 303 yards, 3 TDs) — Weapons, weapons everywhere and perhaps not a number one receiver among them… this season. Who will replace Jeff Maehl? That’s the question everyone is still wondering in Eugene.
Lavasier Tuinei may look like a mismatch of limbs running upfield after the catch, but he is a master at falling forward — a nice feature given his 6-5, 206-lb. frame. Tuinei is not a number one receiver, but is an ideal number two. He may finish with the highest number of receptions on the team this season, but he racks them up on short screen passes.
Josh Huff emerged last season as a real difference maker. He was a high school running back, but it seemed Oregon planned to give him a wide receiver role from day one based on a long-jam at tailback and a belief in his pass-catch ability. Huff’s numbers don’t jump out at you, but he’s a playmaker… as if Oregon needs any more of those. Huff did injure his knee in the spring and, initially, it looked bad (I would say “initial reports indicated” it looked bad, but as Duck fans know, he was, say it with me, “day-to-day”). However, he seemed to recover over the course of the spring and looks like he’ll become a solid option for the Ducks.
Kenjon Barner moves to the Ducks’ TZR position (RB/WR) this season to give him a more significant role. I can’t imagine what Pac-12 defenses will do with LaMichael James, Darron Thomas and Barner all in the backfield with running ability — not to mention the possibility of either Barner or Huff getting the ball in motion in different formations. Scary stuff!
The rest of the spring depth chart was a mish-mash of former walk-ons and guys better suited for a slot receiver role: Will Murphy, Nick Cole and Justin Hoffman.
One quality that moves Oregon up a little higher than this unproven group belongs on paper is their disciplined blocking — both for one another and in the running game. Never was this more apparent than in Oregon’s spring game when Tuinei sealed his man on the edge to allow James to bust one for a 67-yard touchdown run. It’s an underrated quality and goes unnoticed by many fans, but it has given Pac-10 coaches fits the last few years. It seems many of them believe that a receiver blocking 15-20 yards downfield should be called holding regardless of the player’s form. Blocking ability may not seem like a major game-changer, but it was probably worth 200-250 yards for James last season and proved invaluable in the Ducks’ often-used wide receiver screen plays.
Oregon is a team that likes to spread defenses out East-to-West, rather than North-to-South. They are not going to send four receivers deep and yuck it up there. Of course, Auburn picked up on it and loaded the box, slowing down the Oregon running game and daring them to throw over the top. It worked for the Tigers — with the exception of a Maehl 81-yard grab. For Oregon’s offense to take it to the next level (there’s a next level?), they are going to have to stretch the field more consistently. The play-action has led to some long throws, but the Ducks need to bring in a few guys who can do it on their own, rather than having the pass set up with the run. The Tigers shut down the running game and refused to bite on play-action — it bottled the Ducks up.
Need to stretch the field? Enter All-Americans De’Anthony Thomas, Devon Blackmon and Tacoi Sumler. Blackmon and Sumler were the starting receivers for the East in the Under Armour All-American game and Blackmon caught a touchdown pass and dropped another easy one after getting behind elite prep defensive bacs. He is extremely raw after playing quarterback in high school, but the key here is that he proved he can stretch the field on an elite level. Sumler may have been the fastest kid in the nation at the high school and brings to the table an almost unfair complementary skill: Rivals rated him one of the top five route-runners in the country. Thomas is the unknown. One scouting service indicated that Thomas would have been a five-star prospect at WR, RB, ATH and CB. If the Ducks use Thomas in a TZR type role this season, he’ll bring another dimension for defensive coordinators to lose sleep over.
Don’t sleep on junior college transfer Rahsaan Vaughn (6-2, 192-lbs.). He comes in as one of the top JC receivers in the nation and may end up the starter opposite Tuinei.
This group is nasty talent-wise, but still lacks experience.
Stanford may have the best group of tight ends in the country to start the season, but by season’s end that honor may travel up North to the three-headed monster of David Paulson, Curtis White and Colt Lyerla. Paulson returns as a first-team All-Pac-10 honoree and honorable mention All-American a season ago, while redshirt freshman White (6-4, 250-lb., NFL body) and true freshman Lyerla (6-5, 225-lbs.) look like the Mighty Ducks’ bash brothers (thank you Emilio Estevez for those three cinematic masterpieces). Lyerla was so impressive after enrolling early in spring that Oregon rewarded him by throwing to him in the first play of the spring game, which he caught. He’s got an NFL body now and will likely be an NFLer later. Brandon Williams is a terrific blocker and looks like his body was sculpted out of stone — at times, he also attempts to catch the ball as if that were the case. He’s a great blocker and was wide open a couple times last year because defenses didn’t feel the need to cover him. The group certainly lives up to Oregon’s rich tight end tradition, which has produced several pro athletes since reaching the Rose Bowl to end the 1994 season, including Josh Wilcox, Blake Spence, Justin Peelle, George Wrighster, Dante Rosario and Ed Dickson.
Catch-22 scenario: Are Pac-12 coaches hoping that Oregon redshirts high school All-Americans Thomas, Blackmon and Sumler? If Oregon redshirts all three (very unlikely) that means Oregon is so deep they don’t need to use them — a nightmare thought for 11 head coaches and their defensive coordinators. If they use them all it likely means Oregon is lacking in proven depth, but will use a handful of dangerous, speedy weapons to compensate for the loss. Not good.
The show begins September 3 in Dallas.
5. California (Marvin Jones, 50 rec, 765 yards, 4 TDs; Keenan Allen, 46 rec, 490 yards, 5 TDs; Anthony Miller, 13 rec, 152 yards, 1 TD) — What’s the difference between Cal and UCLA — both teams with talented receivers and less-than-stellar quarterback play? Cal’s WRs managed to make plays and find paydirt regardless of the situation, UCLA’s top two guys accounted for one touchdown all season.
This is a gut-feeling by me. Senior Marvin Jones was an honorable mention All-Pac-10 player a season ago and the quarterback play was atrocious. As a true freshman last season five-star recruit Keenan Allen was a Scout.com second-team All-Pac-10 player as an all-purpose player. The kid simply found a way to make plays outside of the passing game.
I believe Cal will improve throwing the football, and these two receivers will benefit. Talent-wise, I think the pair is among the top three tandems in the Pac-12.
Unfortunately for Cal, there hasn’t been much else to get excited about.
Anthony Miller is back at the tight end spot and his numbers will go up a few notches, but he’s not a difference maker. Senior Michael Calvin (6-2, 212-lbs.) had a solid enough spring to earn the number-three spot. Although he could emerge as a decent receiving option in his final college season, he was not highly recruited and has yet to show anything other than role player ability.
That means Arizona, USC, Washington State and Washington crack the top four receiving units. Check in tomorrow for the final installment of the WR/TE rankings.
http://www.dnews.com/blogs/2011/06/2...few-questions/
06-24-2011, 01:42 AM
