SEC boasts top-end talent at wide receiver position
During a round of media appearances to promote his new book, "Going Deep", Hall of Fame wide receiver Chris Carter called his position, “one of the most selfish in the game.” He explained that comment by saying that it takes a certain outsized ego to be a great wideout, because “it is a stats-driven position.”
Of course, selfishness in football only gets you so far. A lot of other parts have to be in place for receivers to stand out -- quarterbacks have to be able to throw, which can only happen if the offensive line blocks. Backs also have to establish enough of a running game to keep linebackers and cornerbacks honest. Only then can the receiver blossom. As always, the SEC is full of top-flight wide receivers. Here are the top pass-catchers in the nation’s best conference:
When Odell Beckham, Jr. stepped into the special teams slot vacated by Tyrann Mathieu, most assumed that LSU’s return game would suffer. But Beckham proved to be a dynamic surprise, not just on punt and kickoff returns, but also at wide receiver where he became one of Zach Mettenberger’s favorite and most reliable targets.
With 84 career receptions for 1,188 yards, expect Beckham, Jr. to be the deep threat target of choice for Les Miles and the Tigers this fall.
He’s small (5-foot-9, 190 pounds) but Ellington also plays point guard on the Gamecocks basketball team so he is accustomed to getting the better of larger opponents. The biggest catch of his career so far was the game-winner against Michigan in the Outback Bowl with time running out.
This year, Ellington, who caught 40 passes last year for 600 yards and seven touchdowns, will be the primary target of two quarterbacks -- Connor Shaw and Dylan Thompson. Having already hauled in passes from both, Ellington should have a breakout year.
Torn ACLs are always tricky. The healing process is different with everyone with some guys coming back better than ever and some a half-step slower than before. No one knows how Michael Bennett will fair this year after ACL reconstruction, but he was one of Aaron Murray’s most reliable targets before his injury. Georgia players and coaches are hoping that he will be at least as good as he was when he caught four touchdown passes in five games a year ago.
Boyd and Jordan Matthews are one of the best one-two punches in college football. At most schools, Boyd, who stands 6-foot-4 and weighs 205 pounds, would likely be the go-to receiver, but with Matthews on the field, he is one of many threats.
Last year he pulled in 50 passes for 774 yards and five touchdowns. Assuming James Franklin can find a quarterback to replace Jordan Rodgers, Boyd should have an ever better 2013 season.
Landry would be in the top-five if he wasn’t a little slower off the ball than some other receivers in the conference. He is, however, the toughest man to play the position, not just in the SEC but in all of college football. If Mettenberger throws up a jump ball -- which he has proven himself quite capable of doing -- Landry will come up with it.
It doesn’t hurt to have Aaron Murray throwing the ball to you, but Mitchell, the Bulldogs’ best athlete who played both ways last season, should improve on the 40 grabs and four touchdowns he had last year now that he is focusing solely on offense.
A healthy Michael Bennett as well as wideouts Chris Conley and JUCO transfer Jonathon Rumph and tight ends Arthur Lynch and Jay Rome will give Murray plenty of targets. But expect Mitchell to be the target of choice.
It used to be Florida which signed all the world-class sprinters, but now Ole Miss can claim one of the fastest men in college football. Donte Moncrief (6-foot-3, 225 pounds) caught a whopping 66 passes last year for 979 yards and 10 touchdowns. He did it by running past defenders like they were jogging.
With a more experienced quarterback (Bo Wallace) and offensive line, Moncrief should have the kind of junior season that will have NFL scouts penciling him in near the top of their lists.
Before the recent controversies surrounding their Heisman-winning quarterback, the biggest question the Aggies had to answer was: who is going to replace Ryan Swope? That was quickly answered as redshirt sophomore Mike Evans continued to improve in the offseason.
At 6-foot-5 and 230 pounds, Evans is a physical mismatch for any defensive back he faces. And playing a year with Johnny Manziel taught him the fine art of improvisation. It will be hard to improve on the 82 catches, 1,105 yards and five touchdowns he had last year, but expect another solid season out of Evans no matter who is throwing him the ball.
Jordan Rodgers was the most successful Vandy quarterback since Jay Cutler for a reason, and that reason is Jordan Matthews. At 6-foot-3 and 206 pounds, Matthews is one of those instinctual receivers who can seemingly catch anything. The numbers were extraordinary last season: he caught 94 passes for 1,323 yards and eight touchdowns last year. And while he will have a different quarterback this season, the talent he brings to the field should overcome most transition problems.
Expect Matthews, a senior, to be on every NFL scout’s first-round draft board.
As a freshman he was the best receiver on the best team in college football, posting 1,000 yards and 11 touchdowns for the BCS title-winning Crimson Tide. Since then, he has gotten stronger and a half-step faster. In a recent Alabama scrimmage, he caught four passes for 182 yards and three touchdowns.
With A.J. McCarron throwing more deep passes by the day, Cooper is already helping Tide fans forget about Julio Jones.