Meet College Football's Most Productive WR, Whom You've Probably Never Heard Of

Colorado receiver Nelson Spruce was quiet against Oregon State last weekend, catching six passes for 35 yards and no touchdowns. Even so, he still ranks second in the country in receptions per game (10.3), fifth in receiving yards per game (122.0) and first in receiving touchdowns (10).

That should tell you everything you need to know about the season Spruce has been having—the type that can withstand a massive outlier without moving him out of the Biletnikoff discussion. After six weeks, he, Amari Cooper of Alabama, Kevin White of West Virginia and a small group of bigger-name players at better-known schools are the best candidates to win that award.

But who the heck is this guy anyway? 

And how the heck did he become so productive?

And what the heck is going on with this team up in Boulder?

Let's dive in and take a closer look.

As a Recruit: Were There Really 1,000 Better Players?

Credit: 247Sports

Spruce was a scant-recruited prospect from Thousand Oaks, Calif., placing just outside the national Top 1,000 in the class of 2011, per the 247Sports composite rankings. He was a 3-star recruit, the No. 126 receiver in the country and the No. 100 player in the state.

According to Buffzone.com, he caught 73 passes for 1,292 yards and 18 touchdowns during his senior season of high school and also had 31 tackles and three interceptions on defense.

Here is a look at his senior-year highlights:

2011 was a strange year for receivers.

Spruce was not alone in going overlooked, ranking close behind former Penn State star Allen Robinson (No. 122) and right ahead of current Duke star Jamison Crowder (No. 128).

Recruiting is an obviously imperfect science that lends itself to revisionist criticism. The rankings weren't wrong, necessarily, because recruits get undervalued at every position every year.  

Still, it's a fun coincidence to see three players so productive get bunched so close together so far down the list. A strong case could be made for Spruce, Robinson and Crowder having outperformed the three most-productive receivers in the top 10: Sammy Watkins of Clemson, Jarvis Landry of LSU and Kasen Williams of Washington.

Turns out that chip-on-the-shoulder thing really matters.

As an Underclassman: Stepping Into the Void

Doug Pensinger/Getty Images

It's impossible to discuss Spruce's career without discussing Paul Richardson, Spruce's former teammate at Colorado and a second-round pick of the Seattle Seahawks in the 2014 NFL draft.

Richardson caught 73 passes for 1,069 yards in his freshman and sophomore seasons, the former when Spruce was a senior in high school and the latter while Spruce was redshirting. After the team's leading receiver, Tony Clemons, graduated in 2011, Richardson was poised to become the undisputed No. 1 option and one of the top receivers in the Pac-12 as a junior in 2012.

That all changed, however, when Richardson tore his ACL in a non-contact special teams drill during spring practice that offseason. He was immediately ruled out for the 2012 season, and Colorado was in immediate need of a new top receiver.

"Obviously, it's a blow to our team, but it's a part of the game," said then-head coach Jon Embree, per the team's official website. "It's an opportunity for others to step up and lessen his loss."

The opportunity Embree referred to was not lost on Spruce, who caught eight passes for 64 yards and a touchdown against Colorado State in his first career game. After catching only five combined passes against Sacramento State and Fresno State, he starred once again in his Pac-12 debut, catching eight passes for 103 yards and a touchdown in a 35-34 win over Washington State.

David Zalubowski/Associated Press

That win would prove to be the apex of Colorado's season: The Buffaloes finished 1-11, and Embree was promptly fired. But Spruce was a small speck of light on an otherwise dark campaign, starting the final eight games and becoming the third freshman in school history to lead the team in receptions (44). He also led the team in receiving yards (446), and with new head coach Mike MacIntyre and offensive coordinator Brian Lindgren coming over from San Jose State, which had just finished No. 6 in the country in passing yards per game, the future of Colorado's air attack looked promising.

That held doubly true with the return of Richardson, who came back stronger than ever from his knee surgery. Spruce benefitted from his role as the No. 1 receiver in 2012, and the upshot of that was obvious when opponents started rolling coverages toward Richardson in 2013.

Spruce finished the year with improved numbers across the board—55 catches for 650 yards and four touchdowns—and left the 'Buffs feeling good about their future at the position despite Richardson's decision to declare early for the NFL draft.

But even Spruce couldn't have foreseen what happened next.

As a Junior: The Best Receiver in College Football?

Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

"One guy doesn’t make (Richardson’s) numbers up," said Spruce at Pac-12 media days this offseason. "But I think we’re a lot deeper at this position than at any time since I’ve been here. I think guys are going to step in and you’ll see the ball spread out more."

So much for that.

Six games into the season, Spruce has debunked his own forecast, becoming the one guy who does make up Ricardson's numbers. In some ways, he has actually exceeded them:

	Nelson Spruce 2014	Paul Richardson 2013
Targets	85	69
Catches	62	43
Catch Rate	72.9%	62.3%
Yards	732	782
Yards/Target	8.61	11.33
Touchdowns	10	6

The highlighted areas speak to the differences in Spruce and Richardson's games. Spruce is a possession receiver, whereas Richardson was a deep threat. Throwing to Spruce gives you a better chance at completing a pass and gaining positive yardage. Throwing to Richardson gave you a better chance of hitting a home run.

But Spruce transcends his role as a pure possession receiver by also making plays down the field—one of many things that has made his start to the season so unique. Through six games, he is tied for the national lead with two receptions of 70 yards or longer.

	Receptions	National Rank
10+ Yards	25	t-5th
20+ Yards	10	t-11th
50+ Yards	3	t-2nd
70+ Yards	2	t-1st

Let's attempt to put some of this in context.

With 85 targets through six games, Spruce is on pace for 170 on the season. According to the numbers at Football Study Hall, only two players had more than that last season: Davante Adams of Fresno State and Willie Snead of Ball State. Adams had a catch rate higher than that of Spruce (74.9), but Snead finished well below (61.6).

David Zalubowski/Associated Press

In fact, of the 30 players with even 115 targets last season, only four finished with a better catch rate than that of Spruce: Adams, Watkins, Brandin Cooks of Oregon State and Justin Hardy of East Carolina.

Cooks won the Biletnikoff Award and was the No. 20 overall pick in the 2014 NFL draft. Watkins was an AFCA All-American and the No. 4 overall pick in the 2014 NFL draft. Adams led the country in receptions and touchdowns and was the No. 53 overall pick in the 2014 NFL draft. And Hardy is still in school but threatening to break the all-time NCAA receptions record this season.

That is not a bad group to be associated with.

Spruce set his own receptions record in an overtime loss at Cal earlier this season, hauling in 19 passes, the most by a single player in the history of Pac-12 football. The performance earned him "Offensive Player of the Week" honors from Bleacher Report's Adam Kramer, despite the fact that Colorado lost the game.

At 6'1", 195 pounds, Spruce doesn't have one trait (e.g., size, speed, length) that sticks out among the best in the country, but the whole of his production is better than the sum of his parts. B/R's resident offensive-pass-interference advocate, Michael Felder, recoiled at the push-offs Spruce got away with in Week 1 against Colorado State…but if pushing off ain't broke, why should he fix it?

"Any company out there, I would tell you, 'Hire Nelson Spruce and he will run your company in five or 10 years,'" said MacIntyre of his star receiver, a finance major and a two-time member of the All-Big 12 Academic Team, per Tom Kensler of The Denver Post.

But if MacIntrye keeps using Spruce the way he has been these first six weeks, those faceless corporations he's addressing might not ever get a chance to heed his advice.

It's hard to run a business when you're playing in the NFL.

Follow Brian Leigh on Twitter: @BLeighDAT