Top 10 WR Performances of the College Football Season so Far
Anybody can act, but to be a true performer, you've got to have a feel for the moment, to be relied upon to show up and show out.
College football has its share of elite performers at the wide receiver position, and with a quarter of the season in the books, some clear playmakers have begun to emerge. In a few cases, they were expected. Others have been more surprising.
For instance, it would have shocked exactly nobody to see last year's Biletnikoff Award winner, Jordan Addison, on the list of top wide receiver performances so far.
But if you'd have said before the season there would be a pair of Ohio State Buckeyes on this list and neither one of them is named Jaxon Smith-Njigba, it would have given one pause, at the very least.
Nagging injuries have kept a couple of the usual suspects, like Smith-Njigba and Tennessee's Cedric Tillman, off this list (for now), but you can expect them to eat soon. In other cases, like LSU's Kayshon Boutte, uneven performances have kept him out of the top spots.
Several of the expected players did make the list, though, and it's not always about who has the most yards or who has the most impressive skill set. These are simply the guys who've been reliable and posted big-time showings so far.
Let's take a look.
Jordan Addison, USC Trojans
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The best wide receiver in college football a year ago may wind up repeating the feat this season.
There's no way Jordan Addison will have the same type of production for head coach Lincoln Riley at USC that he did a season ago at Pittsburgh with Kenny Pickett at quarterback, but that's simply because of the waves of talent at the position for the Trojans.
When it comes time for a big play, Riley and quarterback Caleb Williams look Addison's way. The veteran playmaker is as reliable as they come, and that's why he won the Biletnikoff Award a season ago and could be the top pass-catcher taken in the next NFL draft.
Addison made plenty of headlines this offseason with a controversial transfer from the Panthers, but he has settled nicely into Riley's system, catching 18 passes for 295 yards and scoring five touchdowns.
Those numbers don't have him among the nation's leaders in receptions or yards, but he is a steady force who has a knack for getting open. Most importantly, he's scored in each of USC's three games, including two apiece in wins over Rice and Stanford.
His seven grabs for 172 yards against the Cardinal stands out, and he showcased his speed with a 75-yard touchdown catch, too. Simply put, Addison can do it all, no matter the uniform.
Jacob Cowing, Arizona Wildcats
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When Arizona coach Jedd Fisch snagged Jacob Cowing from the transfer portal, it wasn't met with a ton of fanfare. But those who saw the receiver dominate at UTEP a season ago knew the Wildcats were getting a star.
If you've watched Arizona play its three games this season, Cowing has been consistently open and effective. If anything, quarterback Jayden de Laura needs to get him more involved in the game plan, because he makes play after play.
With wins over San Diego State and North Dakota State so far, the 2-1 Wildcats have already surpassed 2021's win total and have transformed into an exciting young team to watch. Cowing is a huge part of that.
In the season-opening road win over San Diego State, the receiver was a one-man highlight reel, catching eight passes for 152 yards and three touchdowns. Without him, the Wildcats don't win that game.
So far this season, he has 21 catches for 253 yards and has scored five times, including at least once in all three games. When de Laura needs a big play, he needs to look Cowing's way. The blossoming program doesn't have many skill-position players as good as him.
He is a potential All-American candidate, and Fisch needs to continue to find ways to get him the ball.
Emeka Egbuka, Ohio State Buckeyes
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Programs across the country waged a recruiting battle for Steilacoom, Washington, pass-catcher Emeka Egbuka in the 2021 class. Everybody wanted the 5-star receiver who was the No. 10 prospect in the country, according to 247Sports' composite rankings.
When Ohio State won the sweepstakes, the Buckeyes knew they were getting a good one.
The 6'1", 205-pound receiver is blossoming before our eyes, and even though Jaxon Smith-Njigba received all the headlines in the offseason, quarterback C.J. Stroud has shared the wealth, and Egbuka has been there to reap the rewards.
Stroud is an elite quarterback who makes everybody around him better, which is a big deal when you have elite talent. Egbuka fits that bill. So far this season, he has 20 catches for 324 yards and has a touchdown in each of the Buckeyes' three games.
His lowest single-game output so far this year is 90 receiving yards in the season-opening win over No. 5 Notre Dame, but he had nine catches in that contest and was a reliable weapon.
The best news for the Buckeyes is Egbuka has this year and another one before he can consider the NFL. The program's elite receiver pedigree is in excellent hands.
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Marvin Harrison Jr., Ohio State Buckeyes
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While we're in Columbus, let's take a look at Egbuka's teammate, who has a name every longtime football fan should recognize.
That is, of course, Marvin Harrison Jr., whose father spent his Hall of Fame career with the Indianapolis Colts, where he served as Peyton Manning's favorite target. The younger Harrison looks like he has the chops to follow in his father's cleat prints.
After a breakout performance in last year's Rose Bowl, where he recorded six catches for 71 yards and three touchdowns, Harrison has picked up where he left off. He has 18 catches for 342 yards this year and has already scored five times.
The 6'4", 205-pound receiver is an electrifying deep threat who stretches the field with the best of them and is physical enough to body smaller DBs and come away with the ball. After a pedestrian five-catch, 56-yard showing against Notre Dame, Harrison has blown up.
He torched Arkansas State for seven catches, 184 yards and three touchdowns. Then in this weekend's blowout of Toledo, Harrison added six grabs for 102 yards and two more scores. He is going to get more and more dependable against better competition, too. Plus, he does things like this:
Yeah, he's special.
Xavier Hutchinson, Iowa State Cyclones
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The mark of an exceptional receiver is to be "The Man" no matter who the man is under center. What makes Iowa State's Xavier Hutchinson so terrific (and why NFL teams should love him when it comes draft time) is he is consistently great no matter who is throwing him the ball.
Hutchinson was part of the three-headed offensive monster the Cyclones trotted out the past few years, along with running back Breece Hall and quarterback Brock Purdy. Now, both of them are gone from Ames, but Hutchinson is still getting his.
So far this season, the 6'3", 205-pound senior from Jacksonville, Florida, has 28 catches for 319 yards and has scored five times. That number of catches is tied for second nationally, made even more impressive by the fact Iowa State has already played a good defensive team in Iowa.
In that game, Hutchinson was the focal point of a methodical offensive attack, catching 11 passes for 98 yards and scoring the only touchdown in a 10-7 win over the Cyclones' rival. That performance followed a huge season opener where he had eight catches for 128 yards and scored three times against Southeast Missouri State.
“He’s been phenomenal from day one until now,” Iowa State offensive coordinator Tom Manning told the Des Moines Register's Cody Goodwin this preseason. “There’s been improvement week to week every season.”
With Hunter Dekkers throwing him passes instead of Purdy this year, Hutchinson hasn't missed a beat. That's what makes him elite.
Charlie Jones, Purdue Boilermakers
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The nation's top receiver so far this season wasn't with his current team this time last year. Instead, he played for one that trotted out one of the nation's most inept offenses.
That's the Iowa Hawkeyes, whom Charlie Jones transferred to from Buffalo in 2019. Even though he was a veteran and considered one of the Hawkeyes' biggest stars on offense and special teams, he finished 2021 with 21 catches for 323 yards and three scores.
Those numbers give an idea of why he transferred to Purdue to play for Jeff Brohm's high-octane Boilermakers.
“It’s pretty simple: I came here for the offense,” Jones told GoldandBlack.com (via Hawk Fanatic). “The past couple years they’ve shown that being a receiver in this type of offense means a lot of opportunities.”
Jones also grew up with Purdue quarterback Aidan O’Connell in the Chicago suburbs and played youth football with him. That familiarity has bred an incredible start to the year. With David Bell (2021) and Rondale Moore (2020) gone to the NFL, Purdue needed a star receiver.
Enter Jones. He leads the nation with 32 catches for 474 yards and has scored five times. His lowest output in three games so far has been a 133-yard performance against Indiana State, a game in which he reached paydirt three times. Against two good defenses in Penn State and Syracuse, he put up 153 and 188 yards, respectively.
Leaving Iowa City was a good idea.
Marvin Mims, Oklahoma Sooners
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When the Oklahoma football program became a revolving door this offseason, you had to be looking at the quickly shrinking roster and wondering when Marvin Mims was going to go portaling.
The answer wound up being "never."
But, unlike several of his teammates, he likely would have bolted had former coach Lincoln Riley stayed; at least, that's what he told 247Sports' Chris Hummer this summer. Despite racking up 1,315 yards in his first two seasons with the Sooners, the Frisco, Texas, native wasn't happy with his usage.
He must be thrilled now that he's the favorite target of new quarterback Dillon Gabriel and a centerpiece of offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby's offense.
In three games this season, Mims has 14 catches for 310 yards and two scores. He's averaging 103.3 receiving yards per game, and while he doesn't have a lot of catches, he is on this list because he's playing for a high-flying offense, is making big things happen and is a big piece of the puzzle as Gabriel gets acclimated.
Mims is a stabilizing force on a team that is used to being elite and hasn't missed a beat under first-year coach Brent Venables, impressing offensively throughout wins over Nebraska, Kent State and UTEP.
He's going to continue to develop a rapport with Gabriel, and those numbers will continue to surge. Mims may not have the same eye-popping stats of others on this list, but he is a weapon who has turned out to be a major holdover from the previous regime.
Rashee Rice, SMU Mustangs
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At this point, you can't discount the SMU Mustangs. This team had a dynamic offense under previous coach Sonny Dykes, who left for TCU this offseason, and new coach Rhett Lashlee has picked up where Dykes left off.
The program is going to be an AAC contender this year, and it was oh-so-close to starting the season 3-0 before losing 37-24 to Maryland this past weekend.
Despite the loss, Rashee Rice showed why he's the nation's leader in receiving yardage with 491 in only three games. Though he didn't get into the end zone, he stewed the Terrapins for 11 catches and 193 yards. Rice was unguardable, just as he has been all year.
The 6'2", 203-pound senior from North Richland Hills, Texas, opened the season with an eight-catch, 166-yard performance against North Texas and followed that up with nine catches for 132 yards and a pair of touchdowns against Lamar.
After a 670-yard season in 2021, Rice has taken the next step. The Dallas Morning News' Joseph Hoyt wrote recently that Rice is ready to become the program's next elite pass-catcher.
If he stays healthy, those numbers are going to be gaudy this year.
Will Sheppard, Vanderbilt Commodores
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The Vanderbilt Commodores probably aren't going to make a lot of noise once SEC play starts, but as coach Clark Lea tries to build his program during his second year in Nashville, it's worth keeping an eye on blossoming stars.
True freshman quarterback AJ Swann is a former 4-star prospect who has proved too good to keep off the field for a program desperately needing difference-makers. It's only right for a signal-caller to have a favorite target, too, and it's obvious who that is for Swann.
Will Sheppard has stepped up and is leading the nation with seven touchdown catches, fueled by this past weekend's comeback road win over Northern Illinois, where he finished with 10 catches for 171 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
That may have been the 6'3", 200-pound junior's breakout party, but he had already made an impact this year. He also scored twice in wins over Elon and Hawaii, and though the Commodores were trounced by Wake Forest, Sheppard scored in that game, too.
After a 577-yard season a year ago, Sheppard is showing why the 'Dores think he's someone they must get the ball to time and time again. If they are going to surprise anybody and put up a fight in the rugged SEC, they need Sheppard to continue to develop.
He's off to a great start.
Keylon Stokes, Tulsa Golden Hurricane
10 of 10
In 2021, Keylon Stokes tore a quadriceps muscle in the second game of the season, which led to him missing most of what was supposed to be his senior year for Tulsa.
That was tough news for the Golden Hurricane, as well as for a player who'd led his team in receiving for three consecutive seasons.
He's back in 2022 as a graduate student, and it looks like he's poised to have the type of year he did way back in 2019, when he put up 62 catches for 1,040 yards and six scores. During a nine-game 2020 campaign, Stokes again showed out with 46 catches for 644 yards.
Now he's back, and he is quarterback Davis Brin's top target.
So far this year, Stokes has 28 catches for 457 yards and three touchdowns. His catches are tied for second nationally, and he trails just Rashee Rice and Charlie Jones in yards. Tulsa hasn't played a particularly difficult schedule, but nobody has been able to guard Stokes.
The 5'10", 202-pound pass-catcher shredded Wyoming in a season-opening loss for 11 catches for 169 yards and a touchdown. He followed that up with eight more catches for 135 yards in a close win over Northern Illinois.
This past weekend, he added nine catches for 153 yards in a lopsided win over Jacksonville State. He scored in all three games, and a huge test looms next weekend against an Ole Miss defense that has been playing well.
If Stokes has another big game, he could be well on his way to the national conversation.
All stats courtesy of CFBStats and Sports Reference. Player rankings courtesy of 247Sports.
Follow Brad Shepard on Twitter, @Brad_Shepard.
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