Projecting College Football's Top 10 Receiving Stars in 2023
College football teams across the country have already started assembling their rosters for the 2023 season. Although there is still a chance to make additions during the upcoming May transfer window, most rosters are pretty set with national signing day behind us.
As we start looking ahead to the 2023 season, there are multiple talented pass-catchers coming back to play another year. While some have been stars at their schools their whole careers, some are looking to start fresh at new schools via the transfer portal.
Let's take a look at the top 10 receiving stars for 2023—and, yes, a tight end is included. We'll take into account what they've done so far, their big-play ability and the supporting cast they have around them.
North Carolina's Devontez Walker
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The Tar Heels finished 9-5 last season, which marked head coach Mack Brown's best finish since arriving in Chapel Hill in 2019. A big reason for UNC's success last season was how well redshirt freshman quarterback Drake Maye played, throwing for 4,321 yards and 38 touchdowns with seven interceptions.
But in 2023, Maye will lose two of his biggest offensive weapons in receivers Josh Downs and Antoine Green, who are both headed to the NFL. Luckily, Brown landed Kent State transfer Devontez Walker.
Walker spent the first two seasons of his FBS career with the Flashes, and he's coming off his best season in 2022. He finished with 58 receptions for 921 yards and 11 touchdowns, tying for the Mid-American Conference lead in TD catches. He averaged 15.9 yards per reception, too.
"He's 6'3", he has a lot of skills like [former UNC receiver] Dyami [Brown]," Mack Brown said of Walker earlier this month. "He's so fast for his height... Tremendous ball skills. He will be an outside receiver… We've got to get back to throwing the ball deep."
Walker, a Charlotte native, started his career at the MEAC's NC Central but transferred to Kent State after the school canceled its 2020 season.
With as good a season as Maye had in 2022, Walker is expected to do big things for this Tar Heels offense in 2023. The wideout has the talent to have a true breakout season in Chapel Hill, and UNC could use that with Downs and Green gone.
Texas' Xavier Worthy
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The Longhorns have one of the more intriguing quarterback situations heading into 2023. Last year's starter, Quinn Ewers, is returning, but 5-star QB recruit Arch Manning is also stepping on campus.
Regardless of who starts under center for the Longhorns, leading receiver Xavier Worthy should put up big numbers in 2023. In fact, Worthy has been able to do so the last two years with different quarterbacks.
As a true freshman in 2021, he finished as the team's leading receiver, posting 62 receptions for 981 yards and 12 touchdowns. Texas played both Casey Thompson and Hudson Card at quarterback, but Worthy still managed to average 81.8 receiving yards per game and was a bright spot during the Longhorns' 5-7 season.
With Ewers under center in 2022, Worthy's numbers weren't quite as impressive, but he still finished with 60 receptions for 760 yards and nine touchdowns. He had his best game against West Virginia, tallying seven catches for 119 yards and two touchdowns.
"I think the one thing about Xavier is he's a highly competitive young man," head coach Steve Sarkisian said last November. "From the moment he arrived on campus, he came to work.
"He came to work to earn an opportunity to play, came to work to become a starter, came to work to be the best receiver he could be. Whether that was in our conference or in the country. I think the guy's got a sense of competitiveness and drive to be the best. And he works that way every day."
Although there was some speculation that Worthy would transfer after the 2022 season, he remains in Austin. If he has another big year in 2023, he'll likely be one of the top receiver prospects in the 2024 NFL draft.
Oregon's Troy Franklin
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The expectations are high surrounding the Oregon Ducks in 2023, thanks to star quarterback Bo Nix returning, despite being eligible to enter the 2023 NFL draft. Last season, Nix put up the best numbers of his collegiate career, throwing for 3,593 yards and 29 touchdowns with seven interceptions.
The good news for Nix is that his leading receiver from last season, junior Troy Franklin, will also be returning in 2023. Franklin finished the 2022 season with 61 receptions for 891 yards and nine touchdowns. He was sixth in the Pac-12 in receiving yards and averaged 14.6 yards per reception.
His career high in receiving yards came against Washington, when he finished with five receptions for 139 yards and a touchdown. He had two other games last season with over 100 yards receiving, against UCLA and Washington State.
Franklin should put up the best numbers of his Ducks career next season. Oregon has to replace wideouts Chase Cota, who entered the draft, and Dont'e Thorton, who transferred to Tennessee.
Nix returning with his go-to weapon from last season should be enough for the Ducks to compete for a Pac-12 title next season.
Editor's note: A mention of Traeshon Holden was removed from this slide after he was he was arrested on Wednesday and dismissed from the team.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Washington's Rome Odunze
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The Washington Huskies are expected to compete inside a deep Pac-12 next season thanks to several weapons on offense. Starting quarterback Michael Penix Jr. will be back in 2023, along with his leading receiver, Rome Odunze.
Last season, Odunze finished 10th nationally in receiving yards with 1,145—which led the Pac-12—and seven touchdowns. He also averaged 15.3 yards per reception. It was a breakout season for the Huskies wideout, who previously had 47 receptions for 487 yards in 2020 and 2021.
Although Odunze was eligible to enter the 2022 NFL draft, he'll be back in Seattle for at least one more season. Part of his decision to return is about improving his draft stock.
"If I felt like I couldn't raise my draft stock, I probably wouldn't be here right now," Odunze said in January (via The Athletic). "There is a lot here for me, definitely, but my ultimate goal has always been to be in the NFL and to be able to support my family, support my loved ones. I'm sure this coaching staff, if they thought my draft rating couldn't be raised, they'd tell me to go. College football is a dangerous game. You can't be playing it year in, year out with no injuries, no consequences."
After the year that he just had, Odunze should fly up draft boards if he puts up similar numbers in 2023. Washington's offense should be fun to watch. Huskies receiver Jalen McMillan also deserves an honorable mention here—the wideout caught 79 passes for 1,098 yards and nine touchdowns last season.
Florida State's Johnny Wilson
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Florida State has a legitimate shot to win the ACC in 2023. A big reason for that is the offensive weapons that the Noles have returning next season, starting with quarterback Jordan Travis and his leading receiver, Johnny Wilson.
Wilson, who transferred to Florida State last offseason after starting his career at Arizona State, finished with 43 receptions for 897 yards and five touchdowns. His receiving yards total was seventh in the ACC, and his 20.9 yards per reception was good for second in the conference.
Wilson's best game of his 2022 breakout season came in the Noles' last game of the season, the Cheez-It Bowl against Oklahoma. Wilson finished with a career-high eight catches for 202 yards, averaging 25.3 yards per reception. His best catch of the night came with the game tied at 32 with about three minutes left—he made a 58-yard reception that looked as if he caught it mostly one-handed:
At 6'7", 235 pounds, Wilson has the frame to be a nightmare for defenders downfield. With Travis returning, the chemistry between the two should be even stronger. The duo will put opposing ACC defenses on notice in 2023.
USC's Dorian Singer
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USC head coach Lincoln Riley's success landing talented players from the transfer portal continues heading into the 2023 season. Last year, Riley landed quarterback Caleb Williams and receiver Jordan Addison from the portal. Now that Addison is headed to the NFL, Riley has seemingly found a talented replacement for him in former Arizona wideout Dorian Singer.
Singer was a bright spot during head coach Jeff Fisch's second season in Tucson. The junior finished with 1,105 yards, second in the Pac-12 behind the aforementioned Odunze.
Perhaps what prompted Riley to go after Singer? How the wide receiver performed against his USC defense last season. During Arizona's 45-37 loss to the Trojans, Singer finished with seven receptions for 141 yards and a career-high three touchdowns.
Singer set a career high in receiving yards against Washington State in late November, finishing with nine catches for 176 yards and a touchdown.
With Williams returning under center for the Trojans, Singer should help make USC's passing offense just as dangerous in 2023.
Ohio State's Marvin Harrison Jr., Emeka Egbuka
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Both of these Ohio State receivers will likely be top draft picks in 2024. Before they can enter the draft, though, Buckeyes receivers Marvin Harrison Jr. and Emeka Egbuka will be lighting up defenses in 2023.
First up is Harrison, and if his name sounds familiar, that's because the OSU receiver is the son of Pro Football Hall of Famer Marvin Harrison, who played 13 seasons for the Indianapolis Colts.
His son, who will be a junior in 2023, had a breakout season for the Buckeyes last season, finishing with 1,263 yards and 14 touchdowns. He also had seven games with over 100 receiving yards, including 106 yards and two scores against Georgia in the Peach Bowl national semifinal.
But the Buckeyes also have another talented guy at wideout in Egbuka. He finished second in receiving for the Buckeyes last season, accounting for 1,151 yards and 10 touchdowns. He averaged 15.6 yards per reception.
The one thing that might cause Harrison and Egbuka to lose a bit of production in 2023 is that the Buckeyes will have a new starter under center. Expected to replace two-time Heisman finalist C.J. Stroud will be either Devin Brown or Kyle McCord. Both guys are talented signal-callers, and with weapons like Harrison and Egbuka around them, succeeding shouldn't be too difficult.
Georgia's Brock Bowers, Ladd McConkey
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Just like Ohio State, the Georgia Bulldogs will have to replace a big-name quarterback in Stetson Bennett. But the good news for the Bulldogs is that whoever starts under center will have a pair of talented weapons to throw to in tight end Brock Bowers and receiver Ladd McConkey.
Bowers is listed as a tight end, but he is such a versatile athlete that the Dawgs use him all over the field. Over two seasons in Athens, Bowers has accounted for 119 receptions, 1,824 yards and 20 touchdowns with an average of 15.3 yards per catch.
Last season, he led Georgia with 63 receptions for 942 yards and seven touchdowns. He also rushed for 109 yards and three scores.
Georgia's second-leading receiver last season was McConkey, who will be a redshirt junior in 2023. He finished with 58 receptions for 762 yards and seven touchdowns. He suffered a knee injury against LSU in the second quarter of the SEC title game. He was limited during Georgia's game against Ohio State, but he had five receptions for 88 yards and two touchdowns against TCU in the national title game.
Prior to the SEC title, McConkey had just 39 fewer receiving yards and one fewer touchdown than Bowers. McConkey also rushed for 134 yards on seven attempts with two touchdowns.
Whoever ends up starting at quarterback for Georgia— expected to come down to either Brock Vandagriff or Carson Beck—will benefit from having Bowers and McConkey.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
