Best WR Recruiting Classes of the Last Decade

The WR position can be a very glorious one for a football player as the art of running routes, catching passes and scoring touchdowns brings a lot of fame and attention. With many programs now running some sort of variation of the spread offense, loading up on receivers is a bigger priority now than ever.

Each year in recruiting, programs go out in search of talented perimeter pass catchers to bring back to their campus. Some programs do it better than others and some have signed a class of WR recruits that is one for the ages.

This read will look at the best WR classes of the last decade, be it on paper or production. Some of these classes looked better on NSD than they did on field, while others weren't to highly touted but left school as a very productive class.

Here are the top WR classes over the past decade.

Texas A&M: 2013

Signed: Ricky Seals-Jones, LaQuvionte Gonzalez, Sebastian LaRue, Kyrion Parker, JaQuay Williams and Jeremy Tabuyo

Now I know this class hasn't done anything yet and the ink on their NLIs is still drying, but this class has the potential to be amazing. Keep in mind, Derrick Griffin was also supposed to be in this class and could re-join it after a JC stop.

Seals-Jones, Gonzalez and LaRue are among the best in the nation and Williams, a post-grad guy, was a top level recruit in 2012.

Alabama: 2012

Signed: Amari Cooper, Chris Black, Cyrus Jones and Eddie Williams

This class has/had a ton of talent. Williams probably will not be back at Alabama due to off-field problems and he is the lone sore spot.

Cooper could be the best WR in the SEC next season and is viewed as the next Julio Jones in Tuscaloosa. Black missed his freshman year with an injury but the 'Bama coaches are excited for him and Jones has flashed electric playmaking skills.

Ole Miss: 2011

Signed: Tobias Singleton, Nick Brassell and Donte Moncrief

The Rebels weren't a hot recruiting school then like they are now, but in 2011 they pulled in this talented trio. Brassell has dipped into the JC ranks and is looking to come back to Oxford and Singleton has transferred.

Moncrief has stayed on schedule and has caught 96 balls for over 1400 yards and 14 TDs thus far.

Arkansas: 2008

Signed: Greg Childs, Jarius Wright and Joe Adams

The Hogs signed a few other receivers that year, but these three became one of the most dangerous trios in the nation and school history.

Childs caught 133 balls for 2066 yards and 15 scores. Wright added another 168 catches for 2934 yards and 24 total TDs. 

Adams didn't do much, except catch 164 passes for 2410 yards and 17 TDs. He also returned five punts for scores too. 

LSU: 2007

Signed: Terrence Toliver, Demetrius Byrd, Ron Brooks and DeAngelo Benton

This class makes this list strictly from how it looked on paper that year. Toliver was the best WR prospect in the country in 2007 and Brooks and Benton weren't far behind. Byrd was a top notch JC prospect too.

This class is one of the best classes of the past decade on paper only, as one can strongly argue that neither of these WRs reached their potential and can be called busts. 

USC: 2006

Signed: Vidal Hazelton, David Ausberry, Travon Patterson and Jamere Holland

The Trojans also signed a good RB class this year too, but this WR class didn't really produce like it's recruiting hype led people to believe it would.

Patterson would look good practice, but never consistently got snaps in game action. Hazelton wound transferring and Ausberry never got going on a consistent basis. Holland transferred out too.

It's a great class on paper and was a historic recruiting haul at the time.

Florida: 2003

Signed: Chad Jackson and Andre Caldwell

The Gators only signed two WRs in this class, but not only were these two prospects highly touted recruits, they also produced at an all-time rate.

Jackson left Florida after catching 120 passes for 1,586 yards and scored 18 total TDs. Caldwell became a pillar player in Gainesville and finished with 185 career catches, 2,349 yards and 20 total scores.

This class is a perfect example of signing elite prospects, coaching them up and letting their natural ability help them become productive players.

Edwin Weathersby is the College Football Recruiting Analyst for Bleacher Report. He has worked in scouting/player personnel departments for three professional football teams, including the New York Giants, Cleveland Browns and the Las Vegas Gladiators of the Arena League. He spent a year evaluating prep prospects and writing specific recruiting and scouting content articles for Student Sports Football (formerly ESPN Rise-HS). A syndicated scout and writer, he's also contributed to WeAreSC.com, GatorBait.net and Diamonds in the Rough Inc., a College Football and NFL Draft magazine.