The Log Jam: Evaluating Texas' Wide Receiver Position

With the departure of Jordan Shipley, Texas is left with a corps of wide receivers that can best be described with a question mark.

Most of the returning receivers have shown flashes of brilliance, but on the whole none of them have established themselves as consistently great players.

In the Colt McCoy era, Texas never entered a season with much uncertainty at this position. Limas Sweed passed the torch to Quan Cosby, and Quan Cosby to Jordan Shipley.

With no heir apparent in place and Texas breaking in a new quarterback, there is some cause for concern.

Fortunately for the Longhorns, quite a few of the returning players have already proven to be capable, and a couple of new members in the bunch have the potential to be phenomenal. So it seems that the problem has nothing to do with talent, but rather reliability. Who’s going to be the player that Garrett Gilbert looks for on 3rd-and-8, and more importantly, will we be able to count on that player to make the catch?

I’ve split up the returning talent that Texas has at the position into five groups: the X-Factor, the Veterans, the Up-and-Comers, the Freshman Phenoms, and the Under the Radar talent.

The X-Factor: Malcolm Williams

In terms of receiving yardage, Malcolm Williams is the best wide receiver that Texas will be returning from last year’s squad. Williams caught 39 balls last season for 550 yards but was plagued by inconsistency. The redshirt junior has the talent and the measurables to play on Sundays but has only put it all together on rare occasions.

A couple of examples: In 2008, Williams caught four passes for 182 yards and two touchdowns against Texas Tech, and in 2009 he pulled down nine balls for 132 yards in a close win over Texas A&M.

But for every flash of brilliance by Williams, there is an image of a dropped pass or lackluster outing etched in the minds of Longhorn fans. Williams was a complete non-factor in the national championship game against Alabama, his most memorable play being a potential Garrett Gilbert touchdown pass that bounced off his hands.

A big part of the success of this offense as a whole will depend on how well Malcolm Williams performs this season. If Williams is able to become a member of the 1,000-yard club and cut down on the dropped balls, he has the talent to be an all-conference performer.            

The Veterans: James Kirkendoll, John Chiles

James Kirkendoll was named a preseason third team all-conference selection by Phil Steele and will once again be a starter this season. He’s had some very memorable plays in a Longhorn uniform, including his uncanny touchdown catch and run against Texas A&M last season and his game-saving fourth down conversion against Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl.

But Kirkendoll, like Malcolm Williams, has been plagued by inconsistency, failing to record a single reception in either the Big 12 or national championship games.

John Chiles is like a two-bite brownie—after a taste you see the potential, but you’re left wanting more. The former blue-chip recruit switched to wide receiver last season after an unsuccessful stint at quarterback and had only moderate success. He had some highlight reel plays last season but only recorded at most one of them per game, never accumulating more than 50 yards receiving in a single contest.

Now that he has had a season to become accustomed to the position, it will be interesting to see if Chiles is able to become the playmaking treat that Longhorns fans thought he would be when he signed his letter of intent.

The Up-and-Comers: Marquise Goodwin, DeSean Hales, Greg Timmons

Marquise Goodwin was the biggest surprise of last year’s recruiting class and proved to be a contributor on offense. His 30 receptions were the third most by a freshman ever at UT, and his kick return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter against Texas A&M secured the game for the Longhorns.

He also scored the only Longhorn touchdown of the game against Oklahoma and made three receptions for 70 yards against Alabama—all this from an undersized receiver that many felt might only run track at UT.

He proved to be a favorite target of Gilbert in the limited time that they played together last season, and there’s no reason to think he won’t be a crucial factor in the Longhorn receiving game next season.

While DeSean Hales recorded only a single catch during his freshman season, his performance at the Texas spring game was impressive to say the least. The diminutive sophomore recorded three catches for 77 yards, including a 41-yard touchdown reception, and appeared to have no difficulty finding ways to get open against the stout Texas secondary.

If Hales continues to impress during summer practices, look for him to push for major playing time next season.

Greg Timmons redshirted last season and hasn’t gotten an overwhelming amount of attention coming into this season, likely because of the wide receiver talent that signed with Texas the year after Timmons did so.

Regardless, Timmons, who started during the 2008 Army All-America Bowl, has good size and has already spent a year in the system, which should give him a leg up over the incoming freshman. Timmons is the favorite to back up Malcolm Williams at the split end position.

The Freshman Phenoms: Mike Davis, Darius White

While the incoming class of wide receivers consists of other talented players, the consensus seems to be that Mike Davis and Darius White are the most likely to contribute early. Granted, last season nobody would have predicted that Marquise Goodwin would be the best freshman on the Longhorn team—so this assumption is merely speculation.

Mike Davis is a Quan Cosby type of receiver that is lightning quick and has great hands. The Dallas Skyline product’s highlight tape shows a shifty receiver that almost always makes the first guy miss. He appears to be the most game-ready of any of Texas’ incoming receivers, and it’s unlikely that he is given a redshirt his freshman season.

The recruitment of Darius White had a similar storyline as that of a generic soap opera. At first White was open about his love for Texas, and he seemed a lock to commit during the first junior day.

Eventually White felt scorned by the lack of attention that Texas was giving him and upset at the disrespect that the Longhorns had shown to his Fort Worth Dunbar teammate Rashod Favors—when White visited Texas and brought Favors, a three-star recruit, along with him, White was given a nametag reading “prospect,” while Favors was given one reading “guest.”

White began to look at other schools, and it eventually appeared that he had become an OU lean. For a time it seemed White had eliminated Texas altogether from his recruitment until the 2009 Under Armour All-America Game, when White announced that he would be signing with the Longhorns.

Although the road he took to Texas was a long one, with his presence, the Longhorns have the best incoming class of receivers in the country (although USC may take exception to this claim). White has all the physical tools to start for the Longhorns immediately, which has some fans seeing visions of Roy Williams.

It’s likely that because of the depth at the position the coaching staff will bring him along slowly, but don’t be surprised if White makes an immediate impact catching the ball for the Longhorns next season.

The Under the Radar talent: Cade McCrary, Brock Fitzhenry

It’s not often at a school like Texas that a walk-on player at a skill position is considered a possible contributor—Cade McCrary is the exception.

McCrary was Garrett Gilbert’s go-to receiver in high school at Lake Travis and accumulated 1,558 yards receiving and 21 touchdowns his senior year. Gilbert and McCrary have been playing football together since grade school, and although the 6'4" receiver isn’t as physically gifted as the other players mentioned in this article, he by far has the strongest connection established with Gilbert.

It will be interesting to see how the coaching staff utilizes the preferred walk-on this upcoming season.

Brock Fitzhenry's name leads you to believe that he is a prize fighter from the late 1800s, but in fact he is an outstanding athlete out of nearby Giddings, Texas that is entering his sophomore season with the Longhorns. He mostly saw special teams duty last season, and at this juncture the depth chart doesn’t look favorable for him to receive significant playing time this season.

A three-time all-state selection at the quarterback position in high school, there’s no doubt that Fitzhenry can navigate his way around the football field, and expect him to make some noise before his career as a Longhorn is over.