SEC Football: Ranking the Top "Pass Catching" Threats For Week 6
Throughout the first five weeks of the 2010 College Football season, the primary targets for the SEC conference's "gun-slingers" have emerged.
In this segment of power rankings, we take a look at the top "pass catching" threats for each team and rank them based on current production, that is except for one University of Georgia player who deserves to be in the discussion, no matter what. Feel free to disagree or agree at will.
Here's a look at the top 12. To all SEC fans, good luck to your teams as the fun is just beginning.
No. 12: TE Brandon Barden, Vanderbilt
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At 6'5", 250 pounds, Barden has emerged as the No. 1 receiving threat for the Commodores. Unfortunately for the Commodores, Barden is a tight end.
That being said, the former All Freshman SEC is becoming a steady playmaker who is capable of not only running over defenders but also using deceptive quickness.
For the year, Barden has 15 catches for 153 yards and two touchdowns, with a 10.2 ypc average. In the Commodores loss to UConn, Barden had eight catches for 35 yards and a touchdown.
Expect Barden to put up some of the same as Vanderbilt is favored heavily over a winless Eastern Michigan.
No. 11: WR Denarius Moore, Tennessee
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As Tennessee's best deep threat, the 6'1", 195-pound senior wide receiver is showing the ability to find his way to the end zone.
For the season, Moore has totaled 16 catches for 234 yards and four touchdowns. Moore is coming off a week in which he had only two catches for 19 yards and no scores in Tennessee's irrational loss to LSU.
Look for Moore to rebound against a struggling Georgia team "between the hedges."
No. 10: WR Markeith Summers, Ole Miss
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The 6'3", 205-pound Olive Branch, Mississippi native is the Rebels' leading receiving threat, amassing 11 catches for 242 yards and two touchdowns.
After a fiery start to the season, Summers' play has tapered off in recent weeks. In fact, Summers was held to a total of one catch for seven yards in Ole Miss' win over the Kentucky Wildcats.
Look for the trend to continue as the Rebels are in the midst of a bye week, before traveling to Tuscaloosa to take on the No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
No. 9: WR Rueben Randle, LSU
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The 6'4", 204-pound Randle is one of the most athletic players on this list. Randle was the No. 1 receiving prospect coming out of high school and has shown why with his sure hands and athletic ability.
Unfortunately for Randle though, the Tigers quarterback situation has been unremarkable at best, as QB Jordan Jefferson has continued to struggle.
For the season, Randle has amassed 18 catches for 242 yards and one touchdown.
In LSU's victory over Tennessee, Randle amassed four receptions for 69 yards and a 17.3 ypc average with the insertion of QB Jarrett Lee.
Expect Randle's numbers to rise dramatically, as Lee,the more polished passer of the two Tiger QBs, receives more playing time.
No. 8: WR Darvin Adams, Auburn
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The 6'3", 185-pound Kennesaw, Georgia native is the leading receiver on the dynamic Cam Newton-led Auburn offense.
Totaling 16 catches for 284 yards and two touchdowns, Adams is proving to be a viable threat. However, Adams did see a drop off in production against the University of Louisiana-Monroe game, as he had only two receptions for 25 yards.
Adams should continue to struggle as Auburn travels to Lexington to face a Kentucky Wildcats' defense that ranks first in passing defense.
No. 7: WR Deonte Thompson, Florida
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The junior wide receiver from Belle Glade, Florida is proving to be a valuable asset while moving the chains for the Gators.
Thompson has 21 receptions for 308 yards, but has yet to find the end zone. Promising for Thompson, was his three-catch, 60-yard performance against one of the SEC's top defenses in the Alabama Crimson Tide.
It will be interesting to see how the 5'11", 203-pound junior performs this weekend, as the Gators host another of the SEC's premier defenses in the LSU Tigers, led by All-American cornerback Patrick Peterson.
No. 6: WR Julio Jones, Alabama
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Although some would tout Jones as one of the conference's best, with his size and speed, Jones should be leading receivers in all statistics.
Jones has amassed 24 catches for 322 yards and two touchdowns, but his numbers are far off the pace of his breakout freshman season in which he held 58 receptions for 924 yards.
On Oct. 4th, the Tuscaloosa news reported that Jones suffered a bruised knee in his four-catch for 19-yard performance against the Florida Gators. Expect similar results, if he plays at all, when the Tide travel to Williams-Bryce Stadium to face the South Carolina Gamecocks.
No. 5: WR Randall Cobb, Kentucky
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Randall Cobb is hands down one of the best athletes in the SEC. The jack-of-all-trades playmaker for the Wildcats is fresh off a six-catch, 108-yard, one-touchdown performance in Kentucky's loss to Ole Miss.
For the season, Cobb is totaling 25 catches for 335 yards and three touchdowns. Expect another big night from the junior hailing from Alcoa, Tennessee, as the Wildcats host an Auburn defense—which ranks 11th in passing defense—in what could be a very high-scoring game.
No. 4: WR Chad Bumphis, Mississippi State
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The Bulldogs dynamic sophomore has certainly begun to establish himself as a true playmaker in Dan Mullen's system
Bumphis is a threat both through the air and on the ground. In Mississippi State's win over Alcorn State, Bumphis not only rushed for 38 yards, but also produced nine receptions for 133 yards and two scores in route to a 49-16 win.
For the season, Bumphis is seven receptions from surpassing his freshman numbers, as he has totaled 25 receptions for 352 yards and four touchdowns. Expect another huge night for Bumphis as the Bulldogs take on the (3-1) Houston Cougars.
No. 3: WR Joe Adams, Arkansas
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Although productive in his freshman and sophomore seasons, in which he appeared in 22 total games, Adams has burst onto the scene as a true "home run" threat for Arkansas' Ryan Mallet.
The junior wide receiver, hailing from Little Rock, Arkansas has at least one catch in every game he has appeared, and has amassed 19 receptions for 389 yards and two touchdowns while averaging 20.5 ypc.
Expect big numbers from Adams this Saturday, as the Hogs travel to "Jerry World" to take on a Texas A&M defense that allowed 38 points to Oklahoma Sate.
No. 2: WR Alshon Jeffery, South Carolina
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The former freshman All-American wide receiver, whom former Tennessee Coach Lane Kiffin said would be pumping gas, is continuing to prove that he is one of the SEC's best after a freshman All-American campaign.
Jeffery currently leads the SEC in receptions (27) and yards gained (498). With an 18.4 ypc average, Jeffery is by far Steve Spurrier's most explosive receiving weapon.
Although the Gamecocks host one of the conference's premier defenses in the Alabama Crimson Tide, expect Jeffery to still put up impressive numbers against a talented, yet young Crimson Tide secondary.
No. 1: WR A.J. Green, Georgia
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What else can be said about the 6'4", 205-pound junior wide receiver for the Georgia Bulldogs other than he might be the best wide receiver in all of college football.
Green has already garnered All-Freshman and All-SEC honors early in his skyrocketing career. After serving a four-game suspension for the improper sale of a game jersey, Green burst into the 2010 season last week with a seven-reception, 119-yard, two-touchdown performance in Georgia's 29-27 loss to Colorado.
Expect the numbers to continue to rise as the Bulldogs host a Tennessee Volunteers team that is still stinging following an ugly and unpredictable loss to LSU.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
