College Football's Top Wide Receivers for 2011
The college football talent pool took a considerable hit when Georgia’s A.J. Green and Alabama’s Julio Jones, the two top wide receivers in the game, made the decision to go pro a year early.
The announcement didn't surprise anybody, but the fact is, us college football fans will now need some new wide receivers to wow us every Saturday. Luckily for us, there are plenty of exciting players waiting in the wings.
Every year it seems like there are a few off the radar receivers who emerge out of nowhere to become stars, and this year seems to be no different.
Guys like West Virginia’s Tavon Austin, North Carolina’s Dwight Jones, Miami’s Travis Benjamin and Cincinnati’s D.J. Woods have a chance to break onto the national scene if they’re utilized properly. And there are a host of other quality young receivers who are likely to make their mark on the college landscape.
It’s hard to narrow the list of college football’s top wide receivers down to 10, because there really are so many quality kids out there, but for now, let’s take a quick look at some of the top wide receiver names for the 2011 season.
Cornerbacks, beware.
10. Robert Woods, USC
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Robert Woods, the No. 1-rated wide receiver prospect from the 2010 recruiting class, certainly arrived at USC with great expectations. However, no one in the land of Troy could have expected the California native to make such a big impact so quickly.
Woods stepped in and became the top receiving option for seasoned QB Matt Barkley early on in the season.
The 6'1’’, 185 lb. receiver finished his freshman campaign with 64 catches, 786 yards and six TDs and now looks ready to become one of the biggest names in the Pac-12 as the Trojan offense's go-to-guy in 2011.
9. Kendall Wright, Baylor
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Star dual-threat quarterback Robert Griffin III won’t be the only reason to watch Baylor games this season.
If you’re a fan of speed, you should take a quick trip down to Waco to check out Baylor senior wideout Kendall Wright, a phenomenal athlete with game-changing speed.
Wright has led the Bears in receiving in each of his three seasons at the school, totaling 194 catches, 2,341 yards and 16 receiving touchdowns for his career.
With the help of Griffin, the former high school track star is now ready to bring his talents to the national stage.
8. Jeff Fuller, Texas A&M
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Jeff Fuller’s junior year was a perfect parallel for his Texas A&M team’s 2010 season.
Oh, what could have been.
Fuller rallied back after an injury-riddled sophomore season to explode out of the gates, scoring 11 touchdowns in just the first eight games of 2010, only to disappear in the last month of the season.
One can only imagine what would happen if the Aggies and Fuller could actually put a full season of consistency together.
If Fuller stays healthy and plays up to his skill level every game, he has All-American potential.
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7. Juron Criner, Arizona
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The Tuscon desert got just a little bit sunnier when Wildcat wide receiver Juron Criner announced his decision to return to Arizona for his senior season.
Criner, the Pac-10's leading receiver in 2010, obviously just couldn’t pass up the opportunity to make another year’s worth of magic with talented QB Nick Foles.
Criner has flourished with Foles at the helm of the offense. As a junior, he finished with 83 catches, 1,244 yards and 11 TDs.
Foles and Criner should be one of the country's most potent passing duos once again in 2011.
6. Chris Owusu, Stanford
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These days, the word threat seems to get thrown around a little too loosely in regards to wide receivers.
A threat, by definition, is something that poses a danger, and there are very few receivers around the country who can truly be considered dangerous to a defense.
One of the few, though, is Stanford’s Chris Owusu.
When healthy, Owusu can strike fear in the opposition as both a returner and a receiver. Injuries may have taken their toll on him in 2010, but when the 6‘2’’ speedster had the ball in his hands, he made something happen, averaging nearly 16 yards a catch.
Expect Owusu to be QB Andrew Luck’s top threat this season.
5. Greg Childs, Arkansas
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It’s easy to endear yourself to the home fanbase when you’re able to come up with your team’s most exciting play of the season.
That’s exactly what Razorback receiver Greg Childs did when he took a 40-yard Ryan Mallett pass straight to the end zone to give Arkansas a 31-24 victory over Georgia.
While that one play is definitely the most memorable highlight of the 2010 season for Childs, he also had his fair share of other big catches before an injury robbed him of the last five games of the season.
After hauling in 46 catches for 659 yards in eight games as a junior, the 6’3’’, 215 lb. Childs will now look to build chemistry with intriguing new QB Tyler Wilson and continue to give SEC secondaries fits.
4. Alshon Jeffery, South Carolina
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When you’re a 6’4’’, 230 lb. wide receiver, life seems to be just a little bit easier.
When you’re that size and you also happen to possess remarkable hands and exceptional athleticism, that’s when things start to become scary.
There’s no doubt that South Carolina’s Alshon Jeffery is the total package. He has everything you’d want in a No. 1 receiving threat.
Jeffery, who caught 88 balls for over 1,500 yards in 2010, is a matchup nightmare and was a major reason the Gamecocks were able to fly to their first SEC Championship game under Steve Spurrier last year.
3. Justin Blackmon, Oklahoma State
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Where did this guy come from? That was a question many college football fans asked themselves every time Justin Blackmon’s game stats came scrolling across the TV screen last fall.
Blackmon, who caught just 20 balls during his freshman season at Oklahoma State, proved to be the biggest beneficiary of Dana Holgorsen’s high-flying offensive attack.
Remarkably, Blackmon totaled over 100 yards receiving in every single game he played in, finishing the year with 111 catches, over 1,700 receiving yards and 21 total touchdowns.
For his efforts, the 6'1'' junior was rewarded with the Biletnikoff award.
Now the question becomes: How will Blackmon fare without Dana Holgorsen calling his number?
2. Ryan Broyles, Oklahoma
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It’s pretty easy to see why Oklahoma was one of the most lethal passing offenses in the country last season.
When you have a receiver the caliber of Ryan Broyles making opposing secondaries look foolish on almost every snap, why not throw the ball as much as you can?
Luckily, the Sooners realized the special talent they had in Broyles and targeted him as much as possible.
The result—Broyles led the country with 131 catches and proved to be a sensational weapon for QB Landry Jones and the Oklahoma offense.
The scary part is, Broyles could actually put up bigger numbers in 2011.
1. Michael Floyd, Notre Dame
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I have one simple question: Are you ready for the Michael Floyd show?
2011 is shaping up to be a monster year for Notre Dame, the type of season that could put the storied program back on the map.
At the forefront of that resurgence will be senior WR Michael Floyd, who gave up the opportunity to be a first-round pick in the 2011 Draft to come back to South Bend and become one of the premier players in all of college football.
Floyd, who has a knack for picking passes out of the air with great flare, has a chance to be a superstar in Brian Kelly’s offense. In his first year transitioning to Kelly’s offense, the 6’3", 225 lb. Floyd was able to reel in 79 passes for over 1,000 yards with 12 TDs to his credit.
If his performance against Miami in the Sun Bowl is any indication, Floyd could be ready to carry the Irish back to that elite level they were once known for.
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