Texas faces the best group of pass catchers in the country in their road season opener. Then a number of teams with real upside, but who will need some things to go right in the broader offense to feature their pass catchers properly.
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- Ohio State
- Georgia
- Florida
- Texas A&M
- Oklahoma???
If Ohio State requires explanation, I can’t help you. Wait, I can help you! What am I talking about?
Here’s the short synopsis: Jeremiah Smith is the best wide receiver and best football player in college football. TE Max Klare may be country’s the best pure pass catching tight end and he’s going to spend all of his time in single coverage. Rangy Carnell Tate is a nice complement to both of them – he’s a first or second day NFL pick in 2026. Their slot Brandon Inniss is more than capable and good after the catch. I watched Ohio State’s spring game. Their second team wide receivers would start for 90% of the college football universe. Thank heavens for QB inexperience and new starting tackles.
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Georgia massively improved their wide receiver room this offseason. Dropping 31 passes last year didn’t help their passing game much. USC transfer Zachariah Branch is getting all the hype and he is explosive, if unfinished, but I expect the additions of Aggie leading receiver Noah Thomas (6’6″) and the return of the suspended (only a year probation!) Miami transfer Colbie Young (6’4″) to power a downfield, contested-catch passing attack. Those additions free Dillon Bell to return to his gadgety all-purpose YAC role. London Humphreys remains an opportunistic deep threat.
Their other big differentiator is the tight end combo in the SEC: Oscar Delp and Lawson Luckie. They combined for 45 catches and 7 touchdowns last year and that production should increase.
Can Gunner Stockton unlock their new arsenal against good defenses? Can a revamped OL protect?
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I see a drop off here to Florida, but Eugene “Don’t Google What My Dad Did Super Bowl Eve” Wilson is back healthy and a very strong option. True freshman Dallas Wilson – the superstar of their Spring game – continues to show out and he’s a starter kit Rome Odunze. J Michael Sturdivant is a quality possession big body with 123 career catches and a huge catch radius. They have serious long speed in youngsters like Aidan Mizell and Vernell Brown III. Tight ends are blocking surfaces for Napier and 6’7″ 270 Hayden Hansen will be a surface that blocks.
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I love Texas A&M’s wide receivers as all around athletes, but it will be interesting to see if they can fully cohere into a complete unit that threatens with the whole route tree. Early verdict? Nah. They’re going to excel on bubble screens, rubs, crossing routes, little sit downs, switch routes, and any passing concept where they can catch it on the run. They’re all great ball carriers for Klein’s read-option game and they’ll be plenty distracting as jet sweepers and on reverses.
KC Concepcion was a superstar freshman at NC State and a terrible sophomore. I explain the drop off in TTF – it’s a little involved, but if he’s back to old form, he’s terrific with the ball in his hands. There’s some front runner there, though. Sophomore Terry Bussey is equally slippery as a receiving and run threat and he does a lot of what Concepcion does, but with more desire for the dirty work. Finally, they brought in little Mario Craver from Mississippi State to take the top off with his speed and ball tracking. Nice addition. This will be a vertical and horizontal oriented room.
This a smart group to surround Marcel Reed with as they’ll do a lot of the work for him. The downside is a lack of refined passing game concepts when needed.
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Oklahoma at #5? In a race of four 100 meter sprinters and the kid who won the qualifier at Fat Camp, that race has a fifth place finisher.
My other options are Vanderbilt entirely on the strength of TE Eli Stowers paired with probably the SEC’s worst receiving corps, or it’s Mississippi State, and the Bulldogs are starting Brenen Thompson. Maybe I need to watch UTEP tape again.
Oklahoma does have upside and they can’t possibly be worse than last year.
Texas was very interested in slot Deion Burks when he transferred out of West Lafayette two years ago. He’s very quick and appears to be fully healthy. He’s not on NFL draft boards because he stinks. They’re going to feed him. Arkansas transfer Isaiah Santegna proved competent in Fayetteville, but he’s possibly a bit redundant to Burks.
So far, tight end appears to be a black hole. The Sooner propaganda to the contrary is amusing.
Small school additions Javonnie Gibson and Jer’Michael Carter need to come up big outside. Gibson is a 6’2” 215 pound outside receiver from Arkansas-Pine Bluff who was a 2nd Team FCS All-American with 1215 receiving yards on 70 catches. He broke his leg in the Spring and it’s unclear when he will be a full participant in Fall Camp, but they think he can work his way back by mid September. McNeese State transfer 6’4” Jer’Michael Carter doesn’t have Carter’s production (he caught 37 balls last year) but OU loved his traits. Another option could be deep threat 6’5” Jayden Gibson (26 yards per catch in 2023, injured last year). One way or another, Oklahoma is going to be big outside. Can they win?
If GM Jim Nagy is good at spinning small school straw into gold, OU is your #5. If not, they’ll be better, but a bottom half or quartile SEC unit and I probably should have just written three paragraphs about Mississippi State’s Jordan Mosley.
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It’s Back To School time. Get properly schooled on the Horns, their opponents, the current roster building landscape, recruiting, and the SEC before kickoff. Over 61,000 words of college football goodness.
