Offseason competition in focus: Texas wide receivers
Much like with the defensive tackle position, the wide receiver position offers group-wide competition. That doesn’t mean there isn’t an obvious starter or two, but where and how much each receiver plays and how often he rotates is in question.
And again, like with defensive tackle, the sheer volume of transfers offers us a lot of possibilities and storylines to contemplate.
Like in the previous piece, we’ll start with leadership
Who will step up to replace Jordan Whittington?
Whittington was the clear leader in the room but the coaches also need to replace Xavier Worthy and Adonai Mitchell. Worthy’s reputation was a tad mixed but nobody questioned his work ethic or toughness and coaches put a lot of value in that. Mitchell had a much better reputation than the NFL Draft process led many to believe. Beyond the talent and production, there’s a lot to replace.
The leadership question is a big one for this group. Earlier in the calendar we heard positives about DeAndre Moore. We still hear good things about him but we’re not quite sure he’s going to emerge as the leader this year. Johntay Cook has shown hints of leadership but he’s not there yet either. That’s not a knock, these two are only sophomores.
As one source put it, nobody in this room has done it in a Texas uniform yet.
That source predicted one of the transfers would likely emerge as a leader. He didn’t want to handicap who, but we’ve heard promising things about Isaiah Bond, Matthew Golden, and Silas Bolden. Bolden’s “track work ethic” has already gained notice in his short time on campus.
Whoever becomes Quinn Ewers‘ go-to receiver will likely emerge as the leader.
A source on the absence of a go-to receiver
This is the source who mentioned last summer that Mitchell would emerge as Ewers’ go-to receiver. That certainly bore out last year.
This summer, Ewers is going through his reads and finding whoever is open rather than force-feeding Mitchell in two-minute drill. Making it even more difficult to define a go-to receiver, the first six receivers are all interchangeable with no set rotations or positions. They’re all first-team, they’re all second-team.
The transfers bring a lot of speed
What Bond, Golden, and Bond lack in experience in Austin they make up for in speed. Golden is the “slowest” and he can roll. Bond was a 10.5 100 meter athlete in high school whose speed was evident at Alabama. Bolden sounds like the fastest player on the team since he’s being compared to Worthy in that regard.
Texas lost a lot of speed to the NFL Draft but I’d posit this current group is even more dangerous vertically. Worthy didn’t have the greatest deep ball skills; Mitchell played fast, but not 4.34 fast; and Whittington was rarely used to get deep.
This year will be different. All three of these receivers can play inside or out, but interestingly, the most likely position for each would be Bond in the boundary, Golden in the slot, and Bolden at field. The 5-foot-8 Bolden is more vertically inclined than he is vertically inclined.
Obviously they’re not the only fast players at the position, and despite their production at previous spots, none are guaranteed a starting spot. I mean, we all have our assumptions, but practically speaking wide receiver remains a competition.
Talented young bucks pushing to start
Steve Sarkisian has notoriously kept a short bench at the position but the expectation this season is the sheer volume of talent will force his hand.
Johntay Cook is like Bond in that he can play any of the three positions. He’s a vertical threat but also possess more polish. When last we saw Cook and Bond, Cook’s hands were more reliable.
DeAndre Moore is like Golden, or perhaps even Whittington in some ways, in that he’s very fast but also plays with strength. Moore has consistently been considered one of the fastest players on the team. He can play inside or outside. I personally like him at slot.
Ryan Wingo is different than anything Texas has on the roster. He has size, power, speed, and is a surprisingly smooth route runner for his age and size. He is consistently the talk of practice and he has as much NFL Draft upside as anyone in the program who isn’t a quarterback.
How will it shake out?
Hell if I know.
It’s easy to assume the three oldest will start but the group is versatile enough for Sark to play the three best, whoever they are. If Wingo is one of the three best, it’s easy to move Bond elsewhere. If Moore is one of the three best, but Golden is, too, then Golden could play either field or boundary.
To either muddy or clear up the picture, I’ll add what I perceive their best fits to be:
Bond: field, boundary, slot
Golden: slot, boundary, field
Bolden: slot, field
Cook: field, boundary, slot
Moore: slot, field, boundary
Wingo: boundary, field
A quick refresher on duties of each position:
Boundary receiver has to beat press and be able to get deep and become a reliable target receiver.
Slot receiver needs to exploit space either horizontally or vertically, show toughness over the middle, and ideally block.
The field receiver needs to be able to get deep and command safety attention.
There’s even more speed on the roster
Ryan Niblett ran 10.4 in the 100m as a junior in high school. Parker Livingstone ran 21.6 in the 200m as a sophomore. Aaron Butler routinely got deep during the spring. Freddie Dubose was a legit track star in high school who placed third in the 400m.
I don’t expect these four to play much this year but their time will come if they continue to work.
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