Offseason inventory: A look at Texas' wide receivers
The disappointment for Texas wide receivers started in August when potential star receiver Isaiah Neyor tore his ACL in practice. The hype for Neyor — equal parts his play at Wyoming and his demonstrated ability throughout the spring at summer in Austin — was to the point people were wondering if he’d become Texas’ No. 1 option for season. At a minimum, he would have given Texas its most reliable deep threat and we saw how the absence of that important component handicapped Steve Sarkisian’s offense for most of the season.
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The disappointment didn’t end there. Ultra-talented sophomore Xavier Worthy had what can only be described as a sophomore slump as his numbers dropped in the three main categories year over year.
It wasn’t all doom and gloom, however. Jordan Whittington had his first full healthy season at Texas, and though he was sometimes the forgotten man, he delivered more often than not. There were a handful of games where he catalyzed the offense in the first half.
To a man, the wide receivers blocked with tremendous effort. Whittington deservedly received most of the acclaim for doing the dirty work, but every receiver gave consistent effort as a perimeter blocker.
Despite the issues and inconsistency, this remains a talented group with help on the way in the form Johntay Cook and DeAndre Moore already on campus and getting in extra work. A transfer wide receiver is still likely as well.
This remains a high ceiling group, however the floor could use more reinforcement.
JR Xavier Worthy
It was an odd season for Worthy and it wasn’t all his fault as he often found himself on the end of errant throws. Still, there were far too many examples of him struggling to track and adjust to catchable passes. On top of it he had too many drops, often times faced up to the ball. He had two bad drops in the Alamo Bowl alone. One would have been a key first down, the other would have been a stroll in touchdown.
Sark may want to reimagine Worthy’s role a bit. Despite the drops, he ran some tremendous shorter routes in the red zone and converted some easy pitch and catches. Throws underneath with him building up speed are probably going to be more successful than throws over the top.
Worthy’s exceptional at creating space and getting open, but his ball skills were too inconsistent to be so stubbornly featured, particularly against Oklahoma State and TCU.
Another dangerous deep threat would likely relieve pressure from Worthy and allow him to find space underneath. His route running can be devastating.
SR Jordan Whittington
Media’s not supposed to have favorites but how can you not love how he blocks and runs with urgency after the catch? He plays with his hair on fire, has experience, and will soften the loss of leadership created by the departures of Bijan Robinson and Roschon Johnson.
Whittington also has more big play ability than he showed this season, but that isn’t to say he’s a vertical threat. As slot receivers go he’s a slot machine, more of a running back after the catch. More targets underneath and in space will yield more broken tackles and chunk yardage.
As a receiver he does have a weakness or two. His catch radius is that of Franco Columbu, meaning he requires accurate throws. He’s also more slot specific, which won’t be a bad thing if Sark moves towards more 11 personnel sets (three receivers, one tight end, one running back) like we saw in the bowl game.
Fans often minimize aspects like culture, leadership, and the value of young players having mentors, but Whittington will be great in these regards.
JR Isaiah Neyor
As stated in the opening he was sorely missed. I think every fan knew in real time the loss would be tough to overcome, but as the season progressed the injury became bigger by the game. Known for being more of a deep threat when he arrived at Texas, Neyor demonstrated a much more complete skillset in his 8 months prior to injury in Austin.
Now the question remains, how healthy will he be for this season? He’ll have a full year to recover which is typically plenty of time to return to health, at least physically. But until he’s out on the field running routes against good corners we’re not going to know where to set expectations for 2023.
The staff understands it can’t go into the season depending on Neyor returning to his previous form.
RS SO Casey Cain
Too many times I’ve seen a young player experience struggles with fans offering zero benefit of the doubt or attempting to apply any context. Sure, he had a couple drops and a couple miscommunications on routes. It happens, especially to players getting their first playing time.
Cain was never going to be a No. 1 receiver at Texas, but it’s likely he’ll evolve into a much more reliable role player than we saw for most of the season. He was much more consistent in practice and over time he’ll learn to translate that to the field. Maybe we already saw the first signs of that in the bowl game.
He’s going to end up being a productive player. That doesn’t mean an explosive player or All-Conference player, but someone who can move the sticks and win his share of one on one battles.
SO Brenen Thompson
Thompson made plays last summer in the 7 on 7 setting which perhaps unfairly raised expectations for his freshman season. Playing at tiny Spearman and missing most of his senior season wasn’t the greatest set of circumstances to prepare him for his freshman year.
Thompson’s blazing speed showed up in practice and on a 32-yard reception against Oklahoma State, but otherwise he had a quiet year.
The goal will be to get stronger to better handle college DB’s. When he’s not out-muscled he can employ his speed and nobody is running with him at that point.
The 100 meter champ is running track at Texas. Added muscle will serve him well in that sport as well.
SO Savion Red
Red remains an interesting eval after playing different roles in high school. You can see the slot machine build similar to a running back, but he also does well to catch the ball away from his body and shows the ability to make a move after the catch. His long speed isn’t typically what you’d think Sark would select for, but the staff remains high on Red as a receiver.
When I characterized him as hyper-competitive out of high school, that was a softer way of saying he might lose his cool on the sideline. He’ll need to harness that “passion” in the right direction, but you’d rather have to calm a guy down than constantly motivate him.
I view him as slot specific and yet another player who would benefit from more 11 personnel.
RS SO Jaden Alexis
Alexis was clearly not back to full health in August but it sounds like he started to regain his speed over the course of the season. He made his share of plays on scout team but I’m unsure of what his expectations should be for this upcoming season. We’ll monitor him during the spring.
FR Johntay Cook
Cook has the chance to become a productive cog in the passing game as a true freshman. He’s already a quality route runner with the confidence and competitiveness of a college player. He should gain separation with speed and route running. The ability to make plays on 50/50 balls should translate to college but that’s a bit more of a projection.
Expect to see him add a strength component to his game over time.
FR DeAndre Moore
Moore has underrated speed and a defensive player’s physicality to his game. He could play inside or outside, but I tend to think slot receiver is his best position. Like Cook, he’s played football at the highest high school level and against strong competition. Also like Cook, he’s already on campus and getting in extra work. I think he’ll be ready to play as a freshman if called upon.
FR Ryan Niblett
Niblett should challenge Worthy as the fastest Longhorn when he arrives next May. And like Worthy, I may have underrated his readiness as a freshman route runner. Sources indicate Niblett has good football intelligence and shouldn’t be considered a project.
Summary
The receiver room is showing early signs of restored health similar to what we’ve seen on the offensive line and at linebacker. However, this group is largely inconsistent or inexperienced. The room is long on talent and speed but short on ball skills, reliability, and length.
For that reason it is clear Texas needs to add a productive transfer with length and experience. Smart money is on that occurring. Assuming it does, the new wide receiver coach is going to have plenty to work with upon his arrival.
