With depth at receiver, Steve Sarkisian looking for the best way to utilize a versatile group

Not too long after the final whistle of the 2024 Sugar Bowl sounded, Xavier Worthy and Adonai Mitchell decided to forego their senior seasons and enter their names in the 2024 NFL Draft along with fifth-year senior Jordan Whittington. That meant Texas, ahead of the program’s first campaign in the Southeastern Conference, would have to replace 172 catches, 2364 yards, and 17 touchdowns that trio produced in 2023.

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Plus, reserves Casey Cain and Isaiah Neyor made their intentions to transfer from the program known. With those five departures, the only receivers returning for spring drills were Johntay Cook, DeAndre Moore, and Ryan Niblett. Even with early enrollees Parker Livingstone, Ryan Wingo, Aaron Butler, and Freddie Dubose on campus, just seven scholarship receivers would be in Austin.

And of that group, only Cook had any receptions in a college football game.

“We can’t go into every season, and (have) me sitting here in August telling you we’re a young football team,” Sarkisian said Wednesday. “We’ve got to have some experience. We’ve got to have some depth here.”

So Texas took advantage of the portal and recruited several pass-catchers who entered following changes at their previous school. The Longhorns snagged Houston’s Matthew Golden after Dana Holgorsen was let go by the Cougar administration. Next came Isaiah Bond, who decided to become a Longhorn after Nick Saban retired at Alabama. Finally, Sarkisian and wide receivers coach Chris Jackson added Oregon State’s Silas Bolden in the aftermath of Jonathan Smith leaving Corvallis to become head coach of Michigan State.

“We went and signed one more high school high school kid in Aaron Butler to get us to seven, and then we took three transfers that got us to the number 10 at the receiver position, which is more of an ideal number to have on your roster,” Sarkisian said. “That was really helpful and beneficial for us.”

The 10-man receiver room provides the depth and experience Sarkisian views as necessary at the position ahead of his program’s first season in the SEC (though Sarkisian announced Bolden will arrive in the summer). That group could also make available a different strategy for deploying receivers in 2024 as compared to 2023.

Pro Football Focus keeps track of how many times a given player runs a route on a pass play in a season. Last year, Mitchell had 492 plays where he ran a route while Worthy tallied 473 and Whittington recorded 325.

Mitchell was lined up “wide” for 81.6% of his snaps and Whittington was in the slot for 82.2% his plays. Worthy had a more multifaceted role with 40% of his snaps from the slot and 60% out wide.

But with Golden listed at 6-foot-0, 190 pounds, Bond checking in at 5-foot-11, 182 pounds, and Bolden at 5-foot-8, 160 pounds, Sarkisian could move that group all over the field rather than pigeon-holing his receivers into a certain roles like boundary, field, or slot.

Golden was out wide for 65.5% of his snaps while in the slot for 34.5%.

Bond was in the slot 59% of his snaps in out wide for 41%.

The 5-foot-8 Bolden, who might still profile to a slot in Sarkisian’s offense, was out wide 81% of the time for the Beavers.

“I’m hopeful,” Sarkisian said when asked about utilizing that group in a variety of ways. “I’m hopeful of that. We are going to have to figure this whole thing out, and that’s the fun part as a coach.”

An indication that multiple usages are on the table is seen in how the returning receivers were trained last season. Sarkisian said that Niblett, Cook, and Moore were cross-trained at all three wide receiver positions, and the three additions from the portal share that versatility.

“We didn’t ever want to make them one-dimensional players. They got trained that way,” Sarkisian said of his returning receivers. “The three transfers coming in are really versatile guys. Matthew Golden’s probably a little bit more physical than Isaiah and Silas. But again, all (have) playmaking ability. All have caught a ton of balls.”

That group of six, at least as it appears in early February, should contend for the frontline snaps during the spring, summer, and fall. The group Texas just signed out of the high school ranks may factor in as well, but they could be better suited for defined responsibilities like the 2023 receiver corps.

“Then we’ve got the high school kids that are coming in that I think are all unique in their own way,” Sarkisian said. “The size of Wingo and Parker is probably a little different than the other guys. The athleticism of Freddie and the speed of Aaron, I think that whole group, that room is going to be really solid.”

With seven months until the start of the season, Sarkisian is in no rush to determine what the best use of his options is.

“We’ve just got to find that right group of guys by the time September rolls around,” he said.

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But thanks to opportunistic portal recruiting and the addition of four quality seniors from the 2024 class, he’ll have 10 receivers to evaluate instead of just six or seven.