Let’s examine the wide receiver position to determine who is on the rise and who has seen their stock take a dive now that spring practices and the spring portal have concluded.
STOCK UP
Adam Randall, Clemson
Nothing like starting off the WR edition with an RB, right? Randall still carries WR eligibility on Fantrax. The presumed Clemson starting RB has the requisite size (6’2″, 225) to handle a Phil Mafah-type workload and comes with the route-tree of a very average WR. Never mind the thought that he has the knees of a 53-year-old construction worker. Randall is still the lead back in one of the most dynamic offenses in the nation.
Que’Sean Brown, Duke
Brown appears to be the go-to option for new QB Darian Mensah after a huge spring game that saw him accumulate 145 yards on six catches. Duke ranked 27th in pass volume last season and actually upgraded the QB position in the portal. With Moore and Pancol moving on, Duke will be looking to replace their 115 receptions, 1,600 yards, and 17 TDs. Brown could be the recipient of that vacated volume given his early rapport with Mensah.
Isaiah Horton, Alabama
Horton stated his choice of Alabama while in the portal was to reunite with Ty Simpson. He left a prime opportunity at Miami to join his former high school teammate in Tuscaloosa. That bond appears stronger than Gorilla Glue, as Horton was electric throughout the spring with reports of multiple TDs from Simpson in each of the Tide’s scrimmages. It’s a talented room, but DeBoer has shown the ability to highlight multiple WRs.
STOCK DOWN
Trebor Pena, Penn State
I have been writing this article for a few years now. Never has there been a clearer candidate to appear in this spot than Pena. He leaves the nation’s second-highest passing volume offense to join a program that literally had their season end in a playoff game without a single completion to a wide receiver. Penn State’s top receiver went 46-720-4. They played 16 games. There is a reason their top two receivers transferred out.
Emmett Mosley V, Texas
Texas had a fantastic spring portal, but it isn’t exactly wheels up for Mosley. The stud second-year WR leaves an objectively worse offense for a better one. He goes from the unquestioned alpha capable of 10+ targets every game, where the Cardinal would be playing from behind, to a much more competitive Horns WR room. He was comfortably going in Round 2 of CFF drafts until he landed at a program whose leading receiver last year was Gunnar Helm. Even Matthew Golden was WR136 in the regular season. Eww.
Nic Anderson, LSU
Can this dude stay healthy? No. Okay. Cool. Let’s not do this again. Multiple quad injuries limited him last fall. The Sooners didn’t make much of an attempt to retain him, and lo and behold, he’s limited again this spring after his transfer to LSU. The talent is certainly there, but he’s missed two of his three years due to injuries. Now Anderson has to catch up after missing most of the spring, when he was running with the 2s.
