Sports Network Ranks the WRs

[Josh]

Extra Point - I-AA WR's - Cream of the Crop in Atlantic 10
By Matt Dougherty, The Sports Network

Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - You won’t find former I-AA stars Terrell Owens and Randy Moss on the list of Walter Payton Award winners. But you will see Villanova’s Brian Finneran.

In 1997, Finneran, now an Atlanta Falcon, became the only wide receiver to win I-AA’s highest honor. Finneran caught 96 passes for 1,389 yards and 19 touchdowns, and led the Wildcats into the playoffs. He still holds the top spot in the Villanova record books for receptions, yards and touchdown catches. Through 18 seasons, he remains the only Payton winner from a position other than quarterback or running back.

So while a few wideouts figure to receive consideration as player of the year, no one has a great chance to match Finneran’s accomplishment. But if someone does, odds are that player will come from Finneran’s old conference, the Atlantic 10.

The conference sporting the last two national champions also boasts a plethora of a talent at wide receiver. New Hampshire star David Ball was at least as instrumental as quarterback Ricky Santos for the Wildcats’ success in 2004. Cory Parks and David Boler end spectacular careers at Northeastern and Delaware, respectively, and Hofstra boasts a trio of players that could all have excellent seasons. Players like Villanova’s J.J. Outlaw and William & Mary’s Joe Nicholas could easily post big seasons and have a tough time even cracking the All-Conference team.

http://www.sportsnetwork.com/default.asp?c=sportsnetwork&page=/cfoot2/news/AGN3936776.htm

[kats89]

Was hoping he would rank the tight ends in a different article, but oh well. Corey Roberts (6-5 235) could be considered one of the top tight ends in the country this year.

[Josh]

I thought he did a great job. I would like to see a ranking of the top 10-15 TEs just because that stuff interests me but Matt is busy and still did a great job.

Kudos again on a great job Matt. Looks good and I see no major names missing.

To everyone else, did he miss anyone major?

[pete4256]

He missed Teddy Craft from GSU, but I guess last year's 19 receptions look paltry on paper. :D

[Josh]

He missed Teddy Craft from GSU, but I guess last year's 19 receptions look paltry on paper. :D

Craft is a big play guy but I would think he will rank among the top return men.

He is certainly an impressive player.

He catches 25-40 balls and he will end up on the final top 20 list for sure.

[blueballs]

Craft is a big play guy but I would think he will rank among the top return men.

He is certainly an impressive player.

He catches 25-40 balls and he will end up on the final top 20 list for sure.

Craft won't get 40 balls thrown his way all year. :D

I'm with you on the return portion of his game...

[eaglefan452]

He missed Teddy Craft from GSU, but I guess last year's 19 receptions look paltry on paper. :D

Was thinking the same thing pete, 19 receptions is a little low, but when you figure that 7 of them were touchdowns, has to raise a few eyebrows, along with the 24 yards per reception. Shows that he indeed has big play potential every time he catches the ball.

[ccujacket]

For my money Jerome Simpson is a much better reciever than Gadson. Put Simpson on CSU with Jay Mills passing offense and he'd put up monster numbers.

[eaglefan452]

Craft won't get 40 balls thrown his way all year. :D


Very true, if he catches 30, I will be very suprised.

[Rabbitlivinginverm]

I think he missed the boat excluding a SDSU Jackrabbit WR.

Josh Davis
2004 (junior)
43 rec 619 yrds 5 td (missed two games--injury, played most of season hurt)

2003 (soph)
63 rec 1028 yrds 9 td

2002 (freshman)
70 rec 732 yrds 6 td

[Josh]

I think he missed the boat excluding a SDSU Jackrabbit WR.

Josh Davis
2004 (junior)
43 rec 619 yrds 5 td (missed two games--injury, played most of season hurt)

2003 (soph)
63 rec 1028 yrds 9 td

2002 (freshman)
70 rec 732 yrds 6 td

I think the reason for excluding Davis is probably that his numbers went down some?

I like Davis but I could see him in a 17-24 range among receivers.

[Chi Panther]

I am pleased to see Justin Surrency from UNI on this list as I believe he is top 15 talent....however I don't foresee him putting up top 15 numbers (most likely on the list becuz of UNI's WR tradition). This will be an VERY complete WR core for UNI this year. Two WRs are running at Nationals this week. Sanders is going to have some fast targets. :D

[eagle1]

Eric Kimble is the man in all of I-AA. It does help when you have a guy like Erik Meyer throwing you ball. They both make each other look good. The Big Sky is used to hearing the Erik to Eric phrase many times during a game. Kimble makes big plays when his team needs him to. He is very deserving of this recognition. Go Eagles!!!

[exbearkat]

I thought he did a great job. I would like to see a ranking of the top 10-15 TEs just because that stuff interests me but Matt is busy and still did a great job.

Kudos again on a great job Matt. Looks good and I see no major names missing.

To everyone else, did he miss anyone major?
Just out of curiousity, in your opinion, if Mathenia was able to return where do you feel he would rank?

[ngineer]

Winfred Porter had a monster spring, but without a track record from last year it is understandable he's 'under the radar'. Teamed up with Gerran Walker, Lehigh will have a double deep threat that they have never had. If the rebuilt O-line gives Borda the time, there could be some passing records goin' down on South Mountain.

[Tribe4SF]

Glad to see Joe Nicholas get a mention. He'll be paired with Josh Lustig, who came flying out of the blocks last year but got injured in the 2nd game. Tribe has two redshirt freshmen (Joe Marianacci and Elliott Mack) who moved up to the 3 and 4 spots this spring.

Josh Lustig/Joe Nicholas

[Josh]

Just out of curiousity, in your opinion, if Mathenia was able to return where do you feel he would rank?

I would say 4-7 maybe.

[SUjagTILLiDIE]

:confused: No James Vernon from SU. Impact transfer Junior Joseph(Lsu) transfer. Huggins from SLU is alright and so is Spiller from Alcorn but neither can come close to James Vernon. Vernon was consider the best WR out of Louisiana when he came out. LSU and other major colleges wanted him bad. He has strong SU ties thats why he came to SU.

[Libertine]

For my money Jerome Simpson is a much better reciever than Gadson. Put Simpson on CSU with Jay Mills passing offense and he'd put up monster numbers.

I agree with you, Jacket. Gadson is a very consistent performer but he's also the only real receiving target on the entire CSU team. I can think of 5 other receivers in the Big South alone that I would pick over Gadson (Simpson, Burden - VMI, Richardson - GW, Gaines - GW, Williams - LU).

[CosmoVixen24]

I'm really glad Felton Huggins made the top five on the list. Also glad to see Hutch Gonzales, Jeffrey Howard, and Felton listed at #3 in the Top Wide Receiving Tandems. I can't wait to see them in the fall, especially Hutch. The guy is unbelieveable, going 11 catches for 86 yards and one touchdown, all on a broken leg when we played Jacksonville.

[TXST_CAT]

Remember these names.
4 Carpenter, K.R. WR 5-11 185 JR 1L Schertz, Texas (Clemons) UNT transfer'03 runs a 4.3 40.

86 White, Markee WR 6-7 205 JR TR Long Bech, Calif. (Long Beach Poly)

With a new QBcoach/ passing OC the TXST passing game is going to open up this year. I have read some comments about Neally. I will admit he had a bad year last season but part of that could be placed on an injured O-line and poor QB coach. Even the SAM KAT's will admitt Coach Herman is the real deal when it comes to coaching offense. Here are some stats.
RECEIVING........... GP No. Yds Avg TD Long Avg/G
Carpenter, K.R. .....8 25 425 17.0 2 73 53.1
White, Markee ......7 11 194 17.6 1 56 27.7

Others to look out for in the Maroon and Gold.

Scott, Tyrone .....11 14 154 11.0 2 49 14.0
Freeman, Devin .....11 12 112 9.3 1 24 10.2


If K.R gets the ball in the open field he is hard to catch. Just ask the Baylor DB's. ;) Herman knows this so expect K.R to have a break out season. :D

[TexasTerror]

25 receptions for your #1 man, when your tooting the horn of this "star" QB, Nealy? Same amount of receptions for our #5 man last year. Kats had six guys with over 20 recepetions. Herman or not, the Cats are not known for being WR U like us in Huntsville.

SHSU almost has always had the top WR in the league the last few years regardless of whom the QB is. SHSU has got some playmakers this year as well.

[Black and Gold Express]

Might be a little biased, but I was surprised to not see Dexter Jackson of ASU get any mention. He's taking over the #1 spot in ASU's pass-heavy offense. He's got the speed to be a stud, and had a good freshman year last year, especially later in the season. With Richie's tendency to lock onto one "favorite" receiver (far too often sometimes), Jackson should get plenty of chances to put up huge numbers.

[TXST_CAT]

25 receptions for your #1 man, when your tooting the horn of this "star" QB, Nealy? Same amount of receptions for our #5 man last year. Kats had six guys with over 20 recepetions. Herman or not, the Cats are not known for being WR U like us in Huntsville.

SHSU almost has always had the top WR in the league the last few years regardless of whom the QB is. SHSU has got some playmakers this year as well.

Exactly last year we were a one sided offense and had to rely on the running game due to a poor job by our passing OC/QB coach. This year we will have a very well balanced offense.

Last I read Sam is having trouble with the reciever possition. As for your transfer how many receptions does he have?

[umassfan]

If people are going to be just throwing out names for the hell of it I will add two:

Brandon London JR WR 6-4 / 200
Last year was number two in receptions behind Jason Peebler with 34 catchs 439 yards and 3 tds. His size will provide a great target for whatever QB steps in this year. Looking to have a break out year and could be on this list at seasons end.


JJ Moore SO WR 6-0 / 201
Last year as a freshman he had 32 receptions for 289 yards and 4 tds. Willing to lay out for any ball and has great speed and will provide a different look to Londons size... these two could become a great duo in the A10.

[Mr. C]

Several thoughts:

On Jason Mathenia, he would be in my top-five at the very least. We considered him for the I-AA.org All-Star squad last season.

Felton Huggins is a stud and deserves to be near the top of anyone's list. The only guy I like as head and shoulders above Huggins is Kimble. In particular, I like the way Huggins uses his size.

Funny that Barrick Nealy, a quarterback has found his way into this thread. The only QB I saw in person last season that had as physically an impressive body as Nealy's was Furman's Ingle Martin. Nealy could have a really great season, I think. I was impressed by his combination of passing ability and running skills. He needed help on the offensive line last season and, to be honest, I didn't really see any of last season's Texas State receivers stand out.

On Dexter Jackson of Appalachian State. Look for him to have a big year. He has a lot of skill and the Mountaineers have a very deep group of receivers for Richie Williams to throw to. But Jackson will probably be his big-play target.

Was anyone else surprised to see that Matt failed to mention even one receiver from the Southern Conference? I don't care how many catches Teddy Craft of Georgia Southern has. He is extremely dangerous and can take the ball to the house on any given play. He's the best receiver at GSU since Dexter Dawson (who went on to a career in the CFL) in the mid-90s.

[bobcatfan06]

Mathenia got kicked off the Sam team, I think. I think he got a possession charge against him, if memory serves me correctly.

[Josh]

Several thoughts:

On Jason Mathenia, he would be in my top-five at the very least. We considered him for the I-AA.org All-Star squad last season.

Felton Huggins is a stud and deserves to be near the top of anyone's list. The only guy I like as head and shoulders above Huggins is Kimble. In particular, I like the way Huggins uses his size.

Funny that Barrick Nealy, a quarterback has found his way into this thread. The only QB I saw in person last season that had as physically an impressive body as Nealy's was Furman's Ingle Martin. Nealy could have a really great season, I think. I was impressed by his combination of passing ability and running skills. He needed help on the offensive line last season and, to be honest, I didn't really see any of last season's Texas State receivers stand out.

On Dexter Jackson of Appalachian State. Look for him to have a big year. He has a lot of skill and the Mountaineers have a very deep group of receivers for Richie Williams to throw to. But Jackson will probably be his big-play target.

Was anyone else surprised to see that Matt failed to mention even one receiver from the Southern Conference? I don't care how many catches Teddy Craft of Georgia Southern has. He is extremely dangerous and can take the ball to the house on any given play. He's the best receiver at GSU since Dexter Dawson (who went on to a career in the CFL) in the mid-90s.

I agree on Nealy, he is NFL bound with some work on refining his skills, I think.

I think that Richie will use Zach Johnson and Dexter Jackson though. Zach is his possession type target and Dexter is his home run type target.

I think Dexter Jackson is a future all-american too.

I do think Huggins might not have the same kind of year. Still catch over 1,000 yards but he is more used to Hankins so I could see a slight drop in stats especially with 2 other receivers on the team who are getting the same practice with the new QB as he is so it could be interesting although I see Huggins going in the first 5 rounds of the draft no matter if his numbers drop or not. He uses his great size extremely well and he has good speed and sure hands.

[exbearkat]

Mathenia got kicked off the Sam team, I think. I think he got a possession charge against him, if memory serves me correctly.
In case you missed it, we were talking in hypothetical terms with regard to Mathenia. Thanks for stating the obvious though. :rolleyes:

[exbearkat]

I think that he would have been tops too. He sure made Long look better! :)
I agree, and that EWU game was the best I-AA individual performance at the WR position that I've ever witnessed. :)

[TXST_CAT]

Several thoughts:

Funny that Barrick Nealy, a quarterback has found his way into this thread. The only QB I saw in person last season that had as physically an impressive body as Nealy's was Furman's Ingle Martin. Nealy could have a really great season, I think. I was impressed by his combination of passing ability and running skills. He needed help on the offensive line last season and, to be honest, I didn't really see any of last season's Texas State receivers stand out.

.

Last saeson our QB coach/Passing coordinator did little for the passing game. He was left over from Matsakis's crew. He is now selling insurance and has no desire to coach again (enough said). If you would like to see the potential of our recievers you will have to look at the '03 schedule. If Herman is as good a QB coach/ passing Coordinator as many bobcats feel, you will see the Bobcats making noise with our passing game.




Swami:
I agree on Nealy, he is NFL bound with some work on refining his skills, I think

Coach Herman IMO is the Real Deal. Here are some links to his bio and a story on his Philosophy.
http://txstatebobcats.collegesports.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/herman_tom00.html

http://txstatebobcats.collegesports.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/042505aaa.html

[golionsgo]

I agree on Nealy, he is NFL bound with some work on refining his skills, I think.

I think that Richie will use Zach Johnson and Dexter Jackson though. Zach is his possession type target and Dexter is his home run type target.

I think Dexter Jackson is a future all-american too.

I do think Huggins might not have the same kind of year. Still catch over 1,000 yards but he is more used to Hankins so I could see a slight drop in stats especially with 2 other receivers on the team who are getting the same practice with the new QB as he is so it could be interesting although I see Huggins going in the first 5 rounds of the draft no matter if his numbers drop or not. He uses his great size extremely well and he has good speed and sure hands.


The other thing about Felton Huggins is he's still learning the position and has a lot of room for improvement in terms of technical stuff. He has excellent makeup and work habits, and picks things up very quickly. The progress he has made in a short amount of time is remarkable and as far as the draft is concerned, I think he has a chance to be a real steal in the right spot.

As far as production is concerned, I fully expect some dropoff given the QB situation, and a minor shift in philosophy but he'll still draw plenty of attention and will continue give opponents nightmares with his ability to stretch the field vertically.

[primetime21]

Remember these names.
4 Carpenter, K.R. WR 5-11 185 JR 1L Schertz, Texas (Clemons) UNT transfer'03 runs a 4.3 40.

86 White, Markee WR 6-7 205 JR TR Long Bech, Calif. (Long Beach Poly)

With a new QBcoach/ passing OC the TXST passing game is going to open up this year. I have read some comments about Neally. I will admit he had a bad year last season but part of that could be placed on an injured O-line and poor QB coach. Even the SAM KAT's will admitt Coach Herman is the real deal when it comes to coaching offense. Here are some stats.
RECEIVING........... GP No. Yds Avg TD Long Avg/G
Carpenter, K.R. .....8 25 425 17.0 2 73 53.1
White, Markee ......7 11 194 17.6 1 56 27.7

Others to look out for in the Maroon and Gold.

Scott, Tyrone .....11 14 154 11.0 2 49 14.0
Freeman, Devin .....11 12 112 9.3 1 24 10.2


If K.R gets the ball in the open field he is hard to catch. Just ask the Baylor DB's. ;) Herman knows this so expect K.R to have a break out season. :D


In retrospect, most Texas State fans will remember these names: Surrency, Hunter and Sanders..............NORTHERN IOWA!

[Pard94]

Coming off of his freshman year, I can understand why Shaun Adair from Lafayette would not be on this list yet. After next season look for him to be on all such lists!

[UNH 40]

Look fpr David Ball to break nearly all I-AA recieving records in 2006.

[Russ B]

No Tony Kays? 93 catches and 1213 yds doesn't get a mention at all?

[Linehawg]

Seems to me VMI's Zohn Burden and Gary Price rate a mention as tandem receivers. They both own 33 consecutive games with a reception record and finished the season with 1,163 yards between them as well as 12.8 and 10.5 yards per reception averages respectively. The KeyDets will miss Zohn Burden who finished his career with 162 receptions and over 2,100 yards. :hurray:

[lucchesicourt]

That's because Kays plays for a former non schollie D2 school in transition, plays on the west coast, and doesn't run a 4.2, etc. Basically, the same reason the conference champs are ranked below the teams that finished second and third in the same conference.

[slostang]

No Tony Kays? 93 catches and 1213 yds doesn't get a mention at all?
That because this thread and article came out in June of 2005 and Kays was comming off his soph. year. This June I expect him to be near the top of the list.

[slostang]

That's because Kays plays for a former non schollie D2 school in transition, plays on the west coast, and doesn't run a 4.2, etc. Basically, the same reason the conference champs are ranked below the teams that finished second and third in the same conference.
Lucchesicourt, if you are refering to Cal Poly as the second place team in the conference, you would be wrong. Cal Poly was Co-Champions of the Great West Conference with the same 4-1 conference record and had a 8-3 overall record vs the Aggies 6-5 record. Cal Poly also beat two teams that the Aggies lost to, South Dakota State and a ranked Eastern Washington team. Cal Poly also had wins against Montana, Montana State, and North Dakota State who were all ranked.

I know that Davis was a very good team that lost a lot of starters during the season, but can you name any other team in I-AA that was ranked at the end of the season with a 6-5 record? This year Davis will have more depth with the additional scholarships the last few years and I am sure that they will climb in the rankings.