As we jump into the month of July, the start of fall camp is right around the corner for most teams and the season’s not far behind.
Taking a look at the Big 12, it’s clear the conference won’t be lacking with offensive playmakers. The Star-Telegram has already taken a look at the quarterbacks and running backs in the league and now it’s time for the wide receivers.
At the very top, the league is exceptional with potential first round picks and All-Americans, but after the top five or so it becomes murky as a handful of players try to establish themselves as legit No. 1 receivers. For this power ranking , we’ll be ranking each team’s No. 1 receiver.
Having a quality No. 2 and slot receiver was also factored in and used as a tiebreaker with some of the closer debates. Let’s jump into the rankings:
1. Tetairoa McMillan, Arizona
Breakdown: A potential first round pick, McMillan has had a fantastic start to his collegiate career. He led all freshmen in receiving in 2022 with 702 yards and nine touchdowns. Last season he finished fifth in the nation with 90 receptions, 1,402 yards and 10 touchdowns as he was voted first team All-Pac 12. The 6-foot-5 receiver has an insane catch radius and had four straight 100-yard games to close this season including 266 against Arizona State. McMillan was voted preseason All-Big 12.
2. Brennan Presley/Rashod Owens, Oklahoma State
Breakdown: Despite the shaky play of Alan Bowman, the Cowboys still managed to produce two receivers with at least 800 yards. Presley led the league in receptions with 101 while also piling up 991 yards and six touchdowns. Presley was voted second team All-Big 12. While Presley was the sure-handed target, Owens was the big play weapon for Oklahoma State. Owens hauled in 63 receptions for 895 yards and five touchdowns. The Cowboys have an argument for the top duo in the league. Presley was voted preseason All-Big 12.
3. Kobe Hudson, UCF
Breakdown: Hudson was one of the most explosive receivers in the league last year with 900 yards on just 44 receptions along with eight touchdowns. Hudson formed a dynamic duo with Javon Baker, who was selected by New England in the NFL Draft a few months ago. Now Hudson will be the top receiver and UCF also upgraded at quarterback with the addition of Arkansas quarterback K.J. Jefferson. Hudson could lead the league in receiving. Hudson was voted preseason All-Big 12.
4. Jaylin Noel/Jayden Higgins
Breakdown: Noel and Higgins played a huge role in quarterback Rocco Becht winning Big 12 Offensive Freshman of the Year. Noel was a co-captain and second team All-Big 12 after reeling in 66 passes for 820 yards and seven touchdowns. Higgins was one of the biggest pickups in the portal in the conference last season. The Eastern Kentucky transfer had 53 receptions, 983 yards and six touchdowns. It was the seventh best season in school history. Higgins was voted preseason All-Big 12.
5. Travis Hunter/Jimmy Horn, Colorado
Breakdown: Even without considering Horn, Hunter has a strong case for being No. 2 behind McMillan. Hunter played both ways for Colorado and despite missing three games he finished with 57 receptions, 721 yards and five touchdowns. Hunter could’ve easily been a 1,000-yard receiver. Hunter was also voted preseason Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year. Along with Hunter, Colorado returns its third-leading receiver in Horn, who finished with 567 yards and six touchdowns.
6. Lawrence Arnold, Kansas
Breakdown: The former DeSoto star is one of the most underrated receivers nationally after posting back-to-back seasons with 700 yards including 782 and six touchdowns last season. Arnold was able to manage these numbers despite the Jayhawks relying on backup quarterback Jason Bean most of the year. If Jalon Daniels can stay healthy, Arnold could easily top 1,000 yards with his 6’3 frame and big play ability.
7. Joshua Kelly/Micah Hudson, Texas Tech
Breakdown: In a conference full of future NFL receivers, Kelly was right up there with the best in his lone season in the Pac-12. With Washington State he had a career-high 61 receptions, 923 yards and eight touchdowns. The super senior spent four seasons at Fresno State before he made the jump up to the Power Five level. Kelly gives the Red Raiders a No. 1 receiver and a mentor for five-star receiver Micah Hudson, one of the highest ranked recruits to ever sign in Lubbock.
8. Savion Williams/Eric McAlister, TCU
Breakdown: In terms of sheer talent, there might not be three receivers with more than Williams. The 6’5 receiver has explosive speed and is excellent in jump ball situations. Production is the only reason Williams isn’t higher on this list. Williams did produce a career-high 573 yards and four touchdowns, but he’ll need more to jump the players ahead of him. It will help that Josh Hoover will be TCU’s starting quarterback as Williams showed he had a much better connection with him than Chandler Morris.
McAlister transferred to Fort Worth this off-season after racking up 873 yards and five touchdowns in just nine games with Boise State last season.
9. Xzavier Henderson, Cincinnati
Breakdown: Henderson was one of the lone bright spots on an offense that finished 86th in scoring. Henderson was the Bearcats’ best weapon on the outside as he produced a team-high 782 yards along with three touchdowns. Cincinnati also potentially found another dynamic receiver on the outside with the signing of Chattanooga transfer Jamoi Mayes, who had over 1,000 yards at the FCS level last season.
10. Monaray Baldwin, Baylor
Breakdown: Baylor’s passing offense wasn’t great last season, but Baldwin managed to have his best season with 38 receptions, 623 yards and four touchdowns. With more consistent quarterback play, Baldwin has the explosiveness to improve upon those numbers. Arkansas transfer Ketron Jackson also returns for another season after piling up 489 yards in his first season in Waco.
11. Joseph Manjack, Houston
Breakdown: The Cougars’ receiver room was decimated by the transfer portal as two of their top receivers departed for Texas and Miami. That means Manjack will need to be the go-to weapon and he showed he could last season with 577 yards on 44 receptions with six touchdowns. Houston also signed two wide receivers from Tulsa to improve depth around Manjack.
12. Chase Roberts, BYU
Breakdown: The final portion of the list is the most difficult to rank as teams near the bottom don’t return a ton of production. However, the Cougars return their leading receivers from last season. Roberts had 573 yards including a 139-yard performance against Cincinnati. The 6-foot-4 receiver is another that could benefit from better quarterback play in 2024.
13. Hudson Clement, West Virginia
Breakdown: The West Virginia native had a breakout season as he finished third in the country in yards per reception with 21.8 yards per catch. Clement is the Mountaineers’ returning leading receiver after racking up 480 yards and tied a team-high with four touchdowns. West Virginia also added Jaden Bray from Oklahoma State to the receiver room and promising young receiver Traylon Ray.
14. Dorian Singer, Utah
Breakdown: Last off-season Singer signing with USC was one of the biggest portal acquisitions. He had 1,105 yards and six touchdowns in 2022 with Arizona and thought he would be the next big receiver to play for Lincoln Riley, but Singer’s numbers plummeted and had just 289 yards with the Trojans. Now with the Utes, there’s hope Singer can return to his 2022 form and provide a jolt to a Utah passing attack that has never been known to be prolific.
15. Dante Cephas/Jayce Brown, Kansas State
Breakdown: Another player trying to find his old success, Cephas had nearly 2,000 yards in his last two seasons with Toledo in 2021 and 2022. Cephas made the move to Penn State last season and wasn’t able to make anywhere near the same impact as he finished with just 246 yards and two touchdowns. He’ll have plenty of opportunities with Kansas State replacing its top two receivers.
Brown should provide the Wildcats with a quality slot option as Brown had a respectable 437 yards for K-State.
16. Xavier Guillory, Arizona State
Breakdown: There’s plenty of reasons Arizona State was picked to finish last in the conference and the lack of proven playmakers on the outside is one of them. The Sun Devils don’t return a receiver that had more than 300 yards last season and Guillory’s the top returner with just 226 yards in nine games. Maybe with better quarterback play Arizona State’s receivers could improve, but it’s hard to see the unit making a huge leap this season.
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