The Good, the Bad, the Ugly: Wide Receivers

Spring football has already started for some Mountain West teams (Air Force) and the rest will start hitting the field in the next month. We are going to spend the next few months previewing each position group and where each team stands. So far we have looked at quarterbacks and running backs; this week we are going to take a look at wide receivers.

The Good:

Boise State

The Broncos return all of their production at wide receiver, and new offensive coordinator Tim Plough should do a better job of spreading the ball around. Last year, the Broncos became too reliant on Khalil Shakir and abandoned talented receivers like CT Thomas and Stefan Cobbs. The announcement that Octavius Evans is returning is also huge for this team.

Colorado State

Dante Wright might be the most talented receiver in the conference not named Khalil Shakir. The Rams will have more depth at the wide receiver position this year. My biggest question is whether or not their scheme can match their talent.

Fresno State

I’ve been high on Jalen Cropper since he stepped foot on campus, and I think the Bulldogs could still do a better job of utilizing his talents. The Bulldogs have solid depth at the wide receiver position and an improved running game should take some pressure off of Haener.

Nevada

Romeo Doubs, Cole Turner, and Tory Horton. The Wolf Pack are going to give the Broncos a run for the best depth at wide receiver. Having an NFL caliber quarterback like Carson Strong doesn’t hurt either. The Wolf Pack should be the favorite in the West with the talent they have coming back.

UNLV

I suppose you could argue that this pick might be a bit of a stretch. But I really like what I saw out of UNLV’s young wide receivers in the small sample size that we got this past fall. The biggest question for the Rebels will be whether or not they have a quarterback that can get them the ball.

Hawaii

Was there a bigger surprise than Calvin Turner? He seemed to improve with each passing week, and his return is a huge lift to the Rainbow Warriors. I like the base of talent this team has at the wide receiver position, but there are some concerns with depth.

The Bad:

San Jose State

When you lose talent like Tre Walker and Billy Gaither, you have to be concerned. I think Nick Starkell will lift up his young receivers, but this is definitely an area of concern heading into spring ball.

Air Force

How do you even evaluate Air Force receivers? With all of the chaos surrounding who will and won’t return for the Falcons, this is kind of a guess to be honest. Sorry Falcon fans; I will do better with the other positions, and maybe one of our expert writers can help me out in the comment section.

The Ugly:

Wyoming

Wyoming is kind of like Air Force in this category. The wide receivers are really difficult to evaluate with the struggles that the passing game endured. The Cowboys have some nice size at wide receiver, but is the talent there? That remains to be seen.

Utah State

The Aggies dipped into the transfer market in a big way. Maybe Brandon Bowling from Arkansas State will help, but there are more questions surrounding this wide receiver corps than there are answers.

San Diego State

Not one receiver averaged 50 yards per game. The lack of a consistent passing game plagued the Aztecs one again. I like Jesse Matthews, but there are plenty of question marks behind him.

New Mexico

This is a tough group to evaluate considering the fact the quarterbacks were plagued with injuries. The Lobos did not have one receiver average 50 yards per game. I know this staff has a reputation for running the ball, but the passing attack needs to improve.

That’s it for this edition of “The Good, the Bad, the Ugly.” Which school has the best wide receiver unit in the Mountain West? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.