This is the third installment in my current series of bold predictions of the Oklahoma Sooners football team this year. A month ago, I released my overall bold predictions. Last week, I outlined my bold predictions for the running backs. Now, I’m going to talk about my predictions for one of the most important positions in all of football, the wide receivers.
Historically, the Oklahoma Sooners have had very successful wide receivers. Most recently, Mark Clayton, Malcolm Kelly, Manuel Johnson and Juaquin Iglesias were stars for the Sooners in the mid-2000s.
Even more recently, Ryan Broyles, who played for OU from 2008-2011, became the NCAA’s all time leader in receptions with 349. Broyles is currently with the Detroit Lions. Kenny Stills, a current New Orleans Saints receiver, a Sooner from 2010-2012 was also one of the best in the league while at OU.
This season, OU enters the season with high expectations, but with a rather inexperienced wide receiver corps. There are no seniors on the team, with only four juniors (one of them being Missouri transfer Dorial Green-Beckham, who’s awaiting an appeal from the NCAA). The rest of the 11 are either freshmen or sophomores. Let’s take a look at this season’s receiving unit, in alphabetical order by last name:
- #81 Mark Andrews (Freshman)
- #83 Nick Basquine (Freshman)
- #8 Austin Bennett (Sophomore)
- #84 Grant Bothun (Junior)
- #7 Dannon Cavil (Redshirt Freshman)
- #88 Cody Chancellor (Sophomore)
- #11 Dorial Green-Beckham (Junior)
- #15 Jeffery Mead (Freshman)
- #5 Durron Neal (Junior)
- #2 Michiah Quick (Freshman)
- #3 Sterling Shepard (Junior)
- #17 Jordan Smallwood (Redshirt Freshman)
- #16 Dallis Todd (Freshman)
- #12 Derrick Woods (Redshirt Sophomore)
- #1 KJ Young (Redshirt Freshman)
Sterling Shepard will surely be the #1 guy for Trevor Knight, with Durron Neal most likely being the second target.
There’s some young talent on the roster, too, with Andrews, Mead, and Quick being some of the top of last year’s class. As mentioned before, Dorial Green-Beckham is awaiting the NCAA to approve Oklahoma’s appeal for him to play this year. The chance of him being approved doesn’t seem very good, but this list will assume he is playing, with the alternate scenario of him not playing also mentioned. Without further ado, let’s take a look at my 10 bold predictions for the Oklahoma Sooners wide receivers this upcoming season, assuming DGB is eligible to play.
#1. Sterling Shepard is a Biletnikoff Finalist.
I predicted this to happen in my original overall predictions. I think with Shepard being the #1 guy, he ends up in Orlando with a shot to win it. Even if DGB is eligible, I think Shepard stays the main target.
#2. The Depth Chart mid-season looks like this, in order:
Sterling Shepard, Dorial Green-Beckham, Durron Neal, Michiah Quick, Mark Andrews, Derrick Woods, Jordan Smallwood, Jeffery Mead, Grant Bothun, KJ Young, Dallis Todd, Nick Basquine, Austin Bennett, Cody Chancellor, Dannon Cavil.
#3. Dallis Todd and Michiah Quick have their name misspelled more than twice throughout the season.
Just in the time I was writing this article, I was wanting to put “Dallas” and “Micah”.
#4. DGB is eligible to play by the Texas game.
This one is very bold. It would be a huge add with DGB being arguably the best WR in the country. But it happened with Jalen Saunders in 2012, I think a little deja vu is bound to happen in Norman. Well, in Dallas.
#5. Mark Andrews and Michiah Quick each catch 30+ footballs.
2014 National Signing Day’s big pickups for the Sooners make an impact in their first year with lack of experience of the roster.
#6. In the season opener vs. Louisiana Tech, the wide receivers combine for 3 touchdown grabs.
It won’t be a very close game, so the inexperienced Sooners wide receivers start off with some easy catches.
#7. Sterling Shepard’s final season stats look like this:
80 receptions, 1200 yards, 18 TDs. Good enough to be in the Biletnikoff talks.
#8. DGB’s first game stats vs. Texas:
7 receptions, 60 yards, and 1 touchdown. Solid start for the new Sooner.
#9. There is at least one touchdown reception in every game by a WR.
I predicted the same thing with the running backs scoring one rush TD a game, but I am sticking with my original prediction of the Sooners offense scoring over 30 in every game. So I think both WRs and RBs will score at least once in every game.
#10. Final season stats for DGB:
40 receptions, 600 yards, and 8 TDs. Only playing about half the season, it’s a solid year for DGB.
It should be a great year for the Sooners defensively, but you also can’t forget about the offense with Stoops and Heupel almost always having success at receiver.
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