2012 Spring Football Position Outlook: Wide Receiver

[ ST – CB – S/NB – LB – DL – OL – TE – WR – RB – QB ]

The wide receiver corps didn’t have the best year in 2011. Not only did they have a contagious case of the dropsies but for the first time since 2007 Cincinnati didn’t have a single wide out that tallied more than 1,000 reception yards. It’s tough to harp on this unit for the latter fact considering the Bearcats lost their starting quarterback midway through the season and putting the ball in the hands of running back Isaiah Pead was the fastest way to success.

Still, the wide receivers dropped a lot of passes in 2011 which really got the offense out of rhythm and sometimes forced them to punt. Case and point is the Rutgers game in which the wide outs did new quarterback Munchie Legaux no help by dropping a number of passes that would have given Cincinnati a first down. On paper this unit should be one of the best on the team with starters Thompkins and McClung returning and Alex Chisum, who lit the world on fire from the 4th wide receiver position in 2011, finally getting a starting role in 2012. However, the wide outs can’t afford to underperform like they did in 2011 because there will be no Isaiah Pead to lean on next season.

X RECEIVER

Starter: Kenbrell Thompkins

Statistically the junior college transfer had a pretty good year ranking seconding in receptions and receiving yards on this team. But he was one of the receivers like D.J. Woods who had trouble holding onto passes. I really have no idea how to explain that since both players have hundreds of reps under their belts. It was interesting to watch Thompkins’ production drop off near the end of the season when Zach Collaros went down. During that time the junior caught just 2 passes and it’s tough to blame Munchie for that considering Thompkins didn’t catch a pass in the Liberty Bowl when Collaros returned. Despite a somewhat sporadic 2011 campaign, Thompkins has always been a leader in the lockerroom helping groom young receivers for future starting roles. I expect him to do more of the same as a senior in 2012 and hopefully is more consistent this season as well.

Backup: Dyjuan Lewis/Damon Julian

Dyjuan Lewis was one of the most highly rated recruits to ever sign with the Cincinnati Bearcats. Unfortunately the NCAA held him out of his first year and Butch Jones was forced to greyshirt the young man. Since then Lewis has patiently been waiting to get regular playing time and originally I thought 2012 would be his year. He would be the backup to either Thompkins or Chisum and probably be UC’s situational 4th receiver next season. The kid is incredibly athletic and would have pushed them for the starting role. Unfortunately Lewis has been battling a foot injury and will need more time to get back up to game speed. In the meantime, junior college transfer Damon Julian might just get his chance to play as Cincinnati’s wide out in 4-WR sets and could backup Thompkins/Chisum.

Y/SLOT RECEIVER

Starter: Anthony McClung

Cincinnati’s slot receiver lead the Bearcats with 683 receiving yards and 6 touchdowns last season. This position is one of the areas where mismatches can be easily exploited with nickelbacks, safeties, and sometimes linebackers in man-to-man coverage. McClung took advantage of this quite a bit last season but especially so against the UConn Huskies in which he had a career day with 8 receptions for 142 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He has clearly proven to be a dangerous threat at receiver and should have a good year working the middle with Munchie Legaux throwing to him.

Backup: Shaq Washington/Chris Moore

In December of 2011, Shaq Washington inexplicably left the team. There was plenty of speculation on the reason why but the decision never really made sense considering the true freshman was getting decent reps. Not great, but he was running with the 1’s and 2’s and the coaches had raved about his quickness in practice. He was the bona fide backup slot receiver last year. No matter the circumstances surrounding his departure, Shaq has returned to Clifton and is back on the team. It’s unclear to me if he is Butch Jones’ doghouse for leaving the Bearcats but if Shaq has returned to his head coach’s good graces, he could compete for that backup slot role once again. Another name in the mix at the Y Receiver is Chris Moore who was redshirted last season to recover from a shoulder injury. That certainly sidetracked his development but the young man from Tampa, Florida has some of the best hands and ball skills on the team- Perfect for slot receiver. This will be another intriguing position battle to watch this Spring.

Z RECEIVER

Starter: Alex Chisum

There will be a ton of hype surrounding Alex Chisum this season and most of that will involve a comparison between he and current Detroit Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson. If you haven’t heard, Chisum actually broke a number of Johnson’s records at Sandy Creek High School in Georgia. As a true freshman he exploded onto the scene for the Bearcats as UC’s situational 4th WR. This was especially so in the shootout with South Florida in which the true freshman came up with simply a spectacular touchdown catch. I’m trying not to get overexcited about Chisum but I’m hoping he has an even better sophomore campaign. As a starter replacing D.J. Woods, he could put up huge numbers this year.

Backup: Damon Julian/Dyjuan Lewis

As I mentioned, I could see the other of Damon Julian or Dyjuan Lewis who is not the X Receiver to backup this position.

DARK HORSES AT WR

There are few positions in football where the transition from high school to college is easy. Wide receiver is one of them. We’ve seen this with D.J. Woods who saw pretty solid playing time as a freshman, Anthony McClung who did the same, and Alex Chisum who made a name for himself several times last year. I think it’s unlikely however next season since nearly the entire unit from 2011 is returning in 2012. Now, I love the new wide receivers Jones signed in this past recruiting but I don’t think any of them will jump the current players on the two-deep. There are just too many veterans and too few reps to go around.