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Friday, August 3, 2007
Rating the SEC’s best wide receivers
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
You want to try something REALLY hard? Try picking the top five wide receivers in the SEC. You can’t do it without relegating a great, great player to the Honorable Mention list. But here are my top five as we enter the 2007 season. Who would be your top five?
1. Earl Bennett, Jr., Vanderbilt: Has a remarkable 168 catches in just two seasons and needs just 48 receptions to become the SEC’s all-time leader as a junior. He is the only receiver in SEC history to catch 75 or more passes in two consecutive seasons. He led the SEC with 82 catches last season.
2. Percy Harvin, Soph., Florida: One of the most talented athletes to play in this league in many years. Because he was injured in the first half of the 2006 season, Harvin touched the ball “only” 75 times for 855 yards of total offense. You can bet that he’ll get many more touches this season. He can totally change a game each time he gets his hands on the ball.
3. Marcus Monk, Sr., Arkansas: He played on a team that had two 1,000-yard rushers last season. Still Monk caught 50 passes for 962 yards (19.2 ypc). He has 122 career catches with 24 touchdowns, which translates to a TD about every five catches. He needs only eight touchdown catches to break the career SEC record of 31 held by Chris Doering. At 6-6, it is almost impossible for a corner to cover him one-on-one.
4. Keenan Burton, Sr., Kentucky: Had a monster year in 2006 with 77 catches for 1,036 yards and 12 touchdowns. Is also a great kickoff return man, averaging 26.6 yards per return over his career. He’s playing with the best quarterback in the SEC (Andre Woodson) so expect Burton to put up huge numbers again.
5. Early Doucet, Sr., LSU: The Tigers had two receivers (Dwayne Bowe, Craig Davis) taken in the first round of the NFL Draft last April. That simply clears the way for Doucet, who had 59 catches last year and 103 career catches for 1,521 yards.
HONORABLE MENTION
Keith Brown, Sr., Alabama: Brown had 44 catches for 590 yards last season. Missed two games with a knee injury or his totals would have been higher.
Andre “Bubba” Caldwell, Sr., Florida: Had 57 catches last season to give him 129 in his career. Needs 44 to become the Gators’ all-time leader in passes caught. With Harvin on the field drawing attention from the defenses, Caldwell will get opportunities to make big plays.
DJ Hall, Sr., Alabama: How good is this guy? The great Ozzie Newsome holds the career record at Alabama with 2,010 receiving yards. Hall, from Fort Walton Beach, needs just 94 yards to break that record. With 127 career catches, he needs just 34 to break the current Alabama record held by Freddie Milons. If the offensive line plays well, Hall should have a huge year in Major Applewhite’s new offense.
Dicky Lyons, Jr., Kentucky: Caught 50 passes last season for 822 yards (16.4 ypc) and 9 touchdowns. Had the best average per catch on the Kentucky team.
Kenny McKinley, Jr., South Carolina: McKinley becomes the go-to receiver for the Gamecocks now that Sidney Rice is in the NFL. Caught 51 passes for 880 yards last season.
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