Georgia Tech has nine scholarship wide receivers, the most that coach Paul Johnson has had in his tenure, in its ninth season. The group appears to have potential to extend the game-breaking legacy established under Johnson’s watch by Demaryius Thomas, Stephen Hill and DeAndre Smelter.
At this point, though, it’s mostly potential.
“Some of those young freshmen, there’s going to be one or two of them that probably have to play,” Johnson said Saturday at the team’s media day. “It’ll just be who emerges.”
Of the nine, two are redshirt freshmen (Harland Howell and Christian Philpott) and three more are freshmen (Jalen Camp, Stephen Dolphus, Jair Hawkins-Anderson). Of the other four returnees, Ricky Jeune is the clear leader with 12 starts (all last season) and a team-high 24 catches. Brad Stewart had five starts and seven catches as a freshman last season, Antonio Messick has one career catch and Mikell Lands-Davis moved over from A-back in the spring.
A four-man rotation wouldn’t be out of the question and a spot on special teams is a possibility, giving the five freshmen a clear opening to nab playing time. With size (6-foot-3 and 220 pounds) and sprinter speed, Philpott would appear a leading candidate, but he has had difficulty staying healthy.
“They’ve been making plays the first two days of practice,” Jeune said. “I’m really excited; they’re coming along well.”
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