Gone are the staples of the Jayhawks receiving group that lasted several years. We got used to Luke Grimm, Lawrence Arnold, Quentin Skinner, and Trevor Wilson leading the way for the WR group in recent seasons.
But they are all gone and now the staff must rebuild the position from the ground up.
I said through the winter months this spring would be pivotal once Jalon Daniels announced he was staying, that he get on the same page with his receivers. It was important to build some chemistry with an entirely new group. And then we got the news Daniels would be limited for a good portion of spring ball.
These 15 practices are big for the new WR to learn the system, a new language, and start to develop a sense of how this offense runs.
I want to start with the players I believe who can help out that have been in the program. I think one trap we fall into sometimes with the portal, is thinking everyone coming from the portal will be a starter or impact player. And they might.
However, I am going to look at players like Doug Emilien and Keaton Kubecka first. Emilien has the talent to compete for a starting job but I was a little disappointed he only got 95 snaps last year. The next candidate I believe has a chance to help is Kubecka. But he is more of an unknown because he was injured and the staff will wants to see what they have in him. The other current player who has the speed to help is Bryce Cohoon.
That takes me to the portal players on campus for spring football. The team needs a few players to step up from the portal.
Cam Pickett from Ball State has speed and is good in the open field. I think the group lacked a player like him last year who could turn small catches into big gains. Emmanuel Henderson comes from Alabama. The fact he played 150 snaps tells you he was good enough to get on the field. He's another player I think can turn into a go-to receiver and made some catches in bag games for the Tide.
Levi Wentz is a combo player who can use some speed but also has some size and is strong. He's only played WR for two years and I believe Samuel can help develop him in a short time.
Bryson Hayes and Tate Nagy are on campus but I think they will be developmental players to start.
I'm going into spring with a positive outlook for the receivers. Nothing is given and it will take a lot of work. But I think in some instances the WR coming in might bring some strengths the past players didn't have.
The coaches aren't going to announce who is standing out but my hope is by the time spring ends Samuel has a good idea who his top 3-4 players are. Bryson Canty will arrive in the summer and will not be available for spring football.
But they are all gone and now the staff must rebuild the position from the ground up.
I said through the winter months this spring would be pivotal once Jalon Daniels announced he was staying, that he get on the same page with his receivers. It was important to build some chemistry with an entirely new group. And then we got the news Daniels would be limited for a good portion of spring ball.
These 15 practices are big for the new WR to learn the system, a new language, and start to develop a sense of how this offense runs.
I want to start with the players I believe who can help out that have been in the program. I think one trap we fall into sometimes with the portal, is thinking everyone coming from the portal will be a starter or impact player. And they might.
However, I am going to look at players like Doug Emilien and Keaton Kubecka first. Emilien has the talent to compete for a starting job but I was a little disappointed he only got 95 snaps last year. The next candidate I believe has a chance to help is Kubecka. But he is more of an unknown because he was injured and the staff will wants to see what they have in him. The other current player who has the speed to help is Bryce Cohoon.
That takes me to the portal players on campus for spring football. The team needs a few players to step up from the portal.
Cam Pickett from Ball State has speed and is good in the open field. I think the group lacked a player like him last year who could turn small catches into big gains. Emmanuel Henderson comes from Alabama. The fact he played 150 snaps tells you he was good enough to get on the field. He's another player I think can turn into a go-to receiver and made some catches in bag games for the Tide.
Levi Wentz is a combo player who can use some speed but also has some size and is strong. He's only played WR for two years and I believe Samuel can help develop him in a short time.
Bryson Hayes and Tate Nagy are on campus but I think they will be developmental players to start.
I'm going into spring with a positive outlook for the receivers. Nothing is given and it will take a lot of work. But I think in some instances the WR coming in might bring some strengths the past players didn't have.
The coaches aren't going to announce who is standing out but my hope is by the time spring ends Samuel has a good idea who his top 3-4 players are. Bryson Canty will arrive in the summer and will not be available for spring football.
