Wide receivers have been the most difficult of all the positions (to date) to write up largely because the best receivers are on the Ohio State roster and then the next wave of players are on teams that Ohio State does not play in the regular season.
You are going to get that in an 18-game league where you only play half of them under the framework of a nine-game conference schedule.
So obviously names like Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate are void from this list but so are names like Elijah Sarratt (Indiana), Makai Lemon (USC), Nick Marsh (MSU), and Dane Key (Nebraska). Couple that with playing only one Power Four opponent and you lose two games with Ohio and Grambling, both teams that would likely be losing players to the portal rather than gaining them, at least on the top end of things.
We had to dig deep and rely more on transfers more than we would like, not knowing if a transfer is going to work out or not, playing in a new conference, with new players around him and in most cases, a much more difficult schedule.
As we continue to ramp up the excitement for the 2025 season, we have already gone through quarterbacks and running backs, let’s keep things going with wide receivers as the season is less than 60 days away.
5) Devonte Ross – Penn State (November 1st)
The Penn State passing game was not great last year and no surprise to anyone, the Nittany Lions were back in the portal and Ross is the first of two immediate replacements to try and help Drew Allar find his groove (and maybe wrestle it away from Stella). He is the only 1,000-yard receiver on the list, but he did it at Troy, and Troy (Ala.) is nowhere close to Penn State when it comes to a lot of things football related. Ross was consistent with the Trojans, scoring in eight of 12 games, having receptions in all 12 games and breaking double-digit catches in three games. But he is not the biggest body out there and the Big Ten is a league filled with 6-foot corners, more than any of the G5 leagues. Will it translate at this level, or will it look more like Mitchell Tinsely’s run at PSU, nothing to write home about?
4) DeAndre Moore – Texas (August 30th)
Moore has better numbers than his teammate, but the feeling is that Moore may not be able to surpass the expectations around Ryan Wingo, but more on him in a minute. Moore had seven touchdowns in the 2024 campaign for the Horns including one against Arizona State in the Peach Bowl. The consistency wasn’t there last season however, with most of his good games coming against mediocre teams and despite the score against ASU and one against Georgia, Moore was not impactful in the biggest games of the season. With Arch Manning at quarterback, there is plenty of opportunity to become a favorite quarterback with Quinn Ewers on to his next chapter.
3) Ryan Wingo – Texas (August 30th)
Wingo has better size at 6-foot-2 and stands out a little bit more, but that still didn’t get Wingo more involved with the offense last season, held to just two scores and just about two receptions per game. That hasn’t stopped the hype machine, and the truth is when Wingo is on, he just looks different out on the field. The opportunity will be there as Texas has to turn over most of its receivers room and while there will be a lot of pressure to run the ball with one of the top running back rooms in the nation, Wingo could be a breakout star this year if both he and Manning are as good as we think they are.
2) Trebor Pena – Penn State (November 1st)
Are Pena’s numbers a case of being in a throw, throw and throw some more offense or because Pena is just that good? That will be the question around the former Syracuse Orange wideout who had 84 catches and nine touchdowns last season. He was very close to being a 1,000-yard receiver last season and that is based on a 13-game schedule rather than 15 or 16. As with fellow transfer Ross, we just don’t know how he is going to fit into the framework of the Penn State offense and if he will be better for being around Drew Allar or worse for being around James Franklin. And by that, will he be there in the biggest of games?
1) Denzel Boston – Washington (September 27th)
It is easy to miss out on West Coast players and Boston is one that it is easy to overlook, unless you are looking. He is a big body at 6-foot-4 and 210 pounds and should be the main offensive focal point for the Husky offense. There were games last season where Boston was playing but not really making a big impact with a pair of his biggest games coming in the first third of the season in games against Rutgers and Northwestern. Boston was held scoreless in Washington’s three games against ranked foes and the bowl game against Louisville wasn’t much better. I would expect this season to be one of gains for Boston, but time will tell if he will be able to have much impact against Ohio State and the Ohio State’s on the Washington schedule.
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