Along with quarterback, wide receiver was Tulane's biggest question mark entering spring drills, with no proven productive player at the position. It was a huge concern considering the wideout corps was not great last fall despite the presence of Darnell Mooney, who turned out to much faster than I realized, and J.J. McCleskey, a grad transfer who was quite productive at Oklahoma State.
Without that duo, I had no idea what Tulane would do, but some of the questions were cleared up in the five spring practices. The position remains a concern, but less of a concern than just a few weeks ago, in part because the running backs and tight ends look like they will be even more heavily involved in the passing game than a year ago, when they combined for 76 catches to the wideouts' 117.
Here is my assessment of the 10 scholarship wideouts on the spring roster:
1) Jha'Quan Jackson
He was the most consistent of the group by far. Never mind his paltry three catches as a true freshman. He has improved tremendously, displaying outstanding quickness, good hands and the ability to get open consistently. In some ways he reminds me of Mooney, who was clearly the most talented of the young receivers at the beginning of Willie Fritz's tenure. Jackson is 5-10, 170. Mooney was 5-11, 175 last year. Obviously, Jackson has to show he can translate his practice performance to games, but it sure looks like he will be able to do it. He was one of the highest rated members of the 2019 signing class, and it easy to see why. He started the bowl game against Southern Miss, indicating how well he practiced leading up to it.
2) Mykel Jones
Jones did not have many catches in the portions of the five practices I watched, but he caught a long ball for a touchdown and made a diving grab on an inside route. He also just looks the part, running smoothly. The concern when he arrived was his lack of production at Oklahoma, where he never made a big impact while competing with ultra-talented players. His 16 grabs for 310 yards in his second year were his career highs in both categories--with a long touchdown catch and run at the start of the third quarter of the 2017 Big 12 Championship Game his signature moment--and he caught only two passes in 2018 and 2019. But he can be a huge playmaker for Tulane and is bigger than McCleskey, who was really small.
3) Jaetavian Toles
Toles did not practice in the spring as he recovered from surgery for a torn pectoral, but he did enough in 2019 to warrant beginning fall drills as a starter in my view. He caught at least one pass in nine games (it was exactly one in seven of them), and although his numbers (13 receptions, 160 yards, 1 TD) were disappointing considering his terrific late touchdown catch, spin and run that helped Tulane clinch a 2018 bowl bid against Navy, he has the potential to double those numbers in his senior year. He started only three times last year, which surprises me.
4) Phat Watts
The smaller of the Watts twins (6-0) was the second most productive receiver of the spring. He is fast and looks like he will excel with the ball in his hands. He also was unrecruited by D1 schools out of Petal High in MIssissippi, which is why he and twin Deuce went to Juco ball first before arriving at Tulane. He was hurt for a portion of 2019, hurting his numbers, but it appears the Tulane coaches knew what they were doing by recruiting him.
5) Christian Daniels
It remains to be seen how quickly Daniels adjusts to games at his new position, but he looks like a natural, although Fritz considers him more of hybrid TE/H back than a true wideout. Daniels has a willingness to go over the middle and gets off the line of scrimmage quickly, but he is still raw. His degree of impact depends on how much he develops, and the cancellation of the last 10 spring practices likely hurt him more than most.
6) Jacob Robertson
This might be too low, but I did not see him do a whole lot in the spring. After a midseason surge last year (four straight games with a catch), he did not produce much the rest of the way with one grab for seven yards. Robertson needs to prove he can get open against high caliber defensive backs. To this point, I have not seen it, but others are higher on him than I am.
7) Sorrell Brown
After two separate knee injuries cost him his first two years, there was a lot of anticipation for him to make an impact in the spring. It did not happen, at least in the segments of practice I watched. The coaches remain very high on him, so it may be that I missed his big moments. I can't recall him making a significant catch in the latter half of the five practices, and I don't have any in my notes. He missed an opportunity for a long touchdown in one practice when he slowed down before the ball arrived when he was open and then watched it go over his outstretched arms. He looked tentative on his leg, which is perfectly understandable. He drew rave reviews from observers at the beginning of preseason drills in 2018, and he still has time to return to that form.
8) Dane Ledford
Ledford missed at least two practiced with an injury, but he usually makes plays when he is out there. The problem is it did not translate into game production last year, when he also looked good in practice at times before getting hurt. The question is whether he has enough speed to be a factor. He has not proven he can shake defensive backs.
9) Deuce Watts
He is down this low only because he missed most of spring with an injury. After leading run-dominated Jones Community College with 24 catches last year, the taller of the Watts twins (6-3) obviously has the ability to be a significant factor.
10) Tyrek Presley
Presley has struggled to stay healthy since arriving last year, when he caught three passes for 55 yards against UConn but played sparingly before and after that game. He did not practice much if at all this spring
Without that duo, I had no idea what Tulane would do, but some of the questions were cleared up in the five spring practices. The position remains a concern, but less of a concern than just a few weeks ago, in part because the running backs and tight ends look like they will be even more heavily involved in the passing game than a year ago, when they combined for 76 catches to the wideouts' 117.
Here is my assessment of the 10 scholarship wideouts on the spring roster:
1) Jha'Quan Jackson
He was the most consistent of the group by far. Never mind his paltry three catches as a true freshman. He has improved tremendously, displaying outstanding quickness, good hands and the ability to get open consistently. In some ways he reminds me of Mooney, who was clearly the most talented of the young receivers at the beginning of Willie Fritz's tenure. Jackson is 5-10, 170. Mooney was 5-11, 175 last year. Obviously, Jackson has to show he can translate his practice performance to games, but it sure looks like he will be able to do it. He was one of the highest rated members of the 2019 signing class, and it easy to see why. He started the bowl game against Southern Miss, indicating how well he practiced leading up to it.
2) Mykel Jones
Jones did not have many catches in the portions of the five practices I watched, but he caught a long ball for a touchdown and made a diving grab on an inside route. He also just looks the part, running smoothly. The concern when he arrived was his lack of production at Oklahoma, where he never made a big impact while competing with ultra-talented players. His 16 grabs for 310 yards in his second year were his career highs in both categories--with a long touchdown catch and run at the start of the third quarter of the 2017 Big 12 Championship Game his signature moment--and he caught only two passes in 2018 and 2019. But he can be a huge playmaker for Tulane and is bigger than McCleskey, who was really small.
3) Jaetavian Toles
Toles did not practice in the spring as he recovered from surgery for a torn pectoral, but he did enough in 2019 to warrant beginning fall drills as a starter in my view. He caught at least one pass in nine games (it was exactly one in seven of them), and although his numbers (13 receptions, 160 yards, 1 TD) were disappointing considering his terrific late touchdown catch, spin and run that helped Tulane clinch a 2018 bowl bid against Navy, he has the potential to double those numbers in his senior year. He started only three times last year, which surprises me.
4) Phat Watts
The smaller of the Watts twins (6-0) was the second most productive receiver of the spring. He is fast and looks like he will excel with the ball in his hands. He also was unrecruited by D1 schools out of Petal High in MIssissippi, which is why he and twin Deuce went to Juco ball first before arriving at Tulane. He was hurt for a portion of 2019, hurting his numbers, but it appears the Tulane coaches knew what they were doing by recruiting him.
5) Christian Daniels
It remains to be seen how quickly Daniels adjusts to games at his new position, but he looks like a natural, although Fritz considers him more of hybrid TE/H back than a true wideout. Daniels has a willingness to go over the middle and gets off the line of scrimmage quickly, but he is still raw. His degree of impact depends on how much he develops, and the cancellation of the last 10 spring practices likely hurt him more than most.
6) Jacob Robertson
This might be too low, but I did not see him do a whole lot in the spring. After a midseason surge last year (four straight games with a catch), he did not produce much the rest of the way with one grab for seven yards. Robertson needs to prove he can get open against high caliber defensive backs. To this point, I have not seen it, but others are higher on him than I am.
7) Sorrell Brown
After two separate knee injuries cost him his first two years, there was a lot of anticipation for him to make an impact in the spring. It did not happen, at least in the segments of practice I watched. The coaches remain very high on him, so it may be that I missed his big moments. I can't recall him making a significant catch in the latter half of the five practices, and I don't have any in my notes. He missed an opportunity for a long touchdown in one practice when he slowed down before the ball arrived when he was open and then watched it go over his outstretched arms. He looked tentative on his leg, which is perfectly understandable. He drew rave reviews from observers at the beginning of preseason drills in 2018, and he still has time to return to that form.
8) Dane Ledford
Ledford missed at least two practiced with an injury, but he usually makes plays when he is out there. The problem is it did not translate into game production last year, when he also looked good in practice at times before getting hurt. The question is whether he has enough speed to be a factor. He has not proven he can shake defensive backs.
9) Deuce Watts
He is down this low only because he missed most of spring with an injury. After leading run-dominated Jones Community College with 24 catches last year, the taller of the Watts twins (6-3) obviously has the ability to be a significant factor.
10) Tyrek Presley
Presley has struggled to stay healthy since arriving last year, when he caught three passes for 55 yards against UConn but played sparingly before and after that game. He did not practice much if at all this spring
