WR - This Group will be expected to have 350+ receptions next year

[YoungB]

Based on Leaches other stops, I think its reasonable to expect WRs to catch ~350 passes and the the RBs to pick up the rest. How do you see those distributed amongst this group. Roster (https://hailstate.com/sports/football/roster)(less seniors) + 2 Signees. No TEs

I throw this out there because it seems both impossible and inevitable. Every one of these guys is going to have a career high.

Mitchel leads the returning players with 29 catches last year.

JaVonta Payton
Osirus Mitchell
Kyziah Pruitt
Cameron Gardner
Lee Tanner
Tristan Pisacane
Cason Grant
Quinton Torbor
Austin Williams
Jordon Hoyer
Malik Heath
Caleb Ducking

[ShotgunDawg]

Because so many WR screens in Leach's offense, my guess is that Tulu Griffin also gets touches due to his speed.

Seems like Heath & Torbor also have some burst

[Johnson85]

Based on Leaches other stops, I think its reasonable to expect WRs to catch ~350 passes and the the RBs to pick up the rest. How do you see those distributed amongst this group. Roster (https://hailstate.com/sports/football/roster)(less seniors) + 2 Signees. No TEs

I throw this out there because it seems both impossible and inevitable. Every one of these guys is going to have a career high.

Mitchel leads the returning players with 29 catches last year.

JaVonta Payton
Osirus Mitchell
Kyziah Pruitt
Cameron Gardner
Lee Tanner
Tristan Pisacane
Cason Grant
Quinton Torbor
Austin Williams
Jordon Hoyer
Malik Heath
Caleb Ducking

I think Mitchell is going to have a huge year compared to his past years. Might still disappear against good SEC defenses, but he got a lotter better last year to this year and I expect him to make a pretty big jump this year.

Heath's JUCO stats are discouraging. Not sure if that's the offense they ran or lack of qb, but people still wanted him, so I am guessing Leach will get some use out of him.

I think you will see a massive jump for Austin Williams. I think that the quasi-pick routes will benefit him a lot. May not have a ton of yards but I am expecting him to get a lot of receptions.

AFter that, who knows. Caleb Ducking coming from a triple option offense and getting coaching from leach might be a pleasant surprise? Don't see a lot of reasons to be optimistic with that group but I am hopeful that they will be pretty productive at least in non-conference and against the weaker SEC defenses.

[Lord McBuckethead]

Biggest increase I see based on known quantities:
1. Austin Williams
2. JaVonta Payton
3. Osirius the Virus

All three should see an increase on targets and I for one is ready to see JaVonta take a huge step forward like Julian Edelman. I feel like he is a guy that could just figure out how to get open in this run your route but run to the open grass areas type of offensive attack.

[BeardoMSU]

3. Osirius the Damn Virus


FIFY*

https://media0.giphy.com/media/j6Xw56xWheXPq/source.gif

[PMDawg]

Based on Leaches other stops, I think its reasonable to expect WRs to catch ~350 passes and the the RBs to pick up the rest. How do you see those distributed amongst this group. Roster (https://hailstate.com/sports/football/roster)(less seniors) + 2 Signees. No TEs

I throw this out there because it seems both impossible and inevitable. Every one of these guys is going to have a career high.

Mitchel leads the returning players with 29 catches last year.

JaVonta Payton
Osirus Mitchell
Kyziah Pruitt
Cameron Gardner
Lee Tanner
Tristan Pisacane
Cason Grant
Quinton Torbor
Austin Williams
Jordon Hoyer
Malik Heath
Caleb Ducking

I think it's safe to expect Payton, Mitchell, and Williams to eat up a ton of those receptions. Where will the rest come from? Sheesh, that's a long list of unproven guys. Gardner should step up I guess.

[HailStateSZN19]

I think Payton leads us in catches. He should have played a lot more than he did. He's said to have an excellent work ethic, disciplined kid. Coach's kid. Pretty darn athletic, quick & fast enough to be effective. I think because how simplified this offense is, he will thrive in it. I think he winds up leading in catches with Austin Williams not far behind.

[gtowndawg]

I think Payton leads us in catches. He should have played a lot more than he did. He's said to have an excellent work ethic, disciplined kid. Coach's kid. Pretty darn athletic, quick & fast enough to be effective. I think because how simplified this offense is, he will thrive in it. I think he winds up leading in catches with Austin Williams not far behind.

Payton was outstanding on special teams. That's the sign of a hustler...someone that wants to win.

[HailStateSZN19]

Payton was outstanding on special teams. That's the sign of a hustler...someone that wants to win.

Bingo. When there's a kid that's talented enough to be playing more on offense but the coach won't put him out there & he's stuck on special teams like he was and he kept being an excellent gunner on special teams making tackles, then that's a TEAM player and a hard nosed kid with the right attitude. He made a solid impact on ST(minus his 2 or so fumbles on KO return) more so than anyone else in a year where ST was disastrous.

I would bet on him working his ass off this offseason and getting ready to thrive in this offense that chunks it up 50 times per game. I think he has a very good year next season.

[MedDawg]

Based on Leaches other stops, I think its reasonable to expect WRs to catch ~350 passes and the the RBs to pick up the rest.

It might take 600 accurate passes to get 350 receptions, but we can do it.**

[CadaverDawg]

It's funny to see how down we are on that group, considering from day 1 it's probably going to be the most talented WR group Leach has ever had

[Lord McBuckethead]

It may be. Year 1 under a system may be difficult to get the most out of guys, but I do believe they will be ready to go.

[Lord McBuckethead]

The spring game will tell us a bunch about how much work we have to do. Generally the defense during spring is ahead of the offense, but I believe it may be the other way around this year.

[BulldogDX55]

It may be. Year 1 under a system may be difficult to get the most out of guys, but I do believe they will be ready to go.

On the other hand, Leach says it takes about a week to install his system, two weeks for the slower learners. It's the simplest offense out there.

[HailStateSZN19]

The spring game will tell us a bunch about how much work we have to do. Generally the defense during spring is ahead of the offense, but I believe it may be the other way around this year.

What's going to be funny is when/if that last part is correct & some, instead of raving about the offense and how it looks, will take that opportunity to back up the narrative that "Mike Leach teams don't play defense" and it will be turned into negative BS about how we're screwed on defense lol. I guaran-damn-tee you some of our fans do that. It'll turn into "Oh shit we are SCREWED on defense, why in the actual hell are we not doing this or that, we're gonna give up 50 PPG, etc.".

[Walkerhill]

JaVonta Payton
Osirus Mitchell
Kyziah Pruitt
Cameron Gardner
Lee Tanner
Tristan Pisacane
Cason Grant
Quinton Torbor
Austin Williams
Jordon Hoyer
Malik Heath
Caleb Ducking

To aid this discussion, I think you should divide this group into inside and outside wide receivers.

What characteristics does Leach look for in both? Is the inside wide receiver more in the mold of a possession receiver like Cris Carter/Keyshawn Johnson or a dynamic slot receiver like Welker/Amendola/Cobb.

I bet Leach has a pretty specific list of characteristics for each position. I would be curious what it is, similar to how he articulated specific qb characteristics.

I am thinking on the inside hands, body control and smarts while on the outside speed and route running are emphasized. Those are total guesses. Thoughts?

[FISHDAWG]

ML also said if his players are more run oriented then he would run the ball .... With Hill coming back I don't think we will see this air raid thing that he's known for happening to the extent that it was at TT or WSU ..... maybe the year after - but next year with the pieces we have I would think the pass / run ratio is going to be less than expected .... and I'm ok with that so I'm guessing Schrader

[Political Hack]

I think Leach is going to love Austin Williams.

[R2Dawg]

What's going to be funny is when/if that last part is correct & some, instead of raving about the offense and how it looks, will take that opportunity to back up the narrative that "Mike Leach teams don't play defense" and it will be turned into negative BS about how we're screwed on defense lol. I guaran-damn-tee you some of our fans do that. It'll turn into "Oh shit we are SCREWED on defense, why in the actual hell are we not doing this or that, we're gonna give up 50 PPG, etc.".

Hah true statement. O does good it will be D gonna be bad; O doesn't produce and Leach don't have any players or this O wont work in SEC. Get ready it is coming.

[R2Dawg]

I think Leach is going to love Austin Williams.

Agreed

[Dawgfan77]

This narrative that ML doesn?t adapt to his talent is false. He is going to run his offense but he will Taylor it to the roster he has. Look what he did at TT his first year

[Walkerhill]

So, no one took the bait so I will give it a shot.

OWR1 - Osirus
IWR1 - Austin Williams
IWR2 - Payton
OWR2 - Malik Heath or Cameron Gardner

Are those the 4 starters?

[HancockCountyDog]

It's funny to see how down we are on that group, considering from day 1 it's probably going to be the most talented WR group Leach has ever had

There is no Michael Crabtree or Wes Welker in that receiver room as far as talent so I think it is safe to say Leach has had more talent in a WR room.

Candidly I wish we had a few more Gabe Myles, Dedrick Thomas or Zuber's on next year's team. They would thrive in this offense.

[YoungB]

So, no one took the bait so I will give it a shot.

OWR1 - Osirus
IWR1 - Austin Williams
IWR2 - Payton
OWR2 - Malik Heath or Cameron Gardner

Are those the 4 starters?

Seems reasonable. Top 4 WRs for Wash St (https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/washington-state/2019.html)last year caught a combined 275 balls. These guys will get lots of chances.

[Lord McBuckethead]

I think Leach is going to love Austin Williams.

Me too. We need a slot receiver to demand 75% of the snaps. I hope Austin can become that guy.

[Johnson85]

ML also said if his players are more run oriented then he would run the ball .... With Hill coming back I don't think we will see this air raid thing that he's known for happening to the extent that it was at TT or WSU ..... maybe the year after - but next year with the pieces we have I would think the pass / run ratio is going to be less than expected .... and I'm ok with that so I'm guessing Schrader

WHen Mike Leach says he's going to run the ball more, does he really mean he's going to hand it off more, or does he mean he will get the ball to his running back more? I remember someone stating that a lot of the passes to his running backs were essentially part of his run game. But can't remember if that was somebody quoting him or somebody just saying that about his offense.

[dawgday166]

I kinda think he'll run it a little more at MSU than at his other stops. Not sure tho.

[dawgday166]

350 apiece *** Or total ... cause they can do that as a group in about 5 games or so.

[SmokeyDawg]

I think we'll see an actual hand off 20-25% (maybe around 30% year 1) of the plays. The one game I watched was the 2008 Texas vs TT game. They mentioned him running the ball more that year than usual because their backs and OL were veteran and a strength.

How does ML utilize TEs? I haven't noticed any in clips I have watched.

[Walkerhill]

I think we'll see an actual hand off 20-25% (maybe around 30% year 1) of the plays. The one game I watched was the 2008 Texas vs TT game. They mentioned him running the ball more that year than usual because their backs and OL were veteran and a strength.

How does ML utilize TEs? I haven't noticed any in clips I have watched.

He rarely plays tight ends - token utilization at best. He has used them here and there during transition periods but he will not recruit any and the ones we have are potential position change candidates.

[SmokeyDawg]

At least we won't have to hear how we are going to use the TE more this year every year

[FISHDAWG]

WHen Mike Leach says he's going to run the ball more, does he really mean he's going to hand it off more, or does he mean he will get the ball to his running back more? I remember someone stating that a lot of the passes to his running backs were essentially part of his run game. But can't remember if that was somebody quoting him or somebody just saying that about his offense.

if a pass is completed behind the line of scrimmage does that count as a run or pass ? .... I get what you're saying and I have read that somewhere, but I still think he does that with Schrader .... however, I'm not sure if Schrader is who ML is ultimately looking for .... I think Schrader has the potential to improve on accuracy - most QB's tend to improve over time

[CadaverDawg]

There is no Michael Crabtree or Wes Welker in that receiver room as far as talent so I think it is safe to say Leach has had more talent in a WR room.

Candidly I wish we had a few more Gabe Myles, Dedrick Thomas or Zuber's on next year's team. They would thrive in this offense.

Malik Heath was a more highly rated recruit than Crabtree. Lideatrick Griffin is more highly rated than Crabtree. He could very well have a Crabtree or Welker on the roster. Not saying he does, but people overlook some of our WR recruits in my opinion....especially when combining with Leach's offense. We'll see

[BuckyIsAB****]

X- Mitchell

Y- Williams

H-Payton

Z-Heath


If Leach can move one of the TEs to WR it would help. Torbor, Pruitt and the others will get some snaps. I would look for at least one transfer here. I could see Dillon Johnson getting reps at slot as well. I am not as high on Tulu as yall are