SEC Debate: Favorite SEC receiver to watch in 2014
The SEC was full of awe-inspiring wideouts in 2014, from Amari Cooper’s historic season at Alabama to D’haquille Williams breakout season as a junior college transfer at Auburn to Josh Reynolds setting a Texas A&M record with 13 touchdown receptions.
But what made the SEC’s wideouts in 2014 so special was the differing styles they presented opposing defenses on a weekly basis. Some guys were burners. Some guys were large and physically imposing. Some were modest athletes with great hands and concentration.
Fans all value different traits in a wide receiver, so when we asked our SDS staffers to name their favorite receiver to watch in 2014 we expected their answers may vary as well. We were right. Check out what they all had to say:
WHO WAS YOUR FAVORITE SEC WIDEOUT TO WATCH IN 2014?
Brad Crawford (@BCrawfordSDS): Amari Cooper, Alabama
It’s probably the most popular answer, but Alabama’s Amari Cooper was one of the SEC’s only players who made me stop what I was doing and glue my eyes to the television when the Crimson Tide had the football. He’s the kind of player who gave you the feeling something big was going to happen every play. Based on the number of targets he received in Lane Kiffin’s scheme, those big plays were plentiful. Cooper’s 2014 season is right up there with Josh Reed’s record-setting 2001 campaign at LSU as far as SEC greatness goes — perhaps better thanks to Cooper’s touchdown advantage and Heisman finalist nod.
Ethan Levine (@EthanLevineSDS): Laquon Treadwell, Ole Miss
Treadwell is known for his size on the outside, but it’s the way he moves at that size that makes him such a fun wideout to watch. He possesses breakaway speed when given a lane, and is just as capable at breaking tackles to extend plays and pick up yards after the catch. Treadwell is dangerous everywhere on the field, from bubble screens to crossing routes to fades in the end zone and, of course, vertical patterns down the field. He’ll out-jump any defender in his path and may have the best pair of mitts in the conference. There’s a reason he’s led Ole Miss in catches in each of his first two seasons, and there’s a reason Ole Miss was 1-2 against FBS competition after he suffered his season-ending injury against Auburn. The dude is a complete player destined to star in the NFL one day, and it’s been a treat to watch him emerge at the college level.
Christopher Smith (@CSmithSDS): De’Runnya Wilson, Mississippi State
Chris Conley, Speedy Noil, Amari Cooper and others may have better highlight tapes. But none were as entertaining to me than watching the 6-foot-5, 225-pound former hoops standout start to morph into a real receiver. He’ll need at least a couple more seasons before he can be mentioned in the same sentence as the word “polished,” but by the end of the year Wilson was more than an alley-oop player. Still, the 2013 Mr. Basketball in the state of Alabama can’t be covered 1-on-1 when the ball is in the air, even with the busting-at-the-seams athleticism of SEC defenses.
Brett Weisband (@WeisbandSDS): De’Runnya Wilson
Watching Wilson play receiver is like watching a newborn deer try to find its legs, if only that little fawn was 6-foot-5 with insane leaping ability and ridiculous body control. It was obvious watching Wilson in 2014 that he was still learning the position — remember, Wilson was primarily a basketball player in high school, winning Alabama’s Mr. Basketball award his senior year — but the more he figures it out the scarier he is. By the end of the season, Wilson wasn’t just making spectacular catches at the goal line; he’d figured out how to use his massive frame to box out receivers and became a go-to guy for Dak Prescott. As he continues to put it all together, he’s only going to get scarier.