Each week, Saturday Down South will break down the SEC’s top wide receivers, ranking the top five and shouting out the next five guys in line. These rankings are a combination of numbers and their impact on the game, taking into consideration things like first down conversions, timeliness of catches and importance to their team’s offense.
- Amari Cooper, Alabama: Alabama’s superstar tied another school record against Western Carolina, hauling in 3 catches on the Crimson Tide’s opening drive to pull even with D.J. Hall atop the Alabama all-time catches list with 191. (Hall, by the way, was a four-year player, while Cooper is a junior.) The bad news, though, is that Cooper suffered a knee injury against the Catamounts and missed the rest of the game after that first drive. It sounds as if he’ll be available against Auburn, but the injury was certainly a scary moment for Alabama fans.
- Josh Reynolds, Texas A&M: Reynolds is still one of just two SEC receivers with double-digit touchdowns, and he’s currently neck-and-neck with Cooper at 12 touchdowns apiece. Reynolds has become a big-play receiver over the course of the season, with more than a third of his catches going for 15 or more yards, and he’s learned how to deal with defenders pressing him at the line as the campaign has gone on.
- Pharoh Cooper, South Carolina:Â Cooper was back to making big things happen against South Alabama, breaking off a 73-yard reception and tallying 95 receiving yards in the Gamecocks win. He also showed off his versatility as well, rushing for 42 yards mostly out of the Wildcat formation. He gets the chance to cap off his brilliant sophomore season by making an impact in South Carolina’s rivalry game against Clemson on Saturday.
- Bud Sasser, Missouri: Outside of Alabama’s Cooper, Sasser might be the most consistent receiver in the SEC. He’s also been on a scoring binge as of late, with 5 touchdowns in Missouri’s last four games. While he had one score called back due to penalty and was unable to haul in another potential scoring pass, Sasser came up big when it mattered against Tennessee when he caught a 13-yarder from Maty Mauk for the game-sealing score.
- Demarcus Robinson, Florida: With Jeff Driskel back at the helm for much of the game, Robinson got back to his early season form against Eastern Kentucky. Three of Robinson’s catches on Saturday went for 25 or more yards, and the only one that didn’t resulted in a touchdown.
The next five:Â Pig Howard, Tennessee; Chris Conley, Georgia; Quan Bray, Auburn; Chris Black, Alabama; Keon Hatcher, Arkansas
A former freelance journalist from Philadelphia, Brett has made the trek down to SEC country to cover the greatest conference in college football.
