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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: A week off did nothing to change Cooper’s position at the head of the table for SEC receivers. Les Miles, whose LSU team is faced with slowing Cooper down this weekend, spent a good portion of his Monday press conference talking about the task, calling Cooper the best receiver in the nation. Everyone knew that already, but it was nice of the Mad Hatter to remind us.
- Pharoh Cooper, South Carolina: The SEC’s other Cooper put on quite the show in South Carolina’s heartbreaking loss to Tennessee. He set a school record with 233 receiving yards, surpassing a mark set 10 years ago by Troy Williamson. On top of his 2 touchdowns through the air, Cooper ran and passed for scores as well. Pharoh’s emergence has been one of the few bright spots in a miserable season for the Gamecocks.
- Laquon Treadwell, Mississippi: Sadly, this will be Treadwell’s last appearance here for at least the rest of 2014. Ole Miss’ sophomore beast hauled in 10 catches for 103 yards and a score in the Rebels’ loss to Auburn. He was thisclose to going down in Ole Miss folklore. Treadwell suffered a gruesome leg injury as he crossed the goal line late in the fourth quarter, but the ball was jarred loose and Auburn recovered in the end zone. Treadwell leaves a massive hole in the Rebels’ offense, and college football fans will miss his speed and physicality for the rest of the season.
- Sammie Coates, Auburn: Coates burst back onto the scene in a big way in Auburn’s win over Ole Miss. HIs touchdown was one of his most impressive catches of the year, as he broke away from top notch defensive backs Senquez Golson and Cody Prewitt to haul in a 57-yard bomb from Nick Marshall. If Coates continues to round into form, Auburn’s offense becomes that much scarier.
- Bud Sasser, Missouri: Maty Mauk’s senior target remains one of the only constants in a puzzling Missouri offense. Sasser turned in a 6 catch, 67 yard, 2 touchdown performance in the Tigers win over Kentucky, helping to strengthen Mizzou’s position in the SEC East. Sasser was targeted on more than a third of Mauk’s passing attempts against the Wildcats, and he’s been targeted on nearly a quarter of Missouri’s pass attempts this season, per ncaasavant.com.
The next five: Travin Dural, LSU; D’haquille Williams, Auburn; Speedy Noil, Texas A&M; Demarcus Robinson, Florida; Evan Engram, Mississippi
A former freelance journalist from Philadelphia, Brett has made the trek down to SEC country to cover the greatest conference in college football.