Since the departure of Bowe and Landry, we have Doucet and who else? Doucet is trustworthy, but what do we expect out of the others?
Lafell has the height and speed to be a threat but I would like to see him put on some pounds. I think JC recruit Byrd will get some valuable playing time, maybe even start a couple of games. We have the Mitchells, hopefully Jared will be able to make a smooth transition from baseball. Chris will get more time early because of the head start on Jared. Top recruit Tolliver will see some time this year and I expect to see him make an impact early. Ricky Dixon will play behind Doucet. Holliday will get plenty of catches out of the backfield. R.J. Jackson was switched to the WR position this year. We have plenty of talent but less experience to go with it. I look for a strong season from our WR.
Doucet (Sr) is first string, Brandon LaFell (So) is second string and thats all we know up till now. Brandon LaFell has proven reliable, but havent proven yet he's an every down reciever. Our 3rd string reciever will PROBABLY be Demetrius Byrd (Jr), the JUCO transfer we signed this year. Other than that, we have the Mitchell brothers, both are sophomores. We also have Ricky Dixon, a redshirt freshman. Other than that, we have 5 star Toliver (HS), I highly doubt he'll play, will most probably redshirt to put on weight, and Benton (HS) 4 star reciever.
I kind of expect Tolliver to take a redshirt. He needs to put on some weight. I expect Byrd to make an instant impact. I wouldn't be surprised if he took the number two spot.
I doubt Toliver gets PT this year, he's skinny and needs to put on some serious weight. The more I think about our receiving core, the more Im worried about next year. We have 0 experience in the position, thats why we'll be relying more on the running game and the short passes to the RB/FB.
I think LaFell is ready to step up and be a player this year. He was great in the bowl game as a reserve.
But if you look at all LaFell's catches the past year, they were all long range bombs. He was only asked to run as far and fast as he can. That's what I remember, that's why his stats were great. But are we going to need a long range WR as our 2nd string? That's the question, can he play the full time WR game? Can he run precise routes? Can he be physical enough to go over the middle? Can he overpower corners? And most importantly, CAN HE BLOCK? Dont get me wrong, Im not saying he cant, because Davis has a similar build to LaFell, and was able to do all that.
Yup, the only experienced WR we have is Doucet. And he'll most probably be double-covered all the time.
