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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: The Crimson Tide may have had the week off, but that didn’t slow Cooper’s momentum. The junior’s Heisman buzz picked up significantly, both here and in various corners of the internet. Cooper’s red-hot start is great, but Lane Kiffin’s teams have a tendency to force the ball to top receivers through the early part of the season, only to see them tail off or break down. Will Cooper be able to avoid that fate?
- Travin Dural, LSU: Over the last few weeks, Dural has shown he’s not completely dependent on the deep ball. He only had 3 catches for 40 yards against New Mexico State in a run-heavy game for the Tigers, but impressed by taking a screen pass 10 yards for a touchdown. The emergence of Malachi Dupre across from Dural should give the sophomore some breathing room.
- D’haquille Williams, Auburn: Williams wasn’t as big of a factor in a lackluster offensive performance for Auburn against Louisiana Tech as he was in a tight win against Kansas State. Still, he hauled in a tough touchdown catch away from his body between two defenders at the goal line. Williams has given the Tigers a physical presence out wide that is helping to open up the offense, as Nick Marshall threw a career high 3 TD passes last Saturday.
- Laquon Treadwell, Mississippi: The sophomore returns to the rankings after he had his biggest game of the season against Memphis, breaking out for 123 yards and 2 TD. It’s hard to pick which of his two scores was more impressive, as he somehow got behind two defenders on each one.
- Marquez North, Tennessee: Another super sophomore, North had a subpar game against Georgia on the whole. In these rankings, being clutch and adding in a high degree of difficulty gives you a boost. Down at the goal line, North created separation by feinting toward the middle before catching a fade from Justin Worley in the back of the end zone to cut Georgia’s lead to 35-32.
The next five: Bud Sasser, Missouri; Pharoh Cooper, South Carolina; Demarcus Robinson, Florida; Malcome Kennedy, Texas A&M; Jameon Lewis, Mississippi State
A former freelance journalist from Philadelphia, Brett has made the trek down to SEC country to cover the greatest conference in college football.
