Big 12 receivers proving to be a handful (plus predictions)

Arizona receiver Tetairoa McMillan (4) makes the one handed catch against Utah Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, in Salt Lake City, Utah. | Tyler Tate, Associated Press

The Big 12 might have a Doak Walker Award winner in Ollie Gordon II (Oklahoma State) and a truckload of talented running backs, but this season the league features seven of the top 25 receivers in the country.

No other league has more than four in the top 25.

Utah saw this firsthand in its loss to Arizona when star receiver Tetairoa McMillan and standout QB Aaron Fifita came up big against the Utes.

If McMillan, who faces Texas Tech this weekend, isn’t the top receiver in the country, then Colorado’s Travis Hunter might be as he is a leading candidate to win the Heisman Trophy as a two-way player.

Catches per game is the NCAA statistical category that has seven Big 12 receivers ranked in the top 25. Hunter ranks No. 4 with 9.2 catches, as the Buffs target him frequently. Josh Kelly (Texas Tech) is No. 8 with 7.8 catches per game. No. 9 is McMillan with 7.3, followed by TCU’s Jack Bech (7.0), No. 16 Brennan Pressley (Oklahoma State) 6.6, No. 20 Xzavier Henderson (Cincinnati), 6.4 and No. 23 Jayden Higgins (Iowa State) 6.3.

That’s some decent talent attacking defenses in that league.

Big 12 statistical rankings for players have Bech ranked No. 1 followed by McMillan and Hunter.

Bech is a 6-foot-2 speedster for the Horned Frogs, who transferred in from LSU. He ranks No. 4 nationally in yards per game with a whopping 129.4. McMillan, who was a teammate of his QB Fifita at Servite High in Orange County, California, is No. 6 in that category, hauling in an average of 124.8 yards per game. Hunter, who doubles as a cornerback for Deion Sanders CU team, averages 112.2 yards per game.

While Hunter and McMillan gain most of the national attention, Bech is a huge threat…


Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/big-12-receivers-proving-handful-174336956.html

Author : Deseret News

Publish date : 2024-10-04 17:43:36

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