61 Days Until Kansas Football: Previewing the Wide Receivers

We continue our positional previews with a position that has seen a lot of turnover.

Contents

1. Last Season
2. Cause For Concern
3. Reasons for Optimism
4. Projected Depth Chart
5. Coaching Staff
6. Overall Thoughts

Each week, we will take a deep dive into one of the 10 main position groups, highlighting the key players to watch and giving you an idea of what to expect from the position this year. This week, we continue our series with more of the offense. This time, we jump into a position that has seen a lot of change since last season: the wide receivers.

Previous Positions Covered:

• Quarterbacks
• Running Backs

Last Season

The Jayhawks had five players catch a significant number of passes in games from the wide receiver position last season. While the receiving game also had contributions from the tight end and running back positions, the table below is limited to just the receivers.

Player Name	Receptions	Receiving Yards	Average	TDs
Kwamie Lassiter II	59	653	11.1	3
Trevor Wilson	27	364	13.5	1
Luke Grimm	22	349	15.9	3
Lawrence Arnold	27	316	11.7	3
Steven McBride	15	88	5.9	0

The Jayhawks came into last season with a lack of established talent at the position, which had just as much to do with the inability of the quarterbacks to get players the ball as it did with unproved talent. Kwamie Lassiter was expected to be the main receiving threat, but there was a lack proven support from other receivers on the roster.

Trevor Wilson, Luke Grimm and Lawrence Arnold all came into the season as  unproven receivers with high expectations. Grimm had shown some flashes towards the end of the 2020 season, but many expected the running backs and tight ends to pick up a lot of slack in the passing game. 

Cause For Concern

Depth is the main concern here. Kwamie Lassiter is off to the NFL, signing as a free agent with the Cincinnati Bengals. Lawrence Arnold put his name in the transfer portal before changing his mind and returning to the team. Majik Rector was expected to contribute heavily after his redshirt season last year, but ultimately he transferred. Tristan Golightly played in ten games and was expected to step into a bigger role, but he is gone too.

The team only has nine receivers on the roster, compared to 15 last season. Arnold, Grimm and Wilson provide a decent stable of receivers, but there are not many proven options behind them. It's also not obvious who fans should expect to step up to be the main option, either.

Ultimately, the team is going to have to either rely on one of these players to step up in a big way, or the tight ends and running backs are going to have to contribute.

Reasons for Optimism

This is much harder than the other two positions we have looked at, mainly because there are so many more unknowns here. But if you are looking for optimism, it has to be the ability of offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki to get creative in working through multiple options to take pressure off the receiving corps. 

Last season, it was pretty clear that there was one serious threat in the receiving game and then a bunch of good options surrounding him to take some pressure off. Credit the offensive staff for scheming in such a way that Lassiter was still able to show up in big spots.

Projected Depth Chart

The problem here is exactly the opposite from the one we had for the running backs, because the depth chart is so thin here. Even though the tight ends are involved in catching passes as well, I'm going to wait and talk about them separately, because Lance Leipold and staff seem to have a clear separation of those roles, even more than you would normally expect. So here's my best guess for the lineup in 3 receiver sets:

WR1: Lawrence Arnold / Steven McBride

Arnold was the biggest performer from the position in the Spring Preview, with some great receptions. And there are some huge expectations for him this season. I expect him to become one of the main targets for Jalon Daniels this season.

McBride was a great option last season, but was clearly behind the other three receivers at the "starting" positions here. If Kansas goes with a four receiver set, I expect him to get time on the field, and his cutting ability could help him see more time than I ex

WR2: Trevor Wilson  / Tanaka Scott

Wilson was the second leading receiver last season, and his skill set seems to fit perfectly with that second receiver role. He was a steady performer and one of the main targets outside the red zone, so expect to see him get a lot of work this year.

Scott didn't get much time last season as a freshman, and projecting him here is honestly a big guess on my part. But I've heard some good things about him and expect him to get some time this season on the offense.

WR3/Slot: Luke Grimm / Jordan Medley

Grimm played well as the slot receiver in 2020, and he continued to excel last season, pulling in the third most receiving yards and tying for the most scores with 3 touchdown receptions. He has built a rapport with Daniels, so expect him to get some great opportunities this season.

Medley is another guy that I'm projecting here, because someone has to back up these guys. I've heard good things about him as well, so hopefully he will be able to shine in his opportunities.

Depth

Normally, the wide receiver depth would feature heavily on the special teams, but the Jayhawks don't really have enough depth to spare if injuries start to pile up. Quentin Skinner, Kevin Terry and Kelan Robinson are all talented enough to show up in limited action and help the team, but I wouldn't expect to see much from them on the stat sheet.

The depth is definitely a worry, and the team can't afford to sustain injuries to this position, unless they can get REALLY creative with other positions helping in the passing game.

Coaching Staff

The wide receivers will be coached by a new addition to the staff for this season, Terrance Samuel. Prior to coming to Lawrence, Samuel has spent 24 years coaching in various programs, including Syracuse, Michigan State, UNLV, Arizona and Central Michigan. He previously worked with Leipold at Nebraska-Omaha.

Samuel has plenty of experience working with a young stable of receivers, and has previously coached two Big 10 Receiver of the Year winners in Tony Lippett and Aaron Burbridge. 

Overall Thoughts

Going into this season, the receiving position is a HUGE concern. While the starting positions can be filled by reliable options who all have the potential to develop into true top-tier receivers, there is a lot of concern if even one of them misses significant time.

I expect both Samuel and Kotelnicki to get creative with the position this year. Don't be surprised if some of the extra depth in the running back room sees time with the receivers.

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