Previewing Stanford's wide receiver room ahead of the 2023 season

Stanford lost their three top pass catchers to the NFL

Kevin Borba | Jul 17, 2023

Previewing Stanford's wide receiver room ahead of the 2023 season /

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Like they will be at a handful of positions, Stanford will be trotting out a brand new group of starters at receiver.

They had one of the more overlooked and under-appreciated wide receiver corps a year ago with all three of their best receivers either being drafted to the NFL or being signed as an undrafted free agent. That means on offense the Cardinal will be sporting new receivers, a new quarterback, and a new offensive line.

While there are some players in the receiver room with some experience, just about every spot should be up for grabs. Let's take a look at the receivers who have the best chance at starting or having a significant role in 2023 and replacing Michael Wilson, Elijah Higgins, and Brycen Tremayne.

Ismael Cisse (Freshman)

One of the later additions to the class after Troy Taylor took the head coaching job, the Colorado native will have to prove himself come fall camp. The receiver battle is a hodgepodge of unproven guys, so while I wouldn't expect Cisse to come in right away and light it up he will have chances.

Ahmari Borden (Freshman)

While we haven't seen Ahmari Borden working on the field with the team yet, the Florida native could get off to a hot start in fall camp and take advantage of the inexperienced receiver room to solidify a role. Outside of the Humphreys situation, even though he himself is unproven and has to earn his role, there are opportunities galore here.

Silas Starr (Senior)

The senior wideout has nine career catches, and based on reports from spring practice didn't appear to be too heavily in the mix for one of the starting roles.

Jason Thompson (Sophomore)

Thompson saw all of his action as a freshman as a return man, but may have a chance to work his way into the rotation during fall camp. He will likely be battling with Farell and a couple others for snaps in the slot.

Jayson Raines (Junior)

No career catches for the Junior out of New Jersey, but he does offer another big target for the quarterback to throw to. During spring practice he was working with the second team, so he has some ground to make up.

Bryce Farell (Senior)

After having a strong 2021 that saw him grab 14 catches, Farell registered just three punt returns and 10 kickoff returns for Stanford this past season. During spring ball he was getting an abundance of reps in the slot, and may have a chance to be a weapon thanks to his quickness.

John Humphreys (Senior)

The most experienced and proven receiver in the room, John Humphreys was often the next guy up when either one of the three went down. He's coming off a career high 29 catches for 348-yards, and being that he was recently chosen to be one of the two representatives at Pac-12 media day he's clearly made some sort of impression on the new staff. The former four-star provides a veteran presence and also offers great size at 6-foot-5 which will allow for quarterbacks to take some chances his way.

Tiger Bachmeier (Freshman)

The rare early Stanford enrollee was making some noise during spring camp, and had already worked his way up to getting second team snaps. He has been viewed as one of the true freshmen across the country that can have an impact right away, and Taylor spoke highly of him when we were discussing the receiver room. I fully expect him to work his way into the starting lineup at some point during the season.

Mudia Reuben (Sophomore)

The sophomore receiver saw limited action as a freshman recording five catches that saw two of them go for a touchdown. He was however identified as a standout during spring practice, and thanks to the departures could step into a much larger role in 2023. The interesting thing about Reuben is the fact that he didn't start playing football until he was a sophomore in high school, so he clearly is progressing every year.

Published Jul 17, 2023

KEVIN BORBA

Managing Editor and Publisher of CardinalCountry.com, formerly a Pac-12 Network Production Assistant and a contributing writer for USA Today's Longhorns Wire. I am a proud graduate of Quinnipiac University's sports journalism master's program. Follow me on Twitter @Kevin__Borba