Stanford football should make true freshman new number one receiver for rest of '24

The more reps and experience that Emmett Mosley V has, the better it will be for the future of the offense.

Oct 26, 2024; Stanford, California, USA; Stanford Cardinal wide receiver Emmett Mosley V (10) is tackled by Wake Forest Demon Deacons defensive back Evan Slocum (7) during the second quarter at Stanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Neville E. Guard-Imagn Images / Neville E. Guard-Imagn Images

The Emmett Mosley V era has officially begun on The Farm. Since he first got on the Stanford campus in January, the hype surrounding what the three-star prospect would bring to the table grew day by day with the expectation being that he would be able to contribute on day one. However, an injury delayed Mosley’s debut considerably, resulting in him missing the first three games of the football season. 

Eventually, Mosley would soon be healthy enough to play, making his debut against Clemson in week five, and wasted no time in being a big part of the offense, making seven catches for 48 yards and a touchdown in his college debut. The next few games were fairly quiet in terms of numbers for Mosley, as he then followed it up with a four catch for 29 yard game against Virginia Tech and a one catch game against Notre Dame. Mosley put together his best game since his Clemson debut this past weekend against Wake Forest, where he caught four passes for 40 yards in the loss. 

But one common theme in each game is the amount of targets that Mosley is getting. He's been targeted double digit times in multiple games already, including a 10 target game against Wake Forest and a 10 target game against SMU, and has finished each and every game that he has played in at least in the top two for Stanford in terms of receiver targets. It is clear that the Cardinal value Mosley, but they don’t just value him, they see him as someone that can become a major force on the offense.

For that reason, he should be the number one receiver for Stanford the rest of the season. Elic Ayomanor, the team’s bonafide star at the receiver position and the program’s leader in all receiving categories this year, is eligible to leave for the NFL with Pro Football Network projecting him to be an early third round pick. This means, especially with the Cardinal sitting at 2-6, that the team may want to save Ayomanor from injury so as to not derail him from becoming a pro. Mosley, a true freshman, could then become more of the team’s number one target so that the coaches can see what they have in him and assess whether or not they want to put him more in that role next year.

Mosley also should be the team’s number one receiver solely because of reps with the quarterbacks. While the quarterback spot is still uncertain, with Ashton Daniels and Elijah Brown still competing for reps, the more Mosley plays, the better connection he will be able to build with his signal callers. He'd also be getting his own reps, allowing him to both further his grow as a player while also developing a rapport with his quarterbacks and getting them more comfortable together when they take the field.

That in itself could go a long way as with any football team, it starts with the quarterback, so if Mosley has a connection with them, not only will both of their confidence go up, but Stanford could find themselves with a QB-WR duo similar to what LSU had in 2019 with Joe Burrow and Justin Jefferson.

At this point, the focus should no longer be on this season, but instead on improving for future years and getting back into contention mode. With a talent like Mosley on the roster, maximizing his ability and setting him up for sustained success would be the best course of action.