STARKVILLE — Mississippi State’s wide receivers are in for a heavy workload.
In nine seasons as the head coach at Washington State, Mike Leach’s offense led the nation in passing offense four times and never finished outside the top 10. More recently, Washington State’s 2019 squad saw 10 players catch at least 10 passes, while nine players averaged more than 10 yards per reception.
So who’s going to catch all those balls in Starkville? It’s complicated.
Washington State’s top three receivers in 2019 were sophomore running back Max Borghi and seniors Brandon Arconado and Easop Winston Jr. Looking for parallels, common knowledge would suggest senior running back and Columbus native Kylin Hill, senior receiver JaVonta Payton and junior college import Malik Heath — whose status with the team remains uncertain following his DUI arrest last week — are in line to fill these roles.
Hill, who has long been touted as a solid pass-catcher despite only actually corralling 44 career receptions for 394 yards, has garnered ample attention this offseason for his speed and fit in Leach’s offense. Having dropped from 220 pounds to 215 pounds between last season and fall camp, he should be even faster and shiftier than he showed a year ago.
“When you’ve got a receiving threat out of the backfield like Kylin Hill, I mean, the fact you can hand it off to him and he can gash you inside and he’ll get out on the perimeter and catch the ball out in space,” MSU defensive coordinator Zach Arnett said Thursday night. “It’s no fun as a defensive guy when they’re getting five out and the ball is getting checked down with all that space.”
Payton and Heath aren’t perfect models given that they stand at 6-foot-1 and 6-foot-3, respectively, compared to Winston’s and Arconado’s 6-foot frames, but the sentiment remains. Like Payton and Heath, both Winston and Arconado were junior college transfers at one point in time before concluding their careers in Pullman. And while neither Payton nor Heath will have the time to spend a year or more digesting the ins and outs of Leach’s offense, past precedent suggests they can slide into prominent roles almost immediately.
Take Winston’s first year at Washington State. After spending two seasons at the City College of San Francisco, he corralled 52 catches for 654 yards and eight touchdowns in 2018 and nearly doubled his output as a senior, catching 85 passes for 970 yards and 11 touchdowns last fall.
“JaVonta Payton is a dynamic receiver, of course,” safeties coach Jason Washington said Thursday night. “That’s the first kind of name that comes to my mind since he’s an inside receiver.”
Further down MSU’s receiver depth chart, junior Austin Williams figures to factor into the equation much in the way Dezmon Patmon, Davontavean Martin, Renard Bell and Travell Harris did at Washington State in 2019. The quartet of Cougars combined for an average of just over 50 catches apiece.
Williams has earned major praise the past two training camps and briefly backed it up with a three-reception, 43-yard outing in MSU’s season opening win over Louisiana last year — including an acrobatic fourth-quarter touchdown to put the Bulldogs ahead by three scores.
Now entering his third season in Starkville, the former Ocean Springs standout has again received praise for his efforts in camp’s early goings, and it’s expected he’ll factor into an offense light on returning production.
“I think it’s an amazing opportunity,” Williams said Wednesday night. “I think the whole wide receiver group as a unit, I think we’re all extremely excited, working hard this summer, getting ready to be the best prepared we can be for this opportunity.”
The final pieces to the puzzle — albeit the trickiest to place — are senior Osirus Mitchell and junior Alabama transfer Tyrell Shavers. Standing 6-foot-5 and 6-foot-6, Mitchell and Shavers stand equal to or taller than every receiver on Washington State’s 2019 roster.
For Mitchell, his inconsistencies are well documented. After averaging four catches per contest over his first six games last season, he concluded the year with three straight one-catch outings and a two-catch affair against Louisville in the Music City Bowl that was aided by a garbage-time touchdown reception with 27 seconds remaining in the contest.
A more prolific athlete than Mitchell, Shavers is perhaps the greatest unknown in MSU’s receiver room entering the 2020 season. Rated a top-100 recruit in the class of 2017, Shavers was a major target for most every school in the country coming out of the Dallas area but was largely reserved to special teams duty during his time in Tuscaloosa. If Shavers lives up to his prep billing even slightly, he’ll give the Bulldogs a massive target who can stretch the field even quicker than Mitchell.
“He’s tall and fast and extremely athletic,” Shavers’ high school coach Greg Miller told The Dispatch in July. “I was shocked when he went to Alabama that he didn’t play more than he did.”
As noted, Leach’s offense saw 10 players catch double-digit passes a season ago in Pullman, but nearing the end of fall camp’s first week there are perhaps five names assured to be in the rotation this fall followed by a slew of inexperienced options.
This isn’t to say MSU’s cupboard is completely bare. Freshmen Lideatrick “Tulu” Griffin, Jaden Walley and Starkville native Rufus Harvey could all compete for playing time at some point this year. Junior college transfer Caleb Ducking and converted tight ends Brad Cumbest, Geor’quarius Spivey and Dontea Jones should see the field as well.
In Joe Moorhead’s final season as head coach, Mitchell led the team in receiving yards with 430 yards, while Arconado almost tripled that output to lead Washington State with 1,109 yards last year. If there’s one thing for certain amongst MSU’s receivers, it’s that their usage will increase, but it remains to be seen where those responsibilities reside.
Ben Portnoy reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @bportnoy15.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 30 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 30 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
