Louisville Football Depth Chart Preview: Wide Receivers
By Cole Murray
With the season opener against reigning National Champion Alabama coming ever closer to the forefront, it’s time to take a look at the Louisville football wide receivers.
In my time as a Cardinal fan, Louisville football has been blessed with some great receivers. Whether it be Devante Parker, Harry Douglas or Mario Urrutia, the Cards always seem to have weapons out on the perimeter. This year is no exception. In fact this could be the most talented receiving corps in quite some time.
The Cards are returning their three leading receivers from a year ago with Jaylen Smith, Seth Dawkins, and Dez Fitzpatrick all primed for another big season. I expect all of these guys to have great seasons as they look to provide some stability and guidance to the offense as the Puma Pass era is set to begin
Aside from the guys who we know will bring it game in and game out, Louisville has one of the deepest rosters they’ve had in a while at the wide receiver position. As we’ve seen, quality depth is often what sets a good team apart from a great one.
With that being said, I’m excited to see if this group can start to lead the Cardinals to the latter of those two. Here’s what I’m expecting from the Cardinals’ wide receiver group this upcoming season.
Projected 2018 Depth Chart
1 – Jaylen Smith, Seth Dawkins, Justin Marshall
2 – Dez Fitzpatrick, Corey Reed, Devante Peete
Slot – Josh Johnson, Tutu Atwell, Keion Wakefield
1. The Expected Starters
By now just about every Card fan on the planet probably can’t help but love Dez – whether it be for how talented he is on the field, or for how genuine and great he is off of it. One thing that can’t be denied is that the Cards should consider themselves very lucky to have this guy on their football team.
In his first season last year as a redshirt freshman, Fitzpatrick set the single season touchdown reception mark for any freshman to ever come through the program. He was able to haul in 45 receptions for 700 yards and 9 touchdowns. These would be great numbers for any receiver in the country, but when consider the fact that Dez did this in his first full season of college football it is almost comical.
Aside from these gaudy stats, another thing that truly impressed me was how polished of a receiver he was for a freshman.
Many talented guys who are younger tend to try to rely on the same things that made them great in high school; size and speed. While these things certainly help any receiver, relying on them alone won’t create the same separation and gap as it did in high school when they were playing against lower caliber athletes.
It’s incredible that Dez was able to take all of the coaching he’d received and translate it directly to the playing field so early. He was as polished a receiver as any on the team and he hadn’t received any game action until last season.
He does all of the little things right that coaches preach about and it definitely showed when you look at his game. He runs crisp routes, he runs all of them full speed, and he gets in and out of his breaks without tipping the defender off about what he’s going to do next.
When you combine all of these little things with the size and speed of an elite athlete like Dez, it makes a good receiver into a great one.
I really hope Cards’ fans enjoy watching Dez this season and take it all in, because believe it or not this could be the last season we get to watch this guy in a Cardinal uniform. If Dez builds upon what he did last year, it wouldn’t be all that shocking to see him take his talents to the next level and fulfill his dreams of becoming a professional football player.
Here’s to hoping that Dez can stay healthy this year and be a staple of this high powered offense.
Here’s a guy that every single Card fan in America should be rooting for. Coming out of high school Smith was only ranked as a two-star recruit by multiple recruiting websites and was more than likely an unheard of guy among most fans when he began his freshman season.
That would change quickly however, as Smith would burst onto the scene as a true freshman racking in 30 catches to go along with 380 yards a touchdown.
Using his solid freshman season as a building block, Smith turned in a great sophomore season bringing in 27 catches for 600 yards and 6 touchdowns. While his number of receptions didn’t change much, he was still able to amass 600 yards receiving averaging an insane 22 yards a catch.
Many Cards fans including myself expected Smith to have a breakout year as a Junior and man oh man, did he exceed every expectation. Smith had a dominant year for the Cards as he brought in a whopping 60 catches for 980 yards and 7 touchdowns.
Keep in mind, Smith was battling a wrist injury throughout the season even missing a couple games, and was still able to put up his career best numbers.
These great numbers were enough to be the fifth highest in the ACC in receiving yards, along with being voted as first team All-ACC.
This season, I would be absolutely pumped to see Jaylen build on what he did last year and become a go to target for new quarterback Puma Pass. With a great combination of size and speed, Smith always seems to find himself open and behind the defense.
After the end of last season, Jaylen evaluated his options to pursue his dream of becoming a pro football player and opted to return for his senior season. I, along with all other Card fans, am absolutely pumped to see this guy suit up in the Red and White for his senior season.
If he’s able to stay healthy I would expect another monster season out of the senior wideout.
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Another guy returning who has played a significant amount of snaps for the Cards is junior wideout Seth Dawkins.
Coming into his freshman season, the Cards had a lot of returning depth at receiver so I was expecting Coach Petrino to use a redshirt year for Dawkins. Dawkins size and ability simply wouldn’t let that happen however, as he played himself into being a kick returner and getting some time with the ones at receiver.
In limited playing time his freshman season, Dawkins was able to amass 11 catches for 191 yards and a touchdown. He showed the ability to separate from defenders and displayed a great ability to run after the catch.
Coming into last season, I was expecting Seth to build on solid numbers from his freshman season, but I certainly didn’t expect him to have as great a year as he did.
He was able to haul in 42 catches for 650 yards and 4 touchdowns. Along with fellow wideout Jaylen Smith, Dawkins was able to create a great one two punch and always seemed to be able to get himself open when the Cards needed a big play.
Obviously since Dawkins is a kick returner he possesses a great ability to create with the ball in his hands and expose seams in the defense. He was able to do this multiple times last seasons when he would take a short hitch route or a curl and make a couple of defenders miss and nearly take it to the house.
One of my favorite things about Dawkins is how physical of a player he is. There were multiple times last season when he absolutely embarrassed a would be tackler and just simply flicked them to the ground. Without a doubt, he has to have one of the meanest stiff arms on the team, which is something one typically doesn’t say about a wide receiver.
Hopefully, Coach Petrino can continue to find ways to get Seth the ball, as he has shown that great things happen when he gets the opportunity.
Like Reed, Johnson is a guy who got a solid chunk of playing time as a true freshman last season. To me this means that both of these guys are very talented, because the Cards had the depth at wide receiver to put other guys in but the coaches felt that these two guys were too talented to sit.
When he did get his chance last season, Johnson had a few catches and in his limited playing time showed a great ability to run after the catch. Johnson reminds me a little bit of Traveon Samuel in his ability to find the open spot in the defense and exploit it.
If Dez needs a breather out of the slot or if the Cards go to the spread I would not be the least bit surprised to see Johnson as the fourth guy out there. He’s a very talented athlete with the speed to make game changing plays.
2. Most Likely to Challenge
To me, this is where it gets really interesting. Louisville has so much depth that aside from the 3 players listed above, it’s pretty much a mystery how the rest of the depth chart will shake out. It’s never a bad thing however to have too much depth.
Here’s my best crack at the rest of the depth chart:
Reed is a guy who burned up what would have been his redshirt year last season. He played sparingly throughout the season but physically looked the part and played the part when he got his opportunities.
He’s a pretty big receiver and showed the ability last year to create a little bit of separation and get upfield after the catch.
If coach Petrino and staff felt like Reed was talented enough to play as a true freshman, then I see no reason why Reed have a breakout sophomore season for the Cards.
Unlike the other two guys listed above, Justin Marshall used a redshirt year last year. This isn’t to say at all that he’s not as talented as the other two, because I think he has the potential to be a great player for the Cards in the next year or two.
Just seeing Marshall in person, the kid physically looks like he should be playing on Sundays. I remember watching his highlight tape when he committed and loving how physical and how smart of a football player he was.
If Seth of Jaylen happen to go down or just need a series or two off, I think Justin may be the next guy up along with Corey Reed listed above. I’m looking forward to watching Justin get some game experience this year and I’m excited about his potential.
Other Names to Know
As I said above, with the Cards being so deep at wide receiver this season it’s tough to figure out what the depth chart outside of the starters will look like. These next couple of guys are all very talented athletes and could just as easily replace the guys who I listed as my guesses to be second on the depth chart.
During last spring, there was a lot of excitement and buzz surrounding this receiver. He was flying around and making plays on the ball and looked as if he had filled out a little bit of that 6 foot 6 frame.
All of that came to a screeching halt however when Peete unfortunately tore his ACL during practice. It always sucks when a player is injured, but it’s even worse when a guys has been working his tail off to be in a good position.
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If Devante was working hard enough to put himself in a position to get significant playing time before the injury last season, then I’m sure he’s working just as hard to get himself back to 100 percent and into the conversation of who should be getting more playing time.
As a freshman, Peete impressed early with a few really impressive catches and even caught a touchdown on the road at NC State. Although he didn’t get many reps at receiver as a sophomore, he was the special teams captain and even blocked a punt. To me this shows that he’s a very hard worker and looks to excel in whatever role he’s placed into.
Hopefully Devante can stay healthy and get back onto the field this season for the Cards.
This may come as a surprise to some, but to me I think Wakefield has a solid chance at seeing some playing time this season for the Cards.
Coming out of Male High School, Wakefield led his team to a state championship and did so in electric fashion. He was incredible to watch anytime he got the ball in his hands whether it was on a punt return or just a normal reception.
He’s awesome with the ball in his hands and showed a great ability to run after the catch, something which I definitely think will translate to the college game. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Bobby throw him in as a return man of some sort just to try to get the ball in hands.
While he may be a true freshman, Bobby made it a point in the spring game to get the ball into his hands.
He’s been described by many as the fastest guy on the field and he certainly has a high football IQ after starting four years at quarterback in high school.
I definitely expect Atwell to see the field at some point this season, and I wouldn’t be shocked if a play was drew up to have Atwell throwing the ball.
He’s a guy who is fun to watch and I’m excited to get to see him in a Cardinals uniform.
Expectations
As I said before, this group is easily one of the deepest on the team, if not in the country. I’m looking for all of this depth to make guys truly push each other in practice and make them work for all the playing time that they get. If this is the case, then I fully expect the Cardinals’ wide receivers to have yet another great season.
Another thing that I’m looking for out of this group is some leadership. With two-time team captain Devante Peete returning from injury and senior Jaylen Smith poised for a great senior season, I’d expect that the Cards will have no trouble finding someone to assume leadership on offense while Puma gets adjusted to being the starting quarterback. I’m excited for what looks to be a great season for the Louisville wide receivers.