USC named ESPN's 'WRU'

The highly anticipated ESPN Position U rankings – which allow fanbases to argue for hours about their respective units – are back. This year, ESPN’s David Hale has pegged Southern California as Wide Receiver U. 

How do the Position U rankings work?

Of course, there is not a formal process for determining which university dominates year after year at any given position. But the ESPN team put together a few metrics to quantify which schools consistently produce players of a position at the highest level. 

“Our formula awards points for all-conference and All-America selections, rewarding the best college performers,” Hale wrote. “It awards points on a sliding scale based on where a player is drafted, rewarding impressive NFL evaluations.”

NFL success is included in the methodology but only in a player’s first five years in the NFL. After those initial seasons, the credit for NFL achievements goes to their coaches and trainers at that level. Lastly, if a player transfers, the last school they attended benefits from their NFL accomplishments. 

WRU’s Mount Rushmore is…

Since 2000, 17 Trojan wide receivers have been drafted, including 10 in one of the first two rounds. First-round selections include R. Jay Soward (2000), Mike Williams (2005) and Nelson Agholor (2015). 

For this year’s rendition, Hale added a Mount Rushmore for every position unit. USC’s WR greats on the list are Williams, Dwayne Jarrett, Marquise Lee and Keyshawn Johnson. 

• Mike Williams (2002-03)

In just two years, Williams had 176 receptions, 2,579 receiving yards and 30 touchdowns. The 10th overall pick in the 2005 NFL Draft played for four teams in the NFL in five seasons.

• Dwayne Jarrett (2004-06)

Jarrett had 41 total touchdowns for the Trojans in three years, nine more than second-place Robert Woods. Jarrett’s NFL career was underwhelming, as he played four seasons with the Carolina Panthers and had 428 receiving yards and one touchdown. 

• Marquise Lee (2011-13)

Lee leads the squad in college receiving yardage with a USC-record 3,655 total yards from 2011-2013. He is the only USC receiver to win the Biletnikoff Award since its creation in 1994. Lee spent five years with the Jaguars and caught eight touchdown passes.

• Keyshawn Johnson (1994-95)

A two-year player like Williams, Johnson was the first-overall pick in the 1996 NFL Draft. He is one of five USC players to be taken first overall, and he is the only wide receiver. He caught 168 passes for 2,796 yards and 16 touchdowns in a Trojan uniform. Johnson had the best NFL career of the Mount Rushmore members, with 10,571 yards and 64 touchdowns in 11 seasons.

Notable wide receivers not mentioned: Michael Pittman, JuJu Smith-Schuster and Steve Smith, among others.

The most recent USC WR to go pro was Amon-Ra St. Brown. The Detroit Lions drafted St. Brown in the fourth round of the 2021 NFL Draft.

The high-level-wide-receiver-to-USC pipeline shows no signs of slowing down, especially since OC Graham Harrell is implementing the air-raid offense. On the recruiting trail, USC signed homegrown product Kyron Ware-Hudson out of Mater Dei in their 2021 class. Ware-Hudson is a consensus four-star recruit that could be the next big wide receiver product out of USC.

Other WRU contenders?

LSU checked in at #2 in Hale’s rankings, while Oklahoma is #3. Alabama jumped from the eighth spot last year to #4 this year thanks in large part to Heisman Trophy winner DeVonta Smith. Hale notes that with John Metchie and three blue-chip recruits coming in the 2021 class, Alabama could pass any of these three squads to take the WRU title in the coming years.

Image courtesy of Al Seib/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images