Ranking the Big Ten: Wide Receiver
As the 2024 college football season quickly approaches, it is time to look at the top players in the Big Ten Conference.
We continue our Ranking the Big Ten series by ranking the top five returning wide receivers in the conference. Four of the five players listed transferred into the Big Ten within the last year and a half.
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1. Emeka Egbuka, Ohio State
Despite a step back in production from 2022 to 2023, Emeka Egbuka projects as the Big Ten’s top returning wideout for the 2024 season.
The 6-foot-1, 205-pound native of Steilacoom, Washington, enters his senior season 1,041 yards shy of the Ohio State career yardage record (2,898) held by Michael Jenkins. He’s also just 78 catches short of K.J. Hill’s career receptions record with the Buckeyes (201).
In 2022, Egbuka finished ninth nationally with 1,151 receiving yards on 74 catches. Of those snags, 10 went for touchdowns. The 2023 campaign featured three fewer games for Egbuka and only 515 receiving yards and four scores.
Egbuka is one of two returning wideouts among Ohio State’s top five producers from last season. The other is now sophomore Carnell Tate. With a degree in hand, a return to 2022’s All-Big Ten Second-Team form will be front of mind for Egbuka. Pro Football Focus ranks him among its top 10 wide receivers to know ahead of the 2025 NFL Draft.
2. Tez Johnson, Oregon
Tez Johnson is the quintessential example of a transfer-portal success story.
As a sophomore at Troy in 2022, he was an All-Sun Belt honorable mention by both the league’s coaches and media. Johnson earned the same honors in 2023 from Pac-12 coaches. The most intriguing change came in a significant boost in his numbers. After logging 863 receiving yards and four touchdowns in his final season with the Trojans, Johnson caught 86 passes for 1,182 yards and 10 touchdowns with the Ducks.
The first number marked a single-season Oregon record, while the second was the third-highest single-season yardage total in program history. Meanwhile, his yardage total ranked fourth in the Pac-12 and No. 12 nationally. Only 10 other players eclipsed over 1,000 receiving yards and double-digit touchdowns last year.
Johnson accomplished all of that as the team’s No. 2 wideout. Troy Franklin posted a team-high 1,383 receiving yards with 14 touchdowns. He’s now with the Denver Broncos and former Ducks quarterback Bo Nix.
Add sixth-year senior quarterback and unanimous 2023 First-Team All-Big 12 selection Dillon Gabriel into the mix, and it seems everything is lining up for Johnson to put together another incredible season in 2024.
3. Will Pauling, Wisconsin
Will Pauling followed Luke Fickell to Wisconsin and made an immediate impact in 2023. He led the Badgers in receiving yards (837), catches (74), and touchdowns (six) just one year removed from a 12-catch, 122-yard redshirt freshman season at Cincinnati.
Perhaps most impressive, his ability as a third-down release valve was among the country’s best. He made 27 grabs on third down last year, which ranked third in the nation and led the Big Ten. Pauling topped the Division-I leaderboard with 22 converting catches on third down.
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His 74 catches ranked fifth all-time for a single season at Wisconsin, while his yardage total was 14th-best.
Badger fans hope Pauling’s 143-yard, two-touchdown showing in the ReliaQuest Bowl against LSU on New Year’s Day is a sign of what’s to come this year.
4. Jahmal Banks, Nebraska
For a fourth consecutive season, Nebraska’s likely receiving leader will come out of the transfer portal. Jahmal Banks is a strong candidate for that role in 2024.
Through four seasons with Wake Forest, Banks amassed over 100 catches and 1,400 receiving yards. He started 10 games for the Demon Deacons last season and hauled in 59 passes for 653 yards and four touchdowns. The year prior he earned honorable-mention All-ACC recognition after tallying 42 catches for 636 yards and nine scores.
He was at his best in big games during the 2022 campaign. He logged multi-touchdown games against Liberty and Boston College, as well as a career-high 141 yards and two touchdowns against No. 5 Clemson. Banks totaled seven games with over 50 receiving yards in 2023.
At 6-foot-4 and 205 pounds, the Washington, D.C., native gives the Huskers an impressive weapon on the outside that can battle the physicality of the Big Ten.
5. J. Michael Sturdivant, UCLA
With one year at UCLA under his belt, J. Michael Sturdivant is ready to take his game to the next level in 2024. Last season, the Cal transfer started 10 of his team’s 13 games and made a catch in each contest. Sturdivant will begin this season in the midst of a streak of 25 consecutive games with a reception.
The 6-foot-3, 205-pound redshirt junior caught 36 passes for 597 yards and four touchdowns last year. During the 2022 season at Cal, he earned first-team Freshman All-American honors from The Athletic, College Football News, and the Football Writers Association of America. That came after Sturdivant recorded 65 receptions for 755 yards and seven touchdowns as a redshirt freshman.
Sturdivant is UCLA’s top returning receiver in receptions, yards, and touchdowns.
