No shortage of quality receivers for Quinn Ewers in 2024
The Longhorns wide receiver room saw a lot of turnover after the 2023 season. Both Xavier Worthy and Adonai Mitchell declared for the NFL draft after stellar seasons. Jordan Whittington used every last bit of his eligibility. But the addition of Houston transfer Matthew Golden and the Sunday news of Isaiah Bond committing to Texas, along with the return of former five-star Johntay Cook, means that Longhorns quarterback Quinn Ewers will once again have no shortage of quality targets during his third season in Austin.
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The receiver production that’s leaving the Forty Acres is significant. Worthy put together a season reminiscent of his 2021 campaign, catching 75 balls for 1014 yards and five touchdowns. He finishes his career fourth in school history in receiving yards with 2755 and third in touchdown receptions with 26. Mitchell hauled in 55 passes for 845 yards and 11 touchdowns, including clutch scores in the Big 12 Championship and Sugar Bowl. Whittington hauled in 42 catches for 505 yards and a score and won that conference title he came back to Texas for.
But the talent Texas has available in 2024 for its first season in the SEC is significant as well. Bond was Crimson Tide quarterback Jalen Milroe‘s top target in 2023 with a team leading 48 catches. He posted 668 yards and four touchdowns on those receptions, cementing himself as one of the better wide receivers in the SEC.
Bond joins Golden, another high-profile transfer in Chris Jackson‘s receiver room. Golden spent the last two years at Houston, where he tallied 76 catches for 988 yards and 13 touchdowns. Against the Longhorns this past season, Golden hauled in seven receptions for 88 yards and two touchdowns.
Those two are set to join Cook, who saw action as the fourth wide receiver in Steve Sarkisian‘s offense during his freshman season. Cook, who was the No. 31 overall prospect in the 2023 On3 Industry Ranking, caught eight passes for 136 yards in 2023.
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Will that trio threaten defenses the same way Worthy, Mitchell, and Whittington did? Considering those three will be on a NFL roster this year and Worthy and Mitchell are early round picks, it’s difficult to say Golden, Cook, and Bond will match their production.
Plus, Ja’Tavion Sanders is gone too. While Gunnar Helm is a quality tight end, and while portal options could materialize for Jeff Banks, it’ll be hard to replicate what No. 0 did for the Longhorn offense in 2023.
That said, Ewers won’t be without great pass-catching options for what portends to be his final season in Austin. And outside of those three, Texas is also bringing in five-star wide receiver Ryan Wingo and still has interest in Oregon State transfer Silas Bolden.
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Thanks to Worthy, Mitchell, and Whittington, the Longhorns had a strong pitch to offer to portal wideouts and high school recruits at the receiver position. Sarkisian and company used the efforts of those three to set Ewers and the new Longhorn receiver corps up for a successful debut season in the SEC.
