Eric Morris Singles Out a Pair of Freshmen Who Have Stepped Up in OSU’s Wide Receiver Group

STILLWATER — When asked to name younger guys who surprised him this spring, Eric Morris’ immediately went to what might be the deepest position on the roster.

“We’ve had a couple guys step up in the receiver room,” Morris said. “It’s been good to see (Matrail) Lopez out there and made some plays for us. Kam (Powell) has been and made some plays for us. A couple of the holdover guys.”

This isn’t the first time Lopez has earned the praise of his head coach. Former interim Doug Meacham singled him out as a guy who impressed in the offseason before a hand injury derailed him.

Meacham expected Lopez, a freshman with more than 1,500 all-purpose yards during his senior year at Idabel, to make a late-season impact. Instead, he saw extremely limited action in two games and failed to record any stats.

Still, the fact that two different head coaches have mentioned him somewhat out of the blue seems noteworthy.

Powell saw the field in four games last season while helping out with special teams. He finished each of his final two seasons at McKinney North (located around Dallas) with 650-plus yards and at least seven touchdowns.

According to 247Sports, North Texas did offer him, so it’s not a surprise the new coaching staff is excited about his development.

“Man, constant improvement, excitement,” OSU receivers coach Nick Edwards said when asked about Lopez and Powell. “It’s been beautiful to see both of those guys. And you know, as Matrail starts to continue to learn the playbook, like he flashes like Oooh, okay. But Kam has done a phenomenal job so far, catching the ball, making tough catches, being big, strong, really good with the release package, being super coachable. I’m really, really excited about Kam and his future here.”

Neither guy has been seen with the first or second string offensive unit so far this spring, which suggests they might have a tough time seeing the field in the first half of the season. This could make them prime breakout candidates down the stretch, as football typically provides others opportunities to shine as the grind of the season catches up with day one starters and their immediate backups.

When asked about the depth at receiver, Edwards acknowledged there are a lot of good choices in the room.

“That’s why the competition is real,” he said. “The guys can kind of see, like, how good our room is. And so, like, now, just, you know, those guys are trying to learn the playbook, learn the technique in there, and they’re still competing at it. And this fall be a great job for all of them to be able to, like, okay, like, this is time that I can separate when practice are back-to-back-to-back, who can stay healthy, who can catch it, who can go ahead and play when they’re mentally tired and all those type of things.”