Position Preview: OSU’s Wide Receivers Group is Deep … Again

After  a week off for Big 12 Media Days, our position preview series is back.

This week we’ll take a look at a position that has historically been a strength for Oklahoma State (and it looks no different this year): wide receiver.

QB Preview
RB Preview

The WR Room:

In every sense of the word, Kasey Dunn’s 2019 receiving corps. is stacked. Jump-ball threats? Got ’em. Speed guys? Yeah, they’re here too. Need a do-it-all superstar? I present to you Tylan Wallace. There is rebuilding and reloading, and then there is what Dunn has been able to do year after year.

Landon Wolf (R-Jr.): A former walk-on, Landon Wolf burst onto the scene in 2018 after Jalen McCleskey’s transfer. The East Central High (Tulsa) product finished the season with 262 yards and two touchdowns off 33 receptions. His best game came on the road against Kansas, where he had six catches for 116 yards and a score.

Tylan Wallace (Jr.): Tylan Wallace was a first-team All-American and a Biletnikoff finalist as a sophomore in 2018. Wallace had more than 100 receiving yards in seven of OSU’s games last year, and he eclipsed 200 yards against Texas and Oklahoma. He finished the season with 1,491 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns.

Dillon Stoner (R-Jr.): The Cowboys’ most experienced pass-catcher, Dillon Stoner enters his fourth year at OSU after receiving a medical redshirt in 2016. Stoner has 97 career catches, 1,206 yards and eight receiving touchdowns. He had a career game against West Virginia in 2018, catching a career-high nine passes for a career-high 127 yards.

Braydon Johnson (R-So.): Braydon Johnson seems primed for a breakout sooner rather than later. Johnson’s speed has become something of legend, with some saying it rivals that of Chuba Hubbard’s. At Bowie High School (Texas), Johnson had 1,261 all-purpose yards as a senior. He was also a part of Bowie’s state championship-winning track team.

Tyrell Alexander (R-Jr.): Tyrell Alexander started his OSU career as a wide receiver in 2017, but in 2018, he switched from corner and back to receiver. He starts the 2019 season as a receiver. Alexander didn’t record any stats last season, but he did play in every game, mainly with special teams. He has two career receptions, both coming in 2017, one of which was for 56 yards against Kansas.

Jordan McCray (R-Sr.): A transfer from South Alabama, Jordan McCray caught three balls in Boone Pickens Stadium last season for the away team. At 6-foot-6, he provides a big target for whoever is throwing the ball this season. McCray also provides some experience, having played in 34 games, where he has 650 receiving yards and five touchdowns.

Jonathan Shepherd (R-Fr.): Jonathan Shepherd played in the Cowboys’ season opener against Missouri State in 2018 before redshirting. At Kilgore High School, he was a standout in football and in track, winning a 4A state championship in the 4×200-meter relay.

Gabe Simpson (R-Fr.): Gabe Simpson walked onto the OSU football team last fall and the basketball team in the winter. He didn’t play in any football games last season, but he did play in two Big 12 basketball games.

Taje Williams (R-Sr.): Starting his second season in Stillwater, Taje Williams came to OSU from Blinn Junior College. He didn’t get in any games in 2018. His father, Kevin, played at OSU from 1993-97 before playing with the Jets, Dolphins and Texans in an NFL career that spanned from 1998 to 2002.

C.J. Moore (R-Fr.): C.J. Moore was an exciting prospect out of Union High School, and in the Cowboys’ open spring practice, he showed his potential with some ridiculous one-on-one grabs. Moore made an appearance in the Liberty Bowl, but didn’t record any stats. As a junior in high school, Moore caught three touchdown passes in Union’s state championship victory against Norman North. A former four-star prospect, Moore chose to stay in state, turning down offers from Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, Ohio State, Oregon and a ton of other programs.

Jacob Morris (R-Fr.): A walk-on, Jacob Morris is in his second year with the program out of Newcastle. He is listed at 5-foot-9, 169 pounds.

Cade Cavender (Fr.): Cade Cavendar is one of the most recent players to come to OSU from the Bixby High School pipeline. He is a walk-on listed at 5-foot-11, 180 pounds.

Patrick McKaufman (R-Jr.): Patrick McKaufman was expected to make an impact on OSU’s 2018 squad before blowing out his knee in fall camp. He hasn’t played wide receiver too long, having transitioned from quarterback in 2016 at NEO. As a freshman at the JUCO level, McKaufman had 125 receiving yards in limited work. He also brings some ridiculous size at 6-foot-6, 200 pounds.

Dreyson Watters (Fr.): A walk-on, Dreyson Watters comes to OSU from Jenks. He is listed at 5-foot-10, 171 pounds.

Langston Anderson (Fr.): A top-100 prospect in the 2019 class, Langston Anderson could be the next in a long line of excellent OSU receivers. As a senior at Midlothian-Heritage (Texas), Anderson caught 63 passes for 1,120 yards and 18 touchdowns. He chose OSU over offers from Arizona State, Ole Miss, Texas, Auburn and plenty of others.

2019 Expectations

This group will be excellent again in 2019.

It seems like an ideal situation for a new quarterback to step into with all of the tools at his disposal. It’ll be interesting to see if Tylan Wallace can match or surpass his numbers from a season ago with a new quarterback and defenses keying on him from the start.

Another point of interest is who replaces Tyron Johnson on the opposite side of the field as Wallace, but OSU has a lot of options. Maybe it’s Dillon Stoner moving out from the slot, or maybe it’s Patrick McKaufman, C.J. Moore, Jordan McCray or Jonathan Shepherd sliding in.

Position Strengths

As mentioned above, the group isn’t only deep; it’s also versatile.

There are guys that fit seemingly every prototype of wide receiver. Yes, Tylan Wallace will likely get a lot of the attention again this season, but there will be times where Dillon Stoner’s sure hands, Patrick McKaufman’s size or Braydon Johnson’s speed come in handy.

It’s a position where the Cowboys consistently get top recruits. The Cowboys have gotten a four-star wide receiver in their past three recruiting classes, so in many ways, the players themselves are the unit’s strengths.

Position Weaknesses

The only question mark I see for the group is who throws them the ball. But even then, Spencer Sanders and Dru Brown seem capable of getting the rock to this group of playmakers.