Projecting Tylan Wallace’s Success Based on His Historically Great Start

On Saturday, during a game of offensive outbursts, OSU’s top receiver was somewhat lost in the pack, despite making a little history.

Taylor Cornelius had his best collegiate outing allowing Jalen McCleskey and Dillon Stoner’s proxy, Landon Wolf, to look the part of super slot receiver. Oh yeah, and Justice Hill had the second-highest rushing performance of his career.

But Tylan Wallace extended his streak of 100-plus yard receiving games to four. The only other Cowboy underclassman to do that was Justin Blackmon in 2010, the first time he won the Biletnikoff Award.

Wallace’s accolades and obvious talent started the discussion on Monday’s Pistols Firing Podcast as to how the true sophomore’s career might play out. He was mentioned with the likes OSU’s consensus all-time receivers like Justin Blackmon, James Washington, Dez Bryant and Rashaun Woods.

So I thought it apt to take a look at the start of Wallace’s sophomore year juxtaposed with that of the best to ever high-point a ball at OSU.

Note: Kyle and Carson’s discussion also included Hart Lee Dykes, but because the numbers aren’t comparable (or readily available on a per game basis), we’ll stick with modern era receivers only. For what it’s worth, Dykes’ entire sophomore campaign totaled 814 yards on 60 catches and seven touchdowns.

First 5 Sophomore Games

Justin Blackmon’s career production is likely out of reach. The combination of being featured in a truly elite offense, with an elite quarterback — on top of being an absolute freak — created a perfect storm. Blackmon’s sophomore year in question marks the best ever at OSU and the No. 3 in Big 12 history. He racked up a ridiculous 1,782 yards (in 12 games), with an average of 148.5 per game.

If we inserted his per-game average in the slot for that missed Manhattan trip when he was grounded, Blackmon would be within 32 yards of Michael Crabtree’s preposterous Big 12 record 1,962-yard season as a freshman.

Next up is Dez. His sophomore start was almost as impressive mainly because it include a zero-catch game against Missouri State. A week after his 236-yard, three-TD coming out party against Houston, Bryant dropped the only pass Zac Robinson threw his way. In those other four outings he averaged 137.5 yards per game. Wallace is averaging 109.2 so far this year.

Rashaun Woods held the title of OSU’s all-time leading receiver for about 15 years before being relegated to No. 2 by last year’s Biletnikoff winner. Woods, like many on this list, was just starting to see his star rise in Year 2.

As a freshman (and hampered by Bob Simmons’ final offense), Woods’ 329 receiving yards ranked third on the team behind Gabe Lindsay (just 359 yards) and Jamaal Fobbs (334). Dru Brown’s replacement at Hawaii has as many passing yards through six games as that OSU squad had all year in 2000. 

James Washington had three straight 100-yard receiving outings as a sophomore but that stretch didn’t begin until Week 7 in 2015. He was an obvious gamer but his big numbers didn’t come consistently until later in the year.

Wallace’s early numbers are impressive but his impact is emblazoned on the field. His ability to make play after play, despite his well-circulated scouting report as Cornelius’ No. 1 target, is remarkable.

It’s also worth noting that the other four wideouts listed posted these numbers off of the arms of the some of OSU’s all-time QBs. No offense to Taylor Cornelius but few would put on the same level with the likes of Weeden, Robinson, Rudolph or even Fields.

Whether or not Wallace climbs the record books or becomes one of OSU’s all-time greats remains to be seen, but he’s got plenty of potential and he’s already off to a pretty good start.