There simply is not enough room in one post to cover all of the receivers, so this group was split into two sections. The first group consisted of Brandon Sheperd, James Washington, David Glidden, Jhajuan Seales, Austin Hays, and Marcel Ateman. All of the players in the first group have produced significant catch numbers to date in their OSU careers. The second group focusses on players that may still be a bit unknown to casual OSU observers.
Keenen Brown--Watch out for the redshirt freshman when he enters the game this year. There are a handful of routes where he could be a focus of attention as the coaches try to feed him the ball in one on one situations. The move to inside receiver should create many mismatches for him, especially against man to man coverages. Should defenses try to man cover him with a nickel back, he will abuse them with his size. Should they stay with a bigger safety/linebacker hybrid, he will beat them with speed. Keenen probably has the best overall upside of any receiver on campus, but he is quite a ways from closing in on his ceiling as a player needing to get sharper in and out of his breaks and identifying where to settle in against different types of zones. Those things are going to improve throughout the season. He may not get consistent snaps this year (particularly early as he recovers from his ankle injury), but he should emerge to play a few key roles, and his future is very bright.
Kameron Doolittle--The former walkon from Edmond will provide depth at IR. He is a physical player with good hands that will do whatever is asked of him in the offense. Kameron is one of those players who just shows up in every practice and scrimmage making plays. There is nothing flashy about him or athletically superior. He is simply a football player that plays much better than he tests. Expect him to play a key role on special teams and when given his opportunities on the field to do what he does every day in practice, be in the right spot to make the correct play. In seasons where the Cowboys did not have the type of depth that is present today, he would play significantly more snaps.
Jalen McCleskey--The true freshman out of Louisiana has arguably the quickest feet of any player on the roster. The coaches knew that he had the desired speed and quickness to play at this level, but they have been pleasantly surprised with his route running discipline and toughness that belies his stature. When he gets the ball in space, he is a homerun threat. He has the lateral agility and quickness to make people miss and the straight line speed to beat pursuit angles. As he continues to learn about how the offense wants to attack zone coverages, he is going to create a lot of headaches for opposing defensive coordinators. The Cowboys have not had a player quite like him in a long time. He is faster and slighter than Gabe Lindsay. The closest might be a young Rafael Denson.
Chris Lacy--The sophomore from DeSoto is exactly the type of big bodied receiver that is desired to be able to seal the edge and attack man coverage on the outside. Chris may have to bide his time a bit as he is stuck behind a few really talented outside receivers. He definitely has the ability to contribute, but those opportunities may not be as plentiful this year as they will be in the future.
C.J. Curry--The redshirt junior from Georgia has all of the physical traits that are needed to be a good receiver, but he is not quite as explosive as some of his teammates, and as a result does not get as much separation at the top of his routes. He simply isn't open as often, even in practice. He is a very physical presence on the field and will get playing time as a result both in special teams and on offense.
Cole Neph--The redshirt freshman is a high quality walkon that will help provide great scout team looks, but has the ability to project as a contributor before his career is done at OSU.
Keenen Brown--Watch out for the redshirt freshman when he enters the game this year. There are a handful of routes where he could be a focus of attention as the coaches try to feed him the ball in one on one situations. The move to inside receiver should create many mismatches for him, especially against man to man coverages. Should defenses try to man cover him with a nickel back, he will abuse them with his size. Should they stay with a bigger safety/linebacker hybrid, he will beat them with speed. Keenen probably has the best overall upside of any receiver on campus, but he is quite a ways from closing in on his ceiling as a player needing to get sharper in and out of his breaks and identifying where to settle in against different types of zones. Those things are going to improve throughout the season. He may not get consistent snaps this year (particularly early as he recovers from his ankle injury), but he should emerge to play a few key roles, and his future is very bright.
Kameron Doolittle--The former walkon from Edmond will provide depth at IR. He is a physical player with good hands that will do whatever is asked of him in the offense. Kameron is one of those players who just shows up in every practice and scrimmage making plays. There is nothing flashy about him or athletically superior. He is simply a football player that plays much better than he tests. Expect him to play a key role on special teams and when given his opportunities on the field to do what he does every day in practice, be in the right spot to make the correct play. In seasons where the Cowboys did not have the type of depth that is present today, he would play significantly more snaps.
Jalen McCleskey--The true freshman out of Louisiana has arguably the quickest feet of any player on the roster. The coaches knew that he had the desired speed and quickness to play at this level, but they have been pleasantly surprised with his route running discipline and toughness that belies his stature. When he gets the ball in space, he is a homerun threat. He has the lateral agility and quickness to make people miss and the straight line speed to beat pursuit angles. As he continues to learn about how the offense wants to attack zone coverages, he is going to create a lot of headaches for opposing defensive coordinators. The Cowboys have not had a player quite like him in a long time. He is faster and slighter than Gabe Lindsay. The closest might be a young Rafael Denson.
Chris Lacy--The sophomore from DeSoto is exactly the type of big bodied receiver that is desired to be able to seal the edge and attack man coverage on the outside. Chris may have to bide his time a bit as he is stuck behind a few really talented outside receivers. He definitely has the ability to contribute, but those opportunities may not be as plentiful this year as they will be in the future.
C.J. Curry--The redshirt junior from Georgia has all of the physical traits that are needed to be a good receiver, but he is not quite as explosive as some of his teammates, and as a result does not get as much separation at the top of his routes. He simply isn't open as often, even in practice. He is a very physical presence on the field and will get playing time as a result both in special teams and on offense.
Cole Neph--The redshirt freshman is a high quality walkon that will help provide great scout team looks, but has the ability to project as a contributor before his career is done at OSU.
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