Trojans boast top receiving corps

For the second year in a row, USC is the recipient of the Athlon Award for pass-catchers. Headlining the group is big, athletic Dwayne Jarrett, who last year caught 91 passes for 1,274 yards and a school-record-tying 16 touchdowns after breaking onto the national scene with a 55-catch, 13-touchdown freshman campaign in 2004. After his performance last season, Jarrett was a unanimous first-team All-American. Lining up on the other end of the formation from Jarrett is senior Steve Smith, who averaged 16 yards per catch on 60 pass receptions and carries a career average of 16.3 yards with 13 touchdowns. Patrick Turner, like Jarrett, is 6'5" and freakishly good. He managed 12 catches with a pair of scores last fall despite the logjam at the top of the depth chart, and should make it a three-man rotation in 2006. Tight end Fred Davis is primed for a breakout.

2. Texas Tech

The wide receiver position on the 2005 All-Big 12 team consisted basically of the Texas Tech receiving corps and Iowa State’s Todd Blythe. Red Raiders Jarrett Hicks and Joel Filani are both first-team all-conference returnees. They caught 65 passes each with 18 touchdown grabs between them. Inside receiver Danny Amendola, who also returns punts for the Red Raiders, was honorable mention All-Big 12. Robert Johnson, a former junior college All-America quarterback, celebrated his transition to wide receiver with 67 catches, four scores and a 14.2-yard average, and was named 2005 Big 12 Newcomer of the Year.

3. Iowa State

The Cyclones are loaded in the receiving corps with Todd Blythe leading the way. Blythe enters his junior season with 90 career receptions for 1,833 yards (a per-catch average of 20.4 yards) and a school record 18 touchdowns. Last fall Blythe caught 51 balls for 1,000 yards and landed on the All-Big 12 first team. His 19.6-yard average in 2005 ranks him first among all qualifying returnees nationally in that category. In his first year after switching from quarterback, Austin Flynn led the Cyclones with 56 receptions, and he’s back along with Blythe. So is Jon Davis, after a 41-catch campaign in ’05. The group is augmented by two proven tight ends, with Ben Barkema and Walter Nickel both returning after combining for 38 catches with four TDs in 2005.

4. Notre Dame

Last year, Notre Dame trotted out not one but two 1,000-yard receivers — Jeff Samardzija and Maurice Stovall. Stovall is now playing in the NFL. Samardzija, who tied a 35-year-old school record with 77 catches for new records of 1,249 yards and 15 touchdowns, is back for 2006. He averaged 16.2 yards per reception, makes the spectacular catch look routine and was a consensus All-American. Taking Stovall’s place opposite the Shark will be Rhema McKnight, who missed most of last season after leading the Irish in receiving in 2003 and 2004. Those two seasons, McKnight averaged 13.6 yards on 89 receptions with six touchdown grabs. Marcus Freeman, John Carlson and heralded freshman Konrad Reuland comprise a first-rate pass-catching tight end corps.

5. Clemson

Clemson’s Chansi Stuckey is the top returning receiver in the Atlantic Coast Conference after leading the league in receptions per game in 2005 with 5.33, exceeding even Georgia Tech’s Calvin Johnson’s total. Stuckey caught 64 passes, four for scores, and was first-team All-ACC. He also handles punt return duties for the Tigers — he scored the only touchdown of the game for Clemson on a runback in the season opener against Texas A&M. Also returning is Aaron Kelly, the ACC’s top freshman receiver in 2005 with 47 catches, the second-most pass receptions by a freshman in school history. Stuckey has caught at least one pass in each of the 21 games he has played; Kelly caught at least two passes in each game last fall.

6. LSU
7. Florida State
8. Nevada
9. Michigan
10. Hawaii

6th Annual Athlon Awards
Quarterbacks – Published Thursday, June 29, 2006
Running Backs – Published Friday, June 30, 2006
Receivers – Published Saturday, July 1, 2006
Offensive Line – Published Monday, July 3, 2006
Defensive Line – Published Tuesday, July 4, 2006
Linebackers – Published Wednesday, July 5, 2006
Defensive Backs – Published Thursday, July 6, 2006