Iowa State has the highest-ranked wide receiver in the country
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The 2024 Big 12 football championship game was setting up to be a showcase for three of the best wide receivers in the country: Iowa State's Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel, and Arizona State's Jordyn Tyson.
Tyson's season-ending shoulder injury vs. Arizona derailed that possiblity, but the rest of the nation will still get a look at the Cyclones' dynamic duo.
How good are Higgins and Noel? They both finished in the top 20 in the country in receiving yards — Higgins with 1,068 and Noel with 1,013 — and both will be playing in the NFL next season.
Higgins, a big target at 6-foot-4 and 215 pounds, operates primarily on the boundary and will be a challenge for starting ASU cornerbacks Javan Robinson and Keith Abney to contain. Higgins was recently named the highest-graded wide receiver in the country by PFF.
"Jayden Higgins is the latest Iowa State receiver to make a name for himself, as he is leading the country in receiving grade with a 90.1. He and Jaylin Noel have meant everything to this offense as they each share a third of the team’s total receiving yards."
Noel, who is 5-foot-11, is primarily a slot receiver. He hauled in 67 catches this season and averaged 15.1 yards per reception. Noel has been held without explosive plays the last three games, which will be a focus for ASU's defense. Safeties Myles Rowser and Xavien Alford will have to be locked in on Noel and take the right tackling and coverage angles.
Higgins' longest reception on the season is 39 yards, and he averaged 13.4 yards per catch. His size is an issue for ASU, but the Sun Devils successfully defended — and bracketed — 6-foot-5 Arizona receiver Tetairoa McMillan last weekend.
We'll see how the matchups play out on Saturday morning. The Big 12 football championship between Arizona State (10-2) and Iowa State (10-2) is scheduled to kick off at 10 a.m. MST on ABC.
More Arizona State & Big 12 Analysis
-66e6aeb5014b4c4eeac84ca997f034c9.jpg "Ben Sherman")
Ben Sherman has been covering the sports world for most of his 27-year journalism career, including 17 years with The Oregonian/OregonLive. A basketball junkie, March Madness is his favorite time of the year.
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