Georgia Tech Still Needs a Top Guy to Emerge in the Wide Receiver Room

Who will be the top guy to emerge at the wide receiver position for Georgia Tech?

Author:
Jackson Caudell
Publish date:
Aug 25, 2022 7:48 PM EDT

In this story:

Georgia Tech is hoping to have a revamped passing attack in 2022, but for that to happen, they are going to need a top target to emerge at the wide receiver position.

There has been consistent praise from the coaching staff about how much better Jeff Sims has gotten this offseason, but there have been questions about the wide receivers. When speaking with the media on Wednesday, offensive coordinator Chip Long said they will just have to ride with the hot hand for now at the position.

"It is kind of like the offensive line, we are going to go with the hot hand. You know, if I can get three guys at our boundary that can give me 15 snaps and that is as far as they can go, then that is what they will do. I need an alpha to emerge in that group. Nate McCollum has probably been the most consistent of all of them. It is going to be play by committee there. Just figure out as the game goes on, who has the hot hand. A lot of guys are going to play and the ones that play the most are the ones making plays and not being disruptive out there. There is a lot of work to do there, Coach (Del) Alexander is doing a great job with what he has, but we need some guys to step up and be more consistent at that position, there is no doubt about it."

Having depth at any position is important, but at some point there is going to have to be a set of guys that the Yellow Jackets can rely on.

Maybe it is Malachi Carter, who is the returning leading receiver from last year. Wide receivers coach Del Alexander spoke about Carter at a recent media session and while he is glad that Carter has made plays in the past, he wants to make sure that this year brings a clean slate.

""Malachi has made a lot of plays this summer, he does understand our offense. He is a leader when it comes to contributing and having stats, but again, having a clean slate also means proving it to me. I try not to pass judgment without the opportunity to evaluate. Whatever he did in the past is great, but I am asking him to do things every single day. You've seen him catch the ball here at practice or in the stadium, but I am hard to please, so I always want more and I still have another couple of weeks to strain them and to push for more because you only get one shot at it when we play on that Monday."

What about E.J. Jenkins? There is nobody that doubts Jenkins physical ability, but to be the alpha in the wide receiver room, Jenkins is going to have to be more than just a matchup problem. Alexander has said that they are hoping that Jenkins will become a more complete receiver.

"He is a giant. As a coach, as a wide receivers coach, you like giants because you can get a mismatch. I think with EJ's size and things fundamentally that he knows he has to work on and we are really trying to detail those things. When it comes to a mismatch, he is a guy that should be able to win 1-on-1 in the boundary and that is the goal there with him first and then trying to make him something else or use him in multiple spots is something that we grow to. Unique size, working on him being a receiver every down and that is something that takes time and we are trying to, we are running out of time, but that is what we are working on."

I am hopeful that one of the young receivers will step up, but they are going to have to prove it first. No matter how much Sims improves as a passer, this offense will have a ceiling if they can't find consistent guys to line up outside.

This will be a position to monitor as the season goes on. Hopefully, some guys can take hold of the top spot and become the alpha in the wide receiver room.

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