UCLA Football 2021 Positional Preview: Wide Receivers
With UCLA football's shortened offseason already winding down, it's time to start looking ahead to fall 2021 and what lies ahead for the Bruins on the gridiron. Before scouting out opponents and projecting the Pac-12 pecking order, it's best to look within by picking apart how UCLA will shape up on its own sideline.
All Bruins will be breaking down every position group over the next few weeks, with the wide receivers next on the slate. To catch up on the positions already covered, take a look below.
Aug. 9: Quarterbacks
Aug. 10: Running Backs
Depth Chart
X1: Kam Brown, redshirt sophomore
X2: Delon Hurt, senior
X3: Keontez Lewis, freshman
X4: DJ Justice, freshman
X5: Devanti Dillard, redshirt freshman
Z1: Chase Cota, senior
Z2: Matt Sykes, sophomore
Z3: Colson Yankoff, redshirt junior
Z4: Ashton Authement, redshirt sophomore
Z5: Ezavier Staples, freshman
Slot 1: Kyle Philips, redshirt junior
Slot 2: Logan Loya, sophomore
Slot 3: Kazmeir Allen, redshirt junior
Slot 4: Josiah Norwood, redshirt junior
Slot 5: Bradley Schlom, redshirt freshman
Hurt was the Bruins' No. 1 X receiver for most of last season, although outgoing transfer Charles Njoku also got some time outside as well. Hurt wound up being UCLA's second-most productive wideout while holding down that role, so in a normal world, he would probably return to that same spot in 2021.
The issue is that Hurt has been missing from practice since the back half of spring ball. He is either – pardon the pun – seriously hurt or has some kind of eligibility issues we are not aware of. Even if Hurt is healthy by Week 1, he hasn't practiced with the team in months and is probably not as well-integrated as others in the group.
Brown was an early arrival after transferring from Texas A&M last offseason, enrolling at UCLA in time for spring ball. His 74 career receiving yards don't jump off the stat sheet, but the former four-star recruit's build is very similar to Hurt's and he has been getting a lot of solid reps in both spring and fall camps.
Lewis also got a lot of play in the spring and is someone the players and coaches praised multiple times a few months back. The same goes for Justice, who was a lower-ranked recruit and brings less length to the table than Lewis, but he is settling in just fine himself.
Cota got plenty of snaps lined up off the line in 2020, and he'll surely be doing the same in 2021. Even if those snaps didn't lead to a heavy load of targets or catches, as he hauled in just 11 passes for 79 yards last fall, Cota is still probably the most talented receiver on the team. He spent the past few practices on the stationary bike, but he was back to running routes Wednesday, so he should be fine for the opener.
Sykes impressed in his limited time in 2020 and continued to build favor with the quarterbacks and coaching staff throughout the spring when Cota, Philips and Hurt were missing. His experience in the offense should give him enough of a cushion over former quarterback Colson Yankoff, who earned some praise from Chip Kelly on Wednesday for his ability to take the top off the defense despite struggling with injuries and a tough position change over the past year-plus.
Philips is a lock to get the most targets of any receiver, and there is hardly a situation in which UCLA will take him off the field. His 38 receptions in 2020 were nine more than all other Bruin receivers combined – as ridiculous as that sounds, don't be shocked if it happens again this season. Loya is a solid, former four-star recruit who can play the slot well in addition to the X when necessary.
Kelly told the media Wednesday that Allen is a pure jack-of-all-trades who will spend time at both receiver and running back. He already lined up in the slot on multiple occasions in 2020 and projects to do the same this time around as well. Norwood finally looks like he's settled in at receiver after transitioning from quarterback a few years ago, but his size and quickness make it unlikely for him to leap the other slot guys on the depth chart.
If we were to guess which of the true reserve receivers had the best chance to make a couple plays in actual games, we'd go with Norwood over Dillard, Authement, Staples and Schlom. He had a pretty solid spring and he seems to be in good favor with the coaching staff and his former roommate Dorian Thompson-Robinson.
Predictions
For as successful as the Bruins' offense was last season – it ranked 20th in country with 35.4 points per game and 10th among Power Five schools with a passer rating of 154.7 – the receivers didn't exactly produce top-notch numbers.
Eight UCLA receivers caught a pass in 2020, combining for 67 receptions, 709 yards and seven touchdowns across the shortened seven-game season. That was good for just 51.5% of the team's completions, 45.1% of its receiving yards and 38.9% of its receiving touchdowns.
Kelly and offensive coordinator Justin Frye relied very heavily on backs and tight ends in the passing game last year, and to great effect for the most part. In other words, don't expect that to change all too much in 2021.
Still, without now-departed running back Demetric Felton taking on such a big receiving load, the wideouts will have to be used at least slightly more often this fall. Philips should see a slight tick up in his stats, likely approaching something more in the ballpark of his 2019 output. We'll peg him for 65 catches, 750 yards and five touchdowns.
As long as Cota is at full strength, he should improve upon his underwhelming stats from a year ago. 30 catches, 400 yards and six touchdowns should constitute some reasonable expectations for Kelly's first blue chip commit.
Sykes, Loya, Brown and Hurt are probably the next most reliable producers for the Bruins, but even they are hampered by a crowded depth chart and questions regarding their health or ability to take the next step. That's a pretty common trait among these receiving corps – a lot of former four-star recruits who haven't made a major impact on the college level yet.
That doesn't mean none of them will, but there's only so much room for breakout stars and feel-good stories in one season.
Assuming Cota and Philips produce at or around the same level they did in 2019, that puts a ceiling on Sykes and Loya, for 2021 at least. That, plus Hurt's unavailability as of late, make Brown the one who's primed to take a leap in his first year in Westwood. We can see him getting 20 catches and 250 yards in addition to a couple scores.
Overall, the receivers should account for closer to 55% of UCLA's completions and yards, and maybe 40% of its receiving touchdowns. That should put them around 1,750 yards on 150 catches with 12 touchdowns as a unit on the season, playing a key role in a top offense looking to convert its experience into wins.
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