Based off the Malachi Coleman news and some posters ranting about the reliability of WR recruits, I thought it would be fun to do a tribute to my old friend @SarasotaHusker
Enjoy...the top 12 recruits of the 2020 class.
#14 overall / #1 WR - Julian Fleming (5★)
Initially committed to Ohio State, he struggled to stay healthy. Didn't do much as a freshman or sophomore, but in his 3rd year had a solid output with 34 receptions and 533 yards.
He entered the portal and transferred to PSU where this year as a senior he has 13 catches for 171 yards despite playing in every game this season, including 1 catch for 4 yards against his former team. His total career output is 92 catches for 1134 yards.
#15 overall, #2 WR - Demond Demas (5★)
Initially committed to Texas A&M, Demond had a minimal impact for first two seasons hauling in a combined 15 catches for 253. He then had some legal troubles (family/domestic assault) and sat out the 2022 season.
Now with Garden City CC, he's trying to rebuild his life and his career where he has 29 catches for 329 yards.
#19 overall, #3 WR - Rakim Jarrett (5★)
Signed with Maryland and started 4 games his freshman season with 17 catches for 252 yards. Exploded his RSFr year with 62 catches for 829 yards and a slightly quieter RSSo season with 40 catches for 471 yards. He was 3x honorable mention All B1G and got some nominations for a few awards including Biletnikoff.
He entered the draft after his Sophomore year and is now in the NFL where he caught on as a undrafted free agent with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and has 7 catches for 107 yards.
#20 overall, #4 WR - Jaxon Smith-Njigba (5★)
Definitely one of the biggest success stories on the list. After a relatively quiet freshman year, JSN was electric as a Sophomore hauling in 86 catches for 1,449 yards and 7 TDs. Hamstring issues derailed his Junior season playing in only 3 games and he felt he rushed himself back too quickly and didn't give himself time to heal.
Jaxon went #20 overall to the Seattle Seahawks and is a featured WR where he has had 129 receptions for 1,383 yards.
#28 overall, #5 WR Jordan Johnson (5★)
Another one who's definitely had some struggles, Jordan initially signed with Notre Dame but did not play and there were tons of questions about his work ethic and maintaining grades in the classroom.
The following year he transferred to UCF and for two seasons I couldn't find any stats for him and barely any articles written.
The following year entered the transfer portal again without any suitors so he landed at Iowa Western CC. The 2023 season he had 20 receptions for 305 yards.
I could not find any information for the 2024 season and it seems he is out of football.
#35 overall, #6 WR Kayshon Boutte (4★)
Another success story, Kayshon committed to LSU out of high school and was great his freshman season with 45 catches for 735 yards and 5 TDs. He started for LSU all 3 seasons with the Tigers and finished his college career with 131 receptions and 1,781 yards over 3 seasons.
Drafted in the 6th round by the New England Patriots, he had a quiet rookie season with just two catches but has 22 catches and 289 yards this season.
#46 overall, #7 WR Gary Bryant (4★)
Initially signed with USC, Gary had a quiet freshman season with just 7 catches for 51 yards in 5 games. As a Sophomore he exploded as a deep ball threat for 44 receptions for 579 yards and 7 TDs and over 13 yards per catch.
Lincoln Riley was hired and Gary saw his playing time plummet, catching just 2 balls for 15 yards his 3rd season (redshirt).
He entered the transfer portal and landed with the Oregon Ducks where he had a decent season hauling in 30 catches for 442 yards. This season he has missed the first 9 games with an undisclosed injury and now has 1 catch.
Because of his covid year, Oregon lists him as a junior and possibly could have a medical redshirt this year too giving him 2 more seasons with the Ducks.
#50 overall, #8 WR EJ Williams (4★)
A moderate contributor at Clemson, EJ had 40 catches for 442 yards over 3 seasons (20, 21, 22). He entered the transfer portal and landed at Indiana where he had 23 catches for 281 yards in 23. This season, he only appeared in 3 games and had 2 catches for 49 yards.
He then goes to X and calls out his coach, saying:
"I’m not on the team anymore because I opted to get surgery to have a better opportunity to compete at playing time, to be 100% healthy, and help contribute to a great football team next year,” Williams posted. “I made this decision because the team was perfectly fine without me in the game and I also want to have a chance at being able to continue my career at the professional level.
While making this decision, my coach saw it as quitting on the team, so if I was to redshirt I wouldn’t be able to come back to the program next season. I completely understand and respected his decision as he respected mine. It’s no hard feelings or bad blood. I appreciate the entire staff here at IU for everything while I was apart of the program and wish my teammates the best as they continue to compete and dominate this season."
I don't know if a guy with less than 800 career yards is a hot commodity for NFL teams, but he'll be in the portal and it will be interesting to see where he lands.
#53 overall, #9 WR Joshua Downs (4★)
Another success story, after a quiet freshman year with the Tarheels, Downs was electric his sophomore and junior campaigns racking up almost 2,400 yards on 195 catches in 2 seasons and 19 TDs.
Josh is currently with the Indianapolis Colts where he has 121 catches and 1,365 yards over two seasons despite missing a couple games with injuries.
#56 overall, #10 WR Malachi Wideman (4★)
Originally committed to Florida State, Malachi was a signing day flip to Tennessee. His only season with the Vols he had 1 catch for 24 yards and quickly entered the transfer portal to Jackson State to play for Deion.
He had a pretty successful second season with Jackson State, hauling in 34 catches for 540 yards. However, the following year he only played in half the games and only had 3 catches.
Despite limited success at a lower level, Malachi made the brilliant decision to enter the NFL Supplemental draft. As a surprise to no one, he was not drafted and then spent a season with the San Antonio Brahmas of the XFL. He then signed the following year with the Calgary Stampeders but was placed on the suspended list last May.
No further news has been found.
#57 overall, #11 WR Gee Scott Jr. (4★)
After not playing his freshman year at Ohio State, he made the move to tight end. His first 4 seasons with Ohio State featured modest playing time with 36 appearances and 3 starts. He hauled in 20 catches for 140 yards over that span. He is now the starting tight end after their Oregon transfer went down and he has 14 receptions for 144 yards and he is considered a very capable blocker.
Outside of football, Gee is a model teammate and leader for the Buckeyes. He graduated in just 3 years and also is essentially considered the team's minister and baptizes team members who want to follow Christ. He wants to be a full time pastor when his playing career is done.
sportsspectrum.com
#59 overall, #12 WR Zavier Betts (4★)
And here we are...we all know this story. Definitely showing some promise at times on the field, Zavier racked up 32 catches for 417 yards in his short two years with the program.
Initially leaving the team for the 2022 season and being arrested for possession in October of 2022, Betts worked really hard in the classroom taking 21 credit hours over spring and summer classes to rejoin the team. Poised to be one of the key receivers on the team, Betts abruptly went to the coach just before the start of the season and told him his heart wasn't in it and he no longer wanted to play football.
Clearly talented, but no longer in football. No news as to what he's been up to lately.
Enjoy...the top 12 recruits of the 2020 class.
#14 overall / #1 WR - Julian Fleming (5★)
Initially committed to Ohio State, he struggled to stay healthy. Didn't do much as a freshman or sophomore, but in his 3rd year had a solid output with 34 receptions and 533 yards.
He entered the portal and transferred to PSU where this year as a senior he has 13 catches for 171 yards despite playing in every game this season, including 1 catch for 4 yards against his former team. His total career output is 92 catches for 1134 yards.
#15 overall, #2 WR - Demond Demas (5★)
Initially committed to Texas A&M, Demond had a minimal impact for first two seasons hauling in a combined 15 catches for 253. He then had some legal troubles (family/domestic assault) and sat out the 2022 season.
Now with Garden City CC, he's trying to rebuild his life and his career where he has 29 catches for 329 yards.
#19 overall, #3 WR - Rakim Jarrett (5★)
Signed with Maryland and started 4 games his freshman season with 17 catches for 252 yards. Exploded his RSFr year with 62 catches for 829 yards and a slightly quieter RSSo season with 40 catches for 471 yards. He was 3x honorable mention All B1G and got some nominations for a few awards including Biletnikoff.
He entered the draft after his Sophomore year and is now in the NFL where he caught on as a undrafted free agent with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and has 7 catches for 107 yards.
#20 overall, #4 WR - Jaxon Smith-Njigba (5★)
Definitely one of the biggest success stories on the list. After a relatively quiet freshman year, JSN was electric as a Sophomore hauling in 86 catches for 1,449 yards and 7 TDs. Hamstring issues derailed his Junior season playing in only 3 games and he felt he rushed himself back too quickly and didn't give himself time to heal.
Jaxon went #20 overall to the Seattle Seahawks and is a featured WR where he has had 129 receptions for 1,383 yards.
#28 overall, #5 WR Jordan Johnson (5★)
Another one who's definitely had some struggles, Jordan initially signed with Notre Dame but did not play and there were tons of questions about his work ethic and maintaining grades in the classroom.
The following year he transferred to UCF and for two seasons I couldn't find any stats for him and barely any articles written.
The following year entered the transfer portal again without any suitors so he landed at Iowa Western CC. The 2023 season he had 20 receptions for 305 yards.
I could not find any information for the 2024 season and it seems he is out of football.
#35 overall, #6 WR Kayshon Boutte (4★)
Another success story, Kayshon committed to LSU out of high school and was great his freshman season with 45 catches for 735 yards and 5 TDs. He started for LSU all 3 seasons with the Tigers and finished his college career with 131 receptions and 1,781 yards over 3 seasons.
Drafted in the 6th round by the New England Patriots, he had a quiet rookie season with just two catches but has 22 catches and 289 yards this season.
#46 overall, #7 WR Gary Bryant (4★)
Initially signed with USC, Gary had a quiet freshman season with just 7 catches for 51 yards in 5 games. As a Sophomore he exploded as a deep ball threat for 44 receptions for 579 yards and 7 TDs and over 13 yards per catch.
Lincoln Riley was hired and Gary saw his playing time plummet, catching just 2 balls for 15 yards his 3rd season (redshirt).
He entered the transfer portal and landed with the Oregon Ducks where he had a decent season hauling in 30 catches for 442 yards. This season he has missed the first 9 games with an undisclosed injury and now has 1 catch.
Because of his covid year, Oregon lists him as a junior and possibly could have a medical redshirt this year too giving him 2 more seasons with the Ducks.
#50 overall, #8 WR EJ Williams (4★)
A moderate contributor at Clemson, EJ had 40 catches for 442 yards over 3 seasons (20, 21, 22). He entered the transfer portal and landed at Indiana where he had 23 catches for 281 yards in 23. This season, he only appeared in 3 games and had 2 catches for 49 yards.
He then goes to X and calls out his coach, saying:
"I’m not on the team anymore because I opted to get surgery to have a better opportunity to compete at playing time, to be 100% healthy, and help contribute to a great football team next year,” Williams posted. “I made this decision because the team was perfectly fine without me in the game and I also want to have a chance at being able to continue my career at the professional level.
While making this decision, my coach saw it as quitting on the team, so if I was to redshirt I wouldn’t be able to come back to the program next season. I completely understand and respected his decision as he respected mine. It’s no hard feelings or bad blood. I appreciate the entire staff here at IU for everything while I was apart of the program and wish my teammates the best as they continue to compete and dominate this season."
I don't know if a guy with less than 800 career yards is a hot commodity for NFL teams, but he'll be in the portal and it will be interesting to see where he lands.
#53 overall, #9 WR Joshua Downs (4★)
Another success story, after a quiet freshman year with the Tarheels, Downs was electric his sophomore and junior campaigns racking up almost 2,400 yards on 195 catches in 2 seasons and 19 TDs.
Josh is currently with the Indianapolis Colts where he has 121 catches and 1,365 yards over two seasons despite missing a couple games with injuries.
#56 overall, #10 WR Malachi Wideman (4★)
Originally committed to Florida State, Malachi was a signing day flip to Tennessee. His only season with the Vols he had 1 catch for 24 yards and quickly entered the transfer portal to Jackson State to play for Deion.
He had a pretty successful second season with Jackson State, hauling in 34 catches for 540 yards. However, the following year he only played in half the games and only had 3 catches.
Despite limited success at a lower level, Malachi made the brilliant decision to enter the NFL Supplemental draft. As a surprise to no one, he was not drafted and then spent a season with the San Antonio Brahmas of the XFL. He then signed the following year with the Calgary Stampeders but was placed on the suspended list last May.
No further news has been found.
#57 overall, #11 WR Gee Scott Jr. (4★)
After not playing his freshman year at Ohio State, he made the move to tight end. His first 4 seasons with Ohio State featured modest playing time with 36 appearances and 3 starts. He hauled in 20 catches for 140 yards over that span. He is now the starting tight end after their Oregon transfer went down and he has 14 receptions for 144 yards and he is considered a very capable blocker.
Outside of football, Gee is a model teammate and leader for the Buckeyes. He graduated in just 3 years and also is essentially considered the team's minister and baptizes team members who want to follow Christ. He wants to be a full time pastor when his playing career is done.
OSU's Gee Scott preaches, baptizes teammates: 'Christ is working'
Ohio State tight end Gee Scott baptized seven of his teammates after delivering a sermon at a church, fulfilling a vision he was given.
sportsspectrum.com
#59 overall, #12 WR Zavier Betts (4★)
And here we are...we all know this story. Definitely showing some promise at times on the field, Zavier racked up 32 catches for 417 yards in his short two years with the program.
Initially leaving the team for the 2022 season and being arrested for possession in October of 2022, Betts worked really hard in the classroom taking 21 credit hours over spring and summer classes to rejoin the team. Poised to be one of the key receivers on the team, Betts abruptly went to the coach just before the start of the season and told him his heart wasn't in it and he no longer wanted to play football.
Clearly talented, but no longer in football. No news as to what he's been up to lately.
