Who is the Best? WR (Casey)

So I let the Tight End position marinate a little because there was disagreement on my pick which is awesome! Dialogue is the best and exactly what I would like during this little breakdown I am doing. Today I'm going to do a breakdown of the entire wide receiving corp for each team. There are too many listed wide receivers for each team to break them down person by person. So lets take a look at who will be catching the ball for our local teams.

BYUs WR Cody Hoffman

BYU has quite a stable of Wide Receivers on the roster led by Senior All American Cody Hoffman. In his four years at BYU Cody has become a elite pass catcher and has done it with a quarterback that had a hard time, at times, getting him the ball. Now with a new QB and a new wide receivers coach in Guy Holliday, Cody should continue to flourish. During his career Hoffman has caught 203 passes for 2,718 yards and 24 touchdowns. Cody is on the Biletnikoff Award watch list as well as the 2013 CFPA Wide Receiver Trophy Watch List. Cody is a stud and will be the anchor for this wide receiver group but there is a lot of seasoned and potential talent all around him. The listed Starter for the other WR position is Skyler Ridley. Skyler is a senior out of Murrieta California and made his mark last year, catching the first Touchdown of the year against Washington State and ended the year with 20 catches for 206 yards. He is 6'3" tall and is long with good hands. His is listed as the starter over Ross Apo who is a 6'4" stud that I don't think has reached his potential which could also be contributed to his QB. In the Slot BYU has a 5'8" live wire in J.D Falslev who also returns kicks for the cougars. A player to watch for is 6'6" Mitch Matthews who will be a definite threat in the blue zone.

Utahs WR Dres Anderson

 Utah is also very talented and very very fast at the wide receiver position and should create problems for teams. The Utes are lead this year by Junior Dres Anderson who is the son of NFL star Willie "Flipper" Anderson. Dres is very fast (4.40 Time) and is smart and knows where to position himself to get open. Last year Dres lead the team in receptions with 36 as well as receiving yards with 365 and 3 touchdown. Dres also was used in the run game and was the third leading rusher on the team with 83 yards on 14 carries. Dres will have as partners in crime (as listed on the spring depth chart) 6'2" Quinton Pedroza and 6'3" Kenneth Scott. Pedroza played on special teams a lot last year and didn't see much time at the wide out spot but he is big and will create mismatches with DB's. Kenneth Scott finished last year with the 3rd most receptions on the team with 32 and second in receiving yards with 360. Last Year these Ute wide outs had a lot of issues. First they went through three different quarterbacks who all had different styles. Then for some strange reason every receiver had a bad case of the drops as well. I think under new Offensive Coordinator Dennis Erickson these Wide receivers will produce much more as well as be more of a focal point in the offensive strategy of this Utes team. 

Utah States Travis Van Leeuwen

Utah State is a very interesting team when it comes to there wide receivers and how they use them. With such an amazing number of talented running backs and a quarter back that can run as well, not to mention there amazing offensive line, the Aggies have not used there receivers that often. However that said when they do Chuckie Keeton's  number 1 receiver is fifth year senior Travis Van Leeuwen. Travis is 6'3" stud from Timpview High in Provo Utah. Last year Travis caught 12 passes for 143 yards and one touchdown. Behind Travis as listed on the spring depth chart are sophomore Bruce Natson who as a freshman for the Aggies caught 17 passes for 132 yards. Natson is 5'7" tall and very quick so he is defiantly an opposing team will have to keep there eyes on. The best wide out returning for the Aggies next year is 5'11" senior Travis Reynolds. Travis as a Junior from Lauderdale Lakes Florida and was a good receiver last year. Travis caught a ball in every game except for the Wisconsin game. He finished the year with 25 catches for 244 yards and a touchdown. With the offensive coordinator being the new head coach I'm seeing the Aggies being a run first offense, but do not sleep on these wide outs they are fast and will burn you if your not careful.

Winner: BYU

 Its hard to argue against a squad that has an Pre-Season All American leading them. Cody Hoffman is by far the best wide out in the state and one of the best in the entire country. Watch for Ross Apo to have a great season this year because he finally has a quarterback that is smart enough to look off his first read and with all the attention being shown to Hoffman Ross or Skyler will be in single coverage most of the time. I do thing Utahs wide outs will have a much better year, they have had all year to work with one quarterback and that will help them a ton. As long as they can hold on to balls Dres Anderson could have a very special year for the Utes. As for the Aggies, I think it will be business as usual, run run run till they creep up then either Chuckie will beat them with his feet or will find one of his wide outs open.