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New look Griz WR corps

BWahlberg

BWahlberg

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What a fascinating group this will be to watch. The 2025 Grizzly WR corps will be really limited on in-game experience

Drew Deck (Sr) 5'9" 160 - Deck did some duty as a returner, career has 145 receiving and 0 TDs, he's averaging almost 9 yards/return on punts. Was/is the presumed front runner to start in the slot I'd venture.

Brady Lang (Sr) 6'1" 179 - Mostly special teams work last year, per his bio. His only 2 career catches are from 2022 for 23 yards.

Michael Wortham (Sr) 5'10" - 180 - EWU transfer and ultimate utility man, 200 rushing / 300 receiving / over 1100 kick return yards, even 2 passing TDs. The most experienced WR in the corps when it comes to on-field stats - and all of that was obviously from his time at EWU.

BJ Phillips (Sr) 5'9" 150 - Walk-on that then made the team last year as a surprise camp addition, then just played in 1 game but logged no stats. He did catch peoples eyes last spring. Again, presumably, a slot/returner guy.

Sam Alford (Jr) 6'3" 186 - Sam has missed a few seasons now due to injury issues, can he get over the injury bug? He was a 3 star WR recruit and when healthy looked awesome in practice. Would be presumably vying for X or Z.

Ian Finch (Jr) 6'3" 204 - Ian was another guy that mostly logged ST duty, however he did have 1 catch for 2 yards, and it was a TD last year. He's got the body size the coaches like for their scheme/design to assist in run support and win contested jump balls too.

Dayton Toney (Jr?) 6'1" 191 - A walk-on that was at Incarnate Word before, no registered games, his bio says he's got 2 years to play.

Cameron Gurnsey (Soph) 6'0" 181 - Cameron also played just 1 game last year per his stat log, listed as special teams support in his bio.

Corbin Hendrix (Fr) 6'3" 185 - Arizona State transfer, he's got 4 years to play, high school numbers showed faster track times than Bridges. His ASU bio states he played just 3 games to maintain his redshirt but he logged no stats.

Brooks Davis (Fr) 6'0" 168 - One of two heralded freshman that suited up for a handful of games but logged no stats, he did preserve his red shirt I would assume.

Lekeldrick Bridges (Fr) 5'11" 162 - We saw some of Bridges speed on display last year. His stat sheet shows he played in 3 games and had 6 receiving yards + 5 rushing yards. His catching (or the pass placement) on a few other opportunities was inconsistent - if he can clean that up he could be a real mismatch.

Monte Gillman (Fr) 5'8" 153 - Monte, I'm just going to guess, is going to get an early look as a slot / special teams WR. He won scout team player of the year on offense. I know he's listed as an "ATH" on the roster but all I saw him do in the spring was play WR.

Tommy Running Rabbit (Fr) 6'1" 202 - I don't know if Tommy is going to stay at WR or move to DB/LB. He played both ways in high school.
 
I’m generally optimistic about this group. I think one thing we’ve missed is that Mitch Roberts type that’s a big target, good at finding creases and can move the chains. Not sure I see someone like that on the roster right now.
 
If there's one position group that I think is relatively easy to replace guys at, it's WR. I expect the starting tandem to be Hendrix, Bridges, and Wortham. The backups IMO would be Davis, Alford (if healthy), and Deck. I think Finch, Phillips, and Gillman will be a part of the rotation as well.
 
Grizzinator said:
I’m generally optimistic about this group. I think one thing we’ve missed is that Mitch Roberts type that’s a big target, good at finding creases and can move the chains. Not sure I see someone like that on the roster right now.
Click to expand...

Hendrix / Finch / Alford all are 6-3. That's our taller targets right now. Worth pointing out they're also adding two new TEs that could help in that department too.
 
Grizzinator said:
I’m generally optimistic about this group. I think one thing we’ve missed is that Mitch Roberts type that’s a big target, good at finding creases and can move the chains. Not sure I see someone like that on the roster right now.
Click to expand...
Ian Finch will be that dude. My guess is he bursts onto the scene this year. Bridges is not small. Another one I'm excited about is the Toney kid. Hurt last year. Played at Hawaii then Inc word. Decent size, route runner type. He may surprise us. Keep an eye on him! If Hendrix is a worker, and fine tunes details quickly, look out. Their excitement for Davis is well documented. I'm pumped for this group! 🙌 💪💪🔥
 
Looking back at highlights, what struck me was how (relatively) few times our receivers got separation on a defender or found a hole in a zone. Some of that was on the QB(s), but not all of it. (FWIW: The Griz were #96, of 123, in passing yards per completion.) Hopefully, this crop of receivers will have that knack.
 
We should have the size and speed with Hendrix, Alford, Bridges, Wortham, Gilman, and Deck to stretch the field, get some separation that I agrer with Ida we were lacking at times last year, and also gain more yards after the catch-- at least on paper-- than last year. I am excited to see this new group show us what they can do starting next September !!!
 
I believe that was him--we need someone to replace Junior on kickoff and punts, and I think Wortham is that guy plus a dangerous slit receiver with a lot quickness and speed !!!
 
Yes, those slit receivers are more dangerous, feminine and cute 😍 than your typical slot receivers, CDA, but beware of the very dangerous combo slit-slot receivers that use neutral pronouns !!!
 
billingsgriz said:
I believe that was him--we need someone to replace Junior on kickoff and punts, and I think Wortham is that guy plus a dangerous slit receiver with a lot quickness and speed !!!
Click to expand...
I don’t think we saw enough of Deck to really know how good a punt returner he would be. I thought he looked good in limited opportunities.
 
I think Wortham and Deck will probably at least occasionally rotate kicks and punts and sometimes on kickoffs, we might see both of them like we did in the past when both Jr. and Garret Graves were used together for kickoffs and will probably rotate some at slot receiver as well, but I do think Wortham is probably a little better and faster than Deck--Wortham is an All-American, Deck is not.
 
BozAngelesGriz said:
Was Wortham that guy who was always one tackle away from a TD on about every return during last seasons game on Cheney? One of their returners was terrifying and seemed to bring it out past the 30 every time.
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Against the Griz, Wortham had 6 kickoff returns for 184 yards, with a long of 46 yards. I’m pretty excited about his potential with the Griz.

Edit see Wahlberg beat me to it.
 
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