We continue our Minnesota position previews today by taking a look at the Gophers' wide receiver room.
PROJECTED STARTER: Daniel Jackson (X), Chris Autman-Bell (Z), Corey Crooms (Slot)
We are currently projecting Minnesota to start Daniel Jackson, Chris Autman-Bell, and Corey Crooms at the wide receiver positions.
Jackson is likely to be the X-receiver to start the season. The Kansas City native is coming off his best season as a Gopher yet in 2022, with 37 receptions for 557 yards and five touchdowns while averaging 15.1 yards per reception. He was a reliable and consistent pass catcher for the Gophers, only dropping one pass over the course of the season.
Autman-Bell returns for his seventh season in college football but was kept to playing in just three games last season after suffering a torn ACL in September against Colorado. The Illinois native has 125 career receptions for 1,970 yards and 13 touchdowns. He'll step into the Z receiver spot for the Gophers.
In the slot will be Western Michigan transfer Corey Crooms. The speedster has totaled 115 receptions for 1,766 yards and 12 touchdowns in his four seasons prior to transferring to Minneapolis this offseason. Crooms will add a dynamic and huge big-play threat for the Gophers in the slot and someone who should be considered a breakout candidate for the program this fall.
SECOND-STRING: Â Le'Meke Brockington (X), Elijah Spencer (Z), Kristen Hoskins ORÂ Quentin Redding (Slot)
Minnesota's second string of wide receivers will likely consist of Le'Meke Brockington, Elijah Spencer, and Kristen Hoskins.
Brockington saw his first game action in 2022, as he started in four games while playing in all 13 for the Golden Gophers. In those 13 games, he recorded 11 catches for 203 yards and one touchdown. His best day of the season came against the Wisconsin Badgers, in which he had two receptions for 52 yards, which included a 33-yard game-winning touchdown reception in the fourth quarter.
Spencer, a transfer from Charlotte, comes to the Gophers after totaling 85 receptions for 1,324 yards and 15 touchdowns over two seasons with the 49ers. Last season, to follow up on a Conference USA Freshman of the Year honor in 2021, Spencer recorded 57 receptions for 943 yards and nine touchdowns, earning Conference USA honorable mentions. Spencer, like fellow transfer Corey Crooms, is a player to watch this fall as a potential breakout candidate for the Gophers, though he certainly already has put together a nice career prior to becoming a Gopher.
The question with the second string is, will it be Kristen Hoskins or Quentin Redding in the slot? Hoskins played in just two games last season while redshirting, he did not record any receptions. Quentin Redding has much more in-game experience as a whole, being a special teams specialist last season in the return game, but he did not put up any receiving stats. This will be a key battle to watch the rest of the camp.
THIRD STRING/DEPTH: Dino Kaliakmanis, Â Kenric Lanier, Donielle Hayes, TJ McWilliams,Â
The depth for the Golden Gophers at wide receiver is solid, but questions surely remain. Out of the four players listed above, the only one who isn't a true freshman is Dino Kaliakmnais.
The younger brother of Athan Kaliakmanis played in four games last season but did not record any stats. Lanier, Hayes, and McWilliams all bring their own intriguing skill sets to the fold, but their impacts this fall should be limited, though all three do have high ceilings as their career progresses.
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