Iowa Hawkeyes set to face 247Sports’ most explosive skill player in 2022
According to 247Sports’ Brad Crawford, the Iowa Hawkeyes will square off against the nation’s most explosive wide receiver or running back in the 2022 college football season.
Obviously, Iowa will see plenty of talented playmakers throughout its trek in Big Ten conference play. The Michigan Wolverines have a pair of running backs they really like in Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards. Corum nearly rushed for 1,000 yards last season and he registered 11 rushing touchdowns.
Of course, Wisconsin boasts one of the best running backs in the league in talented sophomore Braelon Allen. He finished with 1,268 rushing yards and 12 scores last season and he racked up 530 rushing yards and seven rushing touchdowns in a three-week stretch of games against Rutgers, Northwestern and Nebraska last November.
During last season, Allen also had a string of seven consecutive 100-plus rushing yard games starting with the Badgers’ Oct. 9 date at Illinois through Wisconsin’s 35-28 win over Nebraska on Nov. 20.
Also on Iowa’s schedule is a road date on Nov. 19 at Minnesota that will feature Golden Gophers running back Mo Ibrahim. Ibrahim has rushed for 3,003 yards and 33 touchdowns in his career and he’s back after sustaining a ruptured Achilles tendon in Minnesota’s opener against Ohio State last season.
In Crawford’s ranking of the top eight skill players in all of college football entering 2022, none of those names cracked the list. Instead, a pair of players from other Big Ten programs made the cut. After what happened in the Ohio State Buckeyes’ memorable 48-45 rally over Utah in the Rose Bowl, it shouldn’t be any surprise to see the No. 1 skill player on Crawford’s list.
Naturally, it’s a Buckeye atop Crawford’s list. Which skill player is it and what does the rest of his top eight look like entering 2022?
Jaxon Smith-Njigba, WR - Ohio State Buckeyes
Joshua A. Bickel/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK
Really, take your pick on the skill talent for the Ohio State Buckeyes. If it wasn’t wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba somewhere on this list, then just look into the backfield at running back TreVeyon Henderson.
Smith-Njigba heads into 2022 as Crawford’s top skill player, though, and the Hawkeyes will see him and the Buckeyes on Oct. 22 on the road inside the Horseshoe. Smith-Njigba put on a historic performance, hauling in an Ohio State-record 15 grabs for an FBS bowl game record 347 yards receiving. He also had three touchdown receptions in the 48-45 come-from-behind win over Utah.
Perhaps most impressive, Smith-Njigba put on that type of performance after first-round 2022 NFL draft picks Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson opted out of the bowl game against the Utes.
Smith-Njigba took full advantage of his teammates opting out of the postseason and his record-setting bowl performance pushed him into the way-too-early Heisman conversation ahead of his junior season with the Buckeyes. You’re not going to find a more complete wide receiver nationally and the offseason hype is warranted. – Crawford, 247Sports.
Xavier Worthy, WR - Texas Longhorns
Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
Texas Longhorns wide receiver Xavier Worthy was a one-man wrecking crew against the Oklahoma Sooners in last season’s Red River Rivalry game. OU and then-Sooners quarterback Caleb Williams authored the Cotton Bowl’s largest ever comeback win, but Worthy went off to the tune of nine grabs, 261 receiving yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Depending on who you ask, Xavier Worthy might be the fastest wideout in college football. No one runs the fly better than the Longhorns’ top threat and Big 12 coaching staffs are well aware of his exploits down the field and believe he’s the most terrifying player in the conference from a he-can-score-from-anywhere standpoint. – Crawford, 247Sports.
Deuce Vaughn, RB - Kansas State Wildcats
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Deuce Vaughn has Kansas State Wildcats fans thinking about the similarities between himself and former K-State great Darren Sproles. For those that know the Big 12 and college football, Vaughn has every reason to be ranked this highly. He’s a complete game-changer both rushing and receiving out of the backfield for Kansas State.
It comes as no surprise that Kansas State’s Deuce Vaughn was one of the nation’s leaders in broken tackles forced last season. He’s 5-foot-6, 170 pounds and shifty as any player in the Power Five ranks. Over his first two seasons with the Wildcats, Vaughn has averaged 5.7 yards per carry and doubled his total number of catches as a sophomore compared to 2020. – Crawford, 247Sports.
Jordan Addison, WR - USC Trojans
Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
USC and UCLA broke the internet with their decision to join the Big Ten in 2024. This star won’t be around then, but Jordan Addison is one of the biggest reasons that Trojan fans are envisioning lighting up the scoreboards under new head football coach Lincoln Riley and delighting the Los Angeles market in 2022.
Jordan Addison is part of the reason Lincoln Riley and USC are considered the Pac-12 favorites this season, his addition securing the Trojans’ No. 1-ranked transfer class across college football. As the top target for Heisman finalist and first-round pick Kenny Pickett last fall, Addison hauled in 100 catches for 1,593 yards and 17 touchdowns, lighting up ACC defenses with impressive speed, agility and a knack for getting open. – Crawford, 247Sports.
Jahmyr Gibbs, RB - Alabama Crimson Tide
Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports
A transfer running back from Georgia Tech, Jahmyr Gibbs heads to Tuscaloosa, Ala., where he’ll be expected to be the next great Crimson Tide running back. It’s quite the landing spot alongside defending Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Bryce Young.
The Dalton, Georgia, native arrives in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, after spending the last two years at Georgia Tech, where he contributed 2,773 all-purpose yards and 14 touchdowns on 323 plays (8.6 yards per play). As a sophomore last season, he rushed for 746 yards and four touchdowns on 143 attempts. – Crawford, 247Sports.
Kayshon Boutte, WR - LSU Tigers
SCOTT CLAUSE/USA TODAY Network / USA TODAY NETWORK
LSU‘s Kayshon Boutte is back after suffering a season-ending injury in 2021. In just six games, Boutte racked up 509 receiving yards and nine touchdowns.
Boutte averaged 13.4 yards per reception as a sophomore. He was a freshman All-American in 2020 after setting a conference record for receiving yards in a game against Ole Miss with 308 yards and three touchdowns on 14 catches. He only made five starts as a first-year player, but led the Tigers in receiving yards with 735. – Crawford, 247Sports.
Josh Downs, WR - North Carolina Tar Heels
Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
North Carolina’s Josh Downs reeled in 101 catches for 1,335 yards and eight touchdowns as a sophomore. That was with standout quarterback Sam Howell. UNC is breaking in a new signal-caller, but having Downs as a primary target will undoubtedly make life much, much easier.
Downs runs after the catch with great vision and several times last fall nearly scored on special teams as a punt returner before being tripped up with one defender to beat. He’s the most dynamic weapon in the ACC this season as the Tar Heels transition to a new starting quarterback. – Crawford, 247Sports.
Jayden Reed, WR - Michigan State Spartans
Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK
The final skill player on Crawford’s list sends us back to the Big Ten and over to East Lansing, Mich., where Michigan State wide receiver and return specialist Jayden Reed returns after recording a 1,026-yard, 10-touchdown season in 2021 with the Spartans.
The former Western Michigan transfer averaged 17.4 yards per reception as a home-run threat and returned two punts for scores on just 11 attempts. Reed averaged 21.6 yards per punt return and 23.6 yards per kickoff return last season as a two-way player for Mel Tucker’s team. He’s flying under the radar a bit nationally in the Big Ten, but has a chance to emerge as one of the nation’s best players at receiver this fall. – Crawford, 247Sports.
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