The most important wide receivers to know in the 2023 Pac-12 season
As we continue our preview of the 2023 college football season in the Pac-12 conference, we are going to shift our focus from individual teams to individual positions. The last several weeks have been spent picking apart each school out west, finding where they improved the most over the offseason, and identifying what realistic expectations should be for them going forward.
You can see them all here: Arizona Wildcats — Arizona State Sun Devils — California Golden Bears — Colorado Buffaloes — Oregon State Beavers — Stanford Cardinal — UCLA Bruins — USC Trojans — Utah Utes — Washington Huskies — Washington State Cougars
Now we’re going to look at position groups as a whole in the conference. Whether it’s a quarterback or a linebacker, a punter or a safety, there are dozens of highly talented players out west. We want to go through them all, position group by position group, and highlight some of the most important names that fans should know at each spot.
As we’ve seen in the first article of these position previews, the Pac-12 has some very special quarterbacks playing at the present time. But those signal callers such as Caleb Williams and Bo Nix wouldn’t be as special if they had some ordinary receivers to throw to.
From Washington in the Northwest to Arizona in the south, and in the mountains in Utah, the Pac-12 is littered with receiver talent that one could argue is the deepest and best ever this conference has seen in its long history.
Here are those receivers that has the Pac-12 buzzing as the 2023 season approaches.
Rome Odunze — Washington Huskies
2022 Stats – 75 catches, 1,145 yards, 15.7 ypc, 7 TD
Career Stats – 122 catches, 1,632 yards, 13.4 ypc, 11 TD
Notable Accolades: 2022 All-American Third Team (Associated Press) / 2022 All-Pac-12 First Team / 2022 Pac-12 leader in passing yards
Why You Should Know Him: Odunze had a nice freshman season in 2021 with 41 receptions, but under new coach Kalen DeBoer and quarterback Michael Penix, Jr., his game went to another level and the same is expected this season. At 6-foot-3, 201 pounds, and with world-class speed, he could have gone into the NFL after last season if true sophomores were eligible. Unfortunately for the rest of the conference, they are not and Odunze is set to have a huge season in Seattle.
Jalen McMillan — Washington Huskies
2022 Stats – 79 catches, 1,098 yards, 13.9 ypc, 9 TD
Career Stats – 119 catches, 1,584 yards, 13.3 ypc, 12 TD
Notable Accolades: 2022 All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention
Why You Should Know Him: Just like his fellow receiver on the other side of the field, McMillan’s game and stats took a jump with better coaching and quarterback. It’s almost unfair to see the Huskies having two NFL-caliber receivers on the field, but here we are. It’ll be interesting to see who gets to 1,000 receiving yards first between Odunze and McMillan.
Troy Franklin — Oregon Ducks
2022 Stats – 61 catches, 891 yards, 14.6 ypc, 9 TD
Career Stats – 79 catches, 1,100 yards, 13.9 ypc, 11 TD
Notable Accolades: 2022 Pac-12 All-Conference second team (Coaches, AP) / Tied for Pac-12 lead for receiving touchdowns / His nine TD were No. 10 in Oregon single-season history, just three shy of the program record
Why You Should Know Him: He’s Oregon’s No. 1 receiver Bo Nix’s favorite target. If he has a similar season as in 2022, Franklin would quickly become of one the best receivers in program history. He has also caught one pass in 17 straight games and could be a first-round NFL draft pick in 2024.
Tahj Washington — USC Trojans
2022 Stats – 50 catches, 785 yards, 15.7 ypc, 6 TD
Career Stats – (Memphis, USC) 150 catches, 2,162 yards, 14.4 ypc, 13 TD
Notable Accolades: 2022 Pac-12 All-Conference Honorable Mention / 2020 Football Writers Freshman All-American first team
Why You Should Know Him: Washington is USC’s version of De’Anthony Thomas. He can rush, receive and be a dangerous return specialist. At 5-foot-10 and just 175 pounds, Washington can seemingly be everywhere all at once. Given the extra talent the Trojans have acquired at the receiver position, defenses won’t be able to double-cover him as often. Washington against man-to-man formations usually don’t turn out well for the opponent.
Dorian Singer — USC Trojans
2022 Stats – (Arizona) 66 catches, 1,105 yards, 16.7 ypc, 6 TD
Career Stats – (Arizona) 84 catches, 1,406 yards, 16.7 ypc, 6 TD
Notable Accolades: AP All-Pac-12 First Team / All-Pac-12 Second Team / 2022 Biletnikoff Award Midseason Watch List /
Why You Should Know Him: There’s a reason why Oregon, and every other school, tried to get Singer in the portal before he settled on USC. He was the best receiver in the conference and one of the best in the country. His touchdown stats, or the lack of them, indicates he was bogged down in the desert. Everyone expects those numbers to skyrocket in Los Angeles and Singer should most likely be a first-round NFL draft pick.
Jacob Cowing — Arizona Wildcats
2022 Stats – 85 catches, 1,034 yards, 14.6 ypc, 7 TD
Career Stats – (UTEP, Arizona) 226 catches, 3,629 yards, 16.1 ypc, 20 TD
Notable Accolades: 2022 All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention / 2022 Biletnikoff Award Preseason Watch List / 2021 First Team All-Conference USA / 2020 Second Team All-Conference USA
Why You Should Know Him: Arizona isn’t completely devoid of receiver talent as Cowing is one of the best out there. He really made a splash in the desert (is that possible?) by catching a touchdown in each of his first five games. But without Singer on the other side, defenses might have an easier time defending the Wildcats’ No. 1 guy. Even then, Cowing will still be a handful.
Mycah Pittman — Utah Utes
2022 Stats – (Florida State) 32 catches, 330 yards, 10.3 ypc, 3 TD
Career Stats – (Oregon, Florida State) 70 catches, 877 yards, 12.5 ypc, 5 TD
Notable Accolades: 2022 All-ACC Honorable Mention at Specialist / FSU Special Teams Newcomer of the Year
Why You Should Know Him: Pittman hasn’t fulfilled the promise that he showed on the prep ranks … yet. He struggled at Oregon for three years and had a decent season in Tallahassee. But with Utah losing a lot from last year’s receiving group, Pittman might finally be a main target and the Pac-12 will get to see how good, or not, he can be.
J. Michael Sturdivant — UCLA Bruins
2022 Stats – (California) 65 catches, 755 yards, 11.6 ypc, 7 TD
Notable Accolades: 2022 First-Team Freshman All-American from The Athletic, College Football News, and the Football Writers Association of America / All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention
Why You Should Know Him: California’s loss is a huge gain for the Bruins. Sturdivant came onto the scene and was the Bears’ No. 1 go-to guy from the start. But moving down to Pasadena and form a bond with true freshman quarterback Dante Moore within Chip Kelly’s system, don’t be surprised if Sturdivant is a First-Team All-Conference player before all is said and done.
Travis Hunter — Colorado Buffaloes
2022 Stats – (Jackson State) 18 catches, 188 yards, 10.4 ypc, 4 TD
Notable Accolades: No. 1 recruit in Class of 2022 / First five-star recruit to sign with an FCS school / Highest recruit to sign with an HBCU.
Why You Should Know Him: While Hunter played mostly defense with Jackson State, his receiving talents are also way above average. We include him in with the receivers because we don’t know how Colorado will use him just yet. The Buffaloes might want to get Shadeur Sanders every possible weapon at his disposal.
Tetairoa McMillan — Arizona Wildcats
Ivan Pierre Aguirre-USA TODAY Sports
2022 Stats – 39 catches, 702 yards, 8 TD
Notable Accolades: Polynesian Football Player of the Year (2021)
Why You Should Know Him: If there is any player who represents the next wave of wide receiver talent in the Pac-12, then it is likely Tetairoa McMillan. After going to Arizona as the highest-rated Wildcat in program history, McMillan established himself as a true receiving threat in 2021 and should have another great year going forward in 2023.
Jordyn Tyson — Arizona State Sun Devils
(Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images)
2022 Stats – 22 catches, 470 yards, 4 TD
Notable Accolades: Pac-12 Freshman of the Week (2021)
Why You Should Know Him: Kenny Dillingham showed off his ability to recruit this offseason, and few moves were more impressive than getting Jordyn Tyson to transfer from Colorado to ASU. He led the Buffaloes in receiving a year ago despite suffering a season-ending knee injury in Week 9 against the Oregon Ducks. I wouldn’t be shocked to see Tyson blow up this season.
Tez Johnson — Oregon Ducks
2022 Stats – 56 catches, 803 yards, 4 TD
Career Stats — 141 catches, 1809 yards, 8 TD
Notable Accolades: PFF All-Sun Belt First Team (2022) / PFF All-Sun Belt Third Team (2021)
Why You Should Know Him: Outside of Eugene, I’m not sure many fans have taken notice of the Tez Johnson addition for the Ducks, but there’s a good chance that changes pretty early on in the calendar this season. As one of the highest-graded receivers in the nation last year according to PFF, Johnson has the ability to completely stretch the defense for the Ducks this year and could be a major threat working with Bo Nix.
