3 returning starters lead talented WR corps
Third in a position-by-position series looking at the 2022 UTSA Roadrunners after spring practice.
Today: Wide receivers
Who’s back: Zakhari Franklin, senior; Joshua Cephus, senior; De'corian Clark, senior; Tykee Ogle-kellogg, senior; Tre'von Bradley, senior; Isaiah Davis, redshirt sophomore; Dre Spriggs, redshirt freshman; Kennedy Lewis, redshirt sophomore; Kyle Eaves, redshirt sophomore; Karch Gardiner, redshirt junior; Jaren Randle, redshirt sophomore.
Who’s gone: Sheldon “Sticks” Jones; Cade Stoever; Gregory Clayton
2022 signees: Chris Carpenter, Jace Wilson
What to expect: With Franklin, Cephus and Clark returning to the fold after being UTSA'S three leading targets with a combined 2,601 yards and 25 touchdowns last season, wideout is perhaps the Roadrunners' deepest and most talented position entering 2022.
Franklin has drawn praise from his teammates as a natural pass catcher and a standout at the fundamentals, leading the team with 81 catches, 1,027 yards and 12 touchdowns last season despite nagging injuries.
The first 2,000-yard receiver in program history, Franklin has proven adept at getting
open for deep passes without elite speed or size at 6-foot-1 and 185 pounds. But he's shown reliable catching ability through contact and a penchant for one-handed, highlight-reel grabs.
Cephus was second with 71 catches for 819 yards and six touchdowns, most often sliding into the slot as the three receivers shifted around the formation. After delivering on his preseason goal of improving his run-after-catch ability, the 6-3, 190-pound Cephus said his focuses for 2022 are meeting passes at their highest point and refining the details on his
routes.
Clark is more of a prototypical deep threat, leading the trio with 14.5 yards per catch in making 52 grabs for 755 yards and seven touchdowns. Praised by coach Jeff Traylor as “one of the most crazy, freak athletes I've ever seen in my life,” Clark brings blazing speed and a background as an all-statecaliber long jumper.
Entering their fourth year as teammates, UTSA'S three top options have learned to help each other break free on routes, improving their blocking to spring short passes into large gains.
“We know that we have just as good of guys, or just as good of talent on the side of us, so we probably aren't going to get the ball every play,” Cephus said. “That helps us do our job more to get them open.”
UTSA'S top three targets accounted for 73 percent of the team's receiving yards and 81 percent of touchdown catches in 2021, but Traylor said the rest of the position group stepped forward during the spring.
Tykee Ogle-kellogg, a senior who long has tantalized with his athletic potential at 6-5 and 200 pounds, has “really become consistent” after being “an up-and-down player in his career,” Traylor said.
Tre'von Bradley, a 6-1 senior who entered last season as a transfer from Houston, is also back in the mix after struggling with drops in limited opportunities last season.
Traylor said sophomore Kennedy Lewis, a 6-3 transfer from Texas, “stepped it up” during the spring, as did sophomore Isaiah Davis.
Chris Carpenter joins the group this season as a transfer from Colorado, and Harlan product Dre Spriggs flashed with a few catches in UTSA'S spring game after not seeing the field as a freshman last year.
“The whole room, honestly,” Traylor said. “We are really deep at wide receiver. We feel good about that room right now, and that's taken a lot of work.”
Projected depth chart
Z receiver
1. Zakhari Franklin
2. Tykee Ogle-kellogg
3. Dre Spriggs
F receiver
1. Joshua Cephus
2. Chris Carpenter
3. Isaiah Davis
X receiver
1. De'corian Clark
2. Tre'von Bradley
3. Kennedy Lewis