The answer to Oklahoma's struggles at the outside receiver position could have been under everyone's noses all along. The Daily Oklahoman brought up a great point about possibly playing Jaz Reynolds because he hasn't been moved to the scout team and is still working out with the receivers. I have to say that I agree with them! In a worst case scenario Reynolds could drop passes just as good as Adron Tennell has. However, in a better case scenario Reynolds' 6-3 frame and speed could wind up being the compliment to slot receiver Ryan Broyles that is so desperately needed. The thing is, though, is that he's got to be able to catch the ball.
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Oklahoma Receiving Stats |
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| Name | G | Rec | Yds | Y/G | Avg | Lng | TD | |||
| Ryan Broyles | 2 | 11 | 181 | 90.5 | 16.5 | 51 | 4 | |||
| Brandon Caleb | 2 | 5 | 71 | 35.5 | 14.2 | 18 | 0 | |||
| DeMarco Murray | 2 | 4 | 50 | 25.0 | 12.5 | 27 | 0 | |||
| Chris Brown | 2 | 3 | 36 | 18.0 | 12.0 | 17 | 0 | |||
| Jermie Calhoun | 2 | 2 | 22 | 11.0 | 11.0 | 17 | 0 | |||
| Adron Tennell | 1 | 2 | 20 | 20.0 | 10.0 | 13 | 0 | |||
| Dejuan Miller | 2 | 3 | 18 | 9.0 | 6.0 | 8 | 0 | |||
| Cameron Kenney | 1 | 1 | 15 | 15.0 | 15.0 | 15 | 0 | |||
| Trent Ratterree | 1 | 1 | 12 | 12.0 | 12.0 | 12 | 0 | |||
| Mossis Madu | 2 | 2 | 8 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4 | 0 | |||
Coming out of high school Reynolds ran a 4.5 forty and had a 37 inch vertical. The problem is that Oklahoma has a several guys on their roster who have good size and speed but when the lights come on and a defender lines up across from them they suddenly develop hands of stone. That's where Reynolds could have the opportunity to step up and be an impact player as a true freshman.
"You don't want to waste the year, but I think he's close to being in the mix," Wilson said. "With this week and then the open date, I think he either gets in or you look to that redshirt." - Offensive Coordinator Kevin Wilson on Jaz Reynolds
One of the arguments against such a move would be not wanting to burn a redshirt on a guy with promising potential when you've got juniors and seniors on your two deep. However, there isn't a single one of those guys who hasn't been hit in the breadbasket and dropped the ball. At this point Oklahoma needs a tall speedy receiver who can catch the ball on the field more than they need a freshman with potential to redshirt.
The other issue with a potential move like this is whether Reynolds can catch the ball or not. We won't know the answer to that he isn't given the opportunity to try. Like I said earlier, the worst case scenario is that he drops passes the same way that the other guys have. With all due respect to Adron Tennell and Brandon Caleb, there appears to be a reason they've been buried on the depth chart their whole careers at Oklahoma. Now as upperclassmen they've been given two opportunities to step up and have bombed. They don't even have to be the go-to guys either because Oklahoma already has one of those in Ryan Broyles. They just need to be guys who can make a catch and take some heat off the go-to guy.
Jaz Reynolds received 9 scholarship offers coming out of high school. I'm assuming that it wasn't because he has a tendency to drop passes.