The 2017 crop of wide receivers in the state of Texas is arguably the deepest position talent wise. When I sat down and did my evaluations for the position this spring I was absolutely stunned how many quality pass catchers there were in the state. I’m talking a talent pool that is so deep that it made it incredibly hard to narrow it down to top ten list.
I could have easily made a list 20 or so players deep and each of those players will sign within the FBS and maybe could go as far to say they will sign with a Power 5 school. When you have guys like Omar Manning, Mannie Netherly, Charleston Rambo, Damion Miller, Tylan Wallace, and Tyrell Shavers all coming out the same year, you know it’s a good year for the position.
While I love all of the previously mentioned players plenty, there is one player not mentioned that is becoming a household name within the state and around the country, and that guy is Waxahachie Indians’ Jalen Reagor. I came across Reagor later on in my evals and after watching a few plays of his film I immediately wondered how the heck I didn’t see him sooner. He’s a dynamic playmaker with the ball in his hands, he’s a problem in space due to his elusiveness, speed, and acceleration, and despite being less than six feet tall he shows the ability to track and go up and attack the football in the air.
On film Reagor shows he can get it done in the short, intermediate, and deep passing game, and he shows that he can be dynamic in the return game as well. It doesn’t even matter where you line him up, just find a way to get him the ball and let him go to work. Not only did Reagor make me a believer on tape, he continued to impress me by performing well in Oregon at The Opening, as he consistently found a way to get open and make plays against some of the top players in the country. If that wasn’t enough, Reagor has turned into a one man highlight reel early on in his senior season, as he has already tallied 513 yards on 28 catches (18.32 yards per catch) and seven touchdowns. The Oklahoma pledge looks to be well on his way to another great season after topping 1,000 yards and catching 13 touchdowns in 2015.
Reagor pledged to Texas Tech back in December and was a heck of a get at the time for Kliff Kingsbury and the Red Raiders. Once the calendar turned over to the new year, the secret (and the film) on Reagor got out and the big dogs came calling. Once Alabama came calling Reagor reopened his recruitment and after reeling in several other big time offers he eventually chose to commit to the Sooners, giving them a heck of a Texas wide receiver threesome with Reagor, Rambo, and Ceedee Lamb.
Reagor has a chance to be an absolute nightmare for Big 12 defenses in Lincoln Riley’s offense up in Norman, and I think he is tailor made to see snaps in the slot from the moment he arrives on campus. A player of Reagor’s caliber won’t be able to be kept off the field no matter where he goes and as his senior season wears on, I think he will have himself a pretty good case for being the state’s top wide out.
