The 4A Watchlist: Wide Receivers

The 4A Watchlist is where I list out my top 75 football players coming into this season in Class 4A. This year, I have 10 players who primarily played WR last season that are worth noting heading into the 2020 season.   [player_tooltip player_id="23810" first="Brody" last="Brecht"], Ankeny, SR Long regarded as the best receiver in his class, [player_tooltip player_id="23810" first="Brody" last="Brecht"] returns for one more season for the Ankeny Hawks. Last season, Brody caught 35 passes for 796 yards and 7 touchdowns. He’s got the size at 6’4, 190, excellent hands, great route running, good speed, he can make catches in traffic, he’s just an all-around great receiver. Brecht committed to Iowa on May 1st for not just football, but baseball too.   Louis Brooks, Dowling, SR Louis Brooks broke into the Dowling varsity squad in 2019 and made a fairly big impact in the receiving game. He managed to make 29 receptions, 522 yards, and 6 touchdowns, leading the Maroons in each category. He’s got some great speed, which he uses to his advantage running past corners and the occasional reverse play. He has no offers yet, but with him being a key part of Dowling’s offense, you can expect some offers to come in after the season.   [player_tooltip player_id="23966" first="Trey" last="Campbell"], Cedar Falls, JR [player_tooltip player_id="23966" first="Trey" last="Campbell"] made an impact for the Tigers in 2019 in not just basketball, but football too. He caught 25 passes for 355 yards and a team-high 7 touchdowns. Playing as a slot, Campbell can use his speed to accelerate past an extra cover guy, or take a screen or reverse for a first down. Currently, he doesn’t have any offers for any sport, and while he’s more likely to pick basketball over football since he was CF’s starting point guard for their state semifinals team last season, he should be an underrated name heading into the football season.   [player_tooltip player_id="23907" first="Eli" last="Gaye"], Muscatine, SR Eli is the only other returning receiver ([player_tooltip player_id="23810" first="Brody" last="Brecht"] was the other) who made my watchlist last season to return in 2020. While he had a statistically down season compared to his sophomore campaign, he managed to make 35 receptions for 335 yards and 3 touchdowns as a junior. As a slot receiver, Eli’s speed and route-running ability make him one of the better receivers in 4A, especially when he does a curl route and takes on a safety one-on-one. Currently, he has no offers, but if he can have a rebound year as a senior, then expect some offers to be coming in.   [player_tooltip player_id="23872" first="Grahm" last="Goering"], Iowa City West, SR Grahm is the latest Iowa City West receiver to see some attention drawn his way. Last season he caught 42 passes for 600 yards and 6 touchdowns. When running routes, he’s really good at changing directions and faking the opposing corner to where he’s about to go in the process. He has only one offer from D-2 Bemidji State, but with a talent like Goering, expect some bigger offers coming in once the season starts.   [player_tooltip player_id="23849" first="Dante" last="Hansen"], Sioux City North, SR Hansen emerged as one of the best receivers in 4A last season. He caught 37 passes for 779 yards and 9 touchdowns. He has some good speed on him, which makes him especially dangerous when making yards-after-catch. He has only 2 offers coming from D-2 schools Bemidji State and Mary heading into the season.   [player_tooltip player_id="23863" first="Daniel" last="Hutchins"], Cedar Falls, SR [player_tooltip player_id="23863" first="Daniel" last="Hutchins"] is a dark horse contender for being one of the best receivers in his class. His season totals for 2019 were 22 receptions, 465 yards, and 4 touchdowns. At 6’2, 180 lbs, Hutchins certainly has the size for the high school level, plus the skill too as he is excellent fighting off tacklers and getting a bunch of yards-after-catch in the process. Currently, he has no offers yet, but don’t expect that to be for long.   [player_tooltip player_id="23818" first="Matthew" last="Mahoney"], Valley, SR Mahoney has seen a bunch of hype heading into the 2020 season, and now with him as Valley’s main receiver, expect to see more targets coming his way. Last year, he caught 25 receptions for 436 yards and 6 touchdowns while sharing the same amount of stats with teammates Jack Johnson and Ryan Neu. He’s got excellent acceleration and speed, great route running, solid hands, and very dangerous making yards after the catch. Currently, Matt has a grand total of 26 official offers heading his way, ranging from lower-tier FBS schools from the MAC and Mountain West to the armed forces schools like Air Force and Army, to the FCS schools surrounding Iowa, and to almost every Ivy League School.   [player_tooltip player_id="23954" first="Tynan" last="Numkena"], Bettendorf, JR [player_tooltip player_id="23954" first="Tynan" last="Numkena"] didn’t make too much of an impact on the Bulldogs offense because of how loaded they were last season, but expect that to change in 2020. As a sophomore, Numkena caught 30 passes for 356 yards and 3 touchdowns. Listed at 6’2 200 lbs, he already has the size to be one of the best receivers in his class, and combine that with some solid route running skills on short routes like curls and comebacks, and he should be a problem this upcoming season. Currently, his name hasn’t drawn enough buzz to get an offer heading into his junior season, but nevertheless you should expect some offers to come his way by the middle or end of the season.   [player_tooltip player_id="23837" first="Kendrick" last="Watkins-Hogue"], Dubuque Senior, SR Kendrick came into the 2019 season as a first-year varsity player and came out of it as one of the best receivers in 4A. Last season, his receiving totals were 64 receptions for 1081 yards, both class-best, and 9 touchdowns, on route to winning my award for statistically being the best receiver in 4A (the Dallas Clark Award). KWH combines hands and speed in not just short passes that’ll get a ton of YAC, but those long passes and slants too. Currently, his only offers coming in are from D-2 Minnesota State and Wayne State, along with JuCo powerhouse Iowa Western.   Other notable names [player_tooltip player_id="23992" first="Graham" last="Friedrichsen"], Urbandale, JR [player_tooltip player_id="24008" first="Hayden" last="Huntley"], Waukee, JR [player_tooltip player_id="23926" first="Hunter" last="Preston"], Dubuque Senior, SR Kade Somers, Ankeny, SR Quincy Wiseman, Davenport North, SR