2022 Rankings: Wide Receiver Breakdown
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Here in the month of June we’re updating all of our prospect rankings as the 2021 season gets closer and closer. For the 2022 class, we went from a Top 100 to a Top 150 as this class continues to get deeper and deeper. The margin between the ranked players is very close and this class has a chance to be fairly deep from top to bottom. The guys in the Top 10 are some of the best in recent memory, especially in that Top 5. You can check out the Top 150 Right Here. Throughout the week, we’ll be adding some analysis on the players that have stood out in the 2022 class with positional breakdowns, newcomers and even prospects on the border of being ranked this time around. Go back and check out our updated rankings for the 2023 and 2024 classes. For now, we take a look at five wide receivers with talent ranging from fringe division 1 guys, all the way down to a few dangerous up-and-comers who are getting their first major opportunities this season.
Gavin Freeman Gavin Freeman 5'10" | WR Heritage Hall | 2022 State OK – Heritage Hall (#4 WR – #30 Overall)
In 2020 as a Junior, Gavin displayed some dynamic speed, excellent spatial awareness, and some nifty route running on his way to a 20+ TD season. Fast Forward to a few weeks ago at a Duke camp, Freeman ran a 4.42 in the 40-yard dash and it wasn’t even the best thing he’s done this summer. He has looked unguardable at times at nearly every camp he’s attended yet no D1 schools have pulled the trigger on him since Air Force did back in March. Many believe, and we agree, that Gavin is very similar in terms of play style to Owasso’s Cole Adams Cole Adams 6'0" | WR Owasso | 2023 State OK who currently holds a handful of P5 offers. So, it is a mystery to us that Freeman’s recruitment hasn’t seen the same kind of explosion after his 2020 season. However, schools like to wait a little while before offering WRs of Gavin’s stature sometimes, so there should not be any concerns heading into the season this fall.
Collin Matteson Collin Matteson 6'0" | 180 lbs | WR Oklahoma Christian School | 2022 State OK – Oklahoma Christian School (#6 WR – #46 Overall)
As another do-it-all athlete/playmaker in the class of 2022, Collin Matteson Collin Matteson 6'0" | 180 lbs | WR Oklahoma Christian School | 2022 State OK had a season to remember in terms of production and dominance in 2020. We only saw a few games of his in person but when we did he was the best player on the field for both teams more times than not. It seemed like a weekly occurrence that he had multi TD games from multiple spots on the field such as RB, WR, CB, Safety, and returner, both on punts and kicks. Wide Receiver seems like his most comfortable and likely position moving forward when he specializes at the next level, but it is also something to keep track of as he excels wherever the Saints put him on Friday nights. Collin currently holds a couple of Division 1 offers from Pennsylvania and Army, along with a couple of D2 offers from schools such as UCO. If he can put together another season of dominance in 2021 as he did a year ago it will be hard to imagine that he doesn’t at least make a hard push for one or two more D1 FBS offers.
Kelan Carney Kelan Carney 6'0" | WR Owasso | 2022 State OK – Owasso (#8 WR – #61 Overall)
Kelan Carney Kelan Carney 6'0" | WR Owasso | 2022 State OK enters his Senior season in 2021 as a multi-year starter and will be a 4-year varsity contributor for Owasso, a statement you haven’t heard many times as of late for the Rams as they’ve had one of the top programs in all of Oklahoma and are usually very Junior/Senior heavy on both sides. Yet somehow he only holds one offer from Army. Kelan has plenty of size to play at the next level, runs extremely smooth routes where he does a good job of dropping his hips to come back for the ball, and he has excellent hands. He rarely drops a pass that’s in his vicinity. The Rams will be stacked once again at WR in 2021 so Kelan will have to earn his targets, but that should not be an issue at all. He’s been doing it for years.
Hayden Hack Hayden Hack 6'3" | 175 lbs | WR Norman North | 2022 State OK – Norman North (#12 WR – #103 Overall)
With the talent Norman North returns and will introduce in 2021, Hayden Hack Hayden Hack 6'3" | 175 lbs | WR Norman North | 2022 State OK has a chance to really make a name for himself. The 6’3″ Senior was a consistent contributor for his team as a Junior in 2020, but will likely take another step as a player and become one of their primary targets in the passing game this season. Hack has great length for the position and he uses it to his advantage often along with his natural & easy hands on deep routes and jump balls where he has been dangerous all off-season. Both Hack and Norman North QB Gavin Frakes Gavin Frakes 6'4" | 210 lbs | QB Norman North | 2022 State OK played on the same 7on7 team all spring and they were the top QB-WR duo on multiple occasions for one of Sooner7’s more talented squads. Everyone better be ready for the Frakes and Hack connection to continuously produce big plays this fall on Friday nights and give a boost to the Norman North offense.
JaRay Austin JaRay Austin 5'10" | 165 lbs | WR Owasso | 2022 State OK – Owasso (#16 WR – #148 Overall)
Our final WR is one that has a chance to become on of the more dangerous deep threats in all of 6A. JaRay is not the biggest player at 5’8″ 165, but what he does have is great hands and speed, lots of speed. At our inaugural PRZ Oklahoma showcase earlier this month, JaRay was one of the most explosive athletes in attendance. He ran a 4.38 short shuttle and leaped nearly 9.5 feet in the broad jump, both at or near the top for the entire camp regardless of position. On the field, in both one on one drills at the showcase and on his team camp film, JaRay was constantly using his first-step explosiveness and his straight-line speed to separate from DBs early before making a series of acrobatic catches at the top of his routes. As we said earlier, Owasso will be stacked at the position in 2021. With Cole Adams Cole Adams 6'0" | WR Owasso | 2023 State OK and JaRay Austin JaRay Austin 5'10" | 165 lbs | WR Owasso | 2022 State OK bolting off the line each play it’s hard to think of many 6A defenses that might be able to match up with this group across the board, especially when you have a technician and consistent producer such as Kelan Carney Kelan Carney 6'0" | WR Owasso | 2022 State OK that can strike at any moment.