2022 Sleepers: Wide Receivers

Every year, it feels like a WR in Mississippi flies completely under the radar and dominates competition at the next level. The most recent example of this is Corey Rucker from Yazoo City. While only one school in the entire state of Mississippi offered him, the Arkansas State Red Wolf had 453 yards and 5 TDs as a freshman last season. There’s always bound to be one of those guys every year! Let’s take a look at 3 names who have similar blow up ability. [player_tooltip player_id="111880" first="Jarvis" last="Rush"] | Louisville | At 6’3" 180, [player_tooltip player_id="111880" first="Jarvis" last="Rush"] has the look of a college receiver already. The outside receiver was a pivotal part of Louisville’s offense last year, elevating the team to a state championship win. Rush is the ideal possession receiver who can be a playmaker at the X position. He has good lower body twitch and can release well off the line of scrimmage. What stands out most about his game is his ability to track the ball downfield and make big time grabs. Rush uses his length to go up over defenders, locate the ball, and pluck it out of the air. A smooth and technical route runner, Rush can run the entire route tree and produce. Although he is not incredibly dangerous after the catch, Rush has good long speed that helps him separate down the field. In the run game, he blocks with tenacity and doesn’t allow his running back to take a hit from a DB. Southern Miss was the first and only school so far to offer, but more are on the horizon. <a href="http://iframe%20src=’//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/14912048/5fd2d595d45df90a50c2adb8’%20width=’640’%20height=’360’%20frameborder=’0’%20allowfullscreen/iframe"><iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/14912048/5fd2d595d45df90a50c2adb8" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></a> [player_tooltip player_id="119666" first="Jeremiah" last="Ratliff"] | McComb | An unknown name in recruiting circles right now, [player_tooltip player_id="119666" first="Jeremiah" last="Ratliff"] is another uber-productive receiver and athlete at McComb. Although he isn’t the biggest and strongest athlete on the field, Ratliff is most likely the fastest. The speedster receiver projects best as a slot at the next level, and currently plays at that position and Z for McComb. While he has no documented times, it would not be a surprise if Ratliff clocked a low 4.5 40 time at a camp this summer. He has great burst and can haul it into second gear when he has the ball in his hands. Coaches can use Ratliff as their utility player too. He receives jet sweep hand offs and pop passes to quickly get the ball to him and let him work in space. With improved hip flexibility, Ratliff will be the prototypical slot receiver to come in and make an immediate difference for an offense given his speed. <a href="http://iframe%20src=’//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/11102484/5fa9e2295ef65a05d86767d0’%20width=’640’%20height=’360’%20frameborder=’0’%20allowfullscreen/iframe"><iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/11102484/5fa9e2295ef65a05d86767d0" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></a> [player_tooltip player_id="104214" first="Jamar" last="Grace"] | Kemper County | After a 600 yard 7 TD season, [player_tooltip player_id="104214" first="Jamar" last="Grace"] made a name for himself as a big time outside threat. While he is very productive on the possession catch, Grace can take a short pass to the house using his long speed. He uses his body well to out muscle defenders to get open and catches the ball smoothly with his hands. Grace is a well defined route runner who understands space on the field and defensive leverage. Using his toughness, Grace doesn’t go down on first contact and can break arm tackles to continue picking up yardage. He is a threat in the screen game and can push through defenders to get first downs. With improvement to his flexibility and ability to make defenders miss in space, a program will get a steal with [player_tooltip player_id="104214" first="Jamar" last="Grace"]. <a href="http://iframe%20src=’//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/8516566/5fdfebaf4debcc16687e8370’%20width=’640’%20height=’360’%20frameborder=’0’%20allowfullscreen/iframe"><iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/8516566/5fdfebaf4debcc16687e8370" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></a>